Island Of The Lost: Survival Story

An entertaining and informative read about both the physical and mental aspects of survival after two sailing vessels and their crews crash on a remote island in the South Pacific.

There’s a lot said contrasting the approaches taken by the very different, but equally desperate groups of survivors. The leaders of each group, Musgrave and Holding, are depicted as practical men trying to help their crews survive the best they can. One group turns to bettering their situation, building a crude hut and scouring the area for food. The other basically gives into despair and hopelessness, each choice further dooming them.

I was a bit surprised by the level of detail describing the near-constant seal hunting that made up most of the survivors diet. There’s a lot of frankly gruesome content about the most efficient way to beat a seal to death and which variety of seal was the best to eat. Apparently, hitting them in the left eye was favored, and the youngest seals had the tastiest flavor.

Despite the harsh, wild environment – spoiler alert – some of each group survives to tell their tale, but not without sacrifice and suffering. The book nicely wraps up the ‘adventure’ with brief epilogues for the surviving crew members, and notes that future castaways were saved by the emergency supplies the islands were seeded with as a result of these shipwrecks.

This is an incredibly well composed book about tragedy, brotherhood, respect, survival, and the ingenuity of humans and their will to survive. It also clearly illustrates the difference between the power of unity versus every man for himself. In the beginning, the book does start off as cumbersome to read. Once you get past the initial couple of chapters, oh, you’re in for a smooth ride that will have you turning pages.

The story itself is incredible, two sets of sailors from different ships getting shipwrecked on the same island! Both facing starkly different outcomes.

You are going to absolutely fall in love with these characters, the author does an amazing job of characterization here. Every character is expertly built from historical accounts and the author’s own ability to breathe life into their long since passed lives. She’s not just going to tell you the story of something that happened one hundreds years ago from a distance. This story is told to you on an almost day-by-day basis where you feel like you are there. You are going through this with these characters. Every setback that they have, every triumph that they have, you are a part of that. She does an incredible job of building character relationships, were you can almost see the reactions they would have had toward one another based on a particular action before you even read the authors explanation of their actual reactions.

Every character’s personality is cleanly portrayed. The captain, a man with a hard exterior with a vulnerable side that cares enormously about his ethics and morality. The jack-of-all-trades Frenchman… Although it is a common belief that Sailors, Wailers in particular, where a group of hard, rough individuals, there is a tenderness to the story that brings to life the side of these men most people weren’t privy to.

I read a review here that an engineer wrote in appreciation for the author’s ability to explain how they manufactured survival tools and invented new ways to survive. That is true. There is a lot of technical explanation and nautical knowledge here that seafaring people will really be able to enjoy. Engineers will love the, well… the ingenuity. Survivalists, long distance families who know what it’s like to be so far from a loved one, those partial to bromances. There’s something for everyone in this book.

Just buy it, read it. Having read an account like this will undoubtedly make your life seem just a little bit better, just knowing that you read the best portrayal of this historical event possible. The only portrayal that can put the reader right there in the thick of it.

This being said, I am glad I read this Joan Druett book first! Why? Because I’m also now reading one of her other books, in the wake of Madness. I can tell you for a fact that if I had read the ladder book first oh, I would have never considered by another one of her books. I don’t know what the difference was between the time she wrote in the wake of Madness and the time she wrote island of the Lost, but whatever was going on with her when she wrote island of the Lost she needs to continue cloning that same energy.

This book is thrilling, in part due to the survival of two diaries, but due even more to the skill of author Joan Durett. She made this reader feel as if I was right there with the survivors. Bravo!!!

Became a big fan of Joan Druett with this book! The smooth narration, the incredible attention to details and the events of 1800s themselves blend to form a fantastic read. The characters portrayal, especially that of Captain Musgrave and Fracois Raynard is compelling – you feel so much for both these men towards the end of the book.
All in all, an inspiring story of survival and grit. Highly recommend it.

História verídica imperdível! Incrível como foi a boa liderança que causou a sobrevivência deles!