Shipwrecks have been a trope since before Robinson Crusoe set sail. Yet, Mary Elizabeth Counselman brings a fresh take on stranded sailors.
If you have not read Counselman’s “The Accursed Isle,” then be warned, as this review will be full of spoilers.
“The Accursed Isle” follows seven men as they deal with being stranded on a small deserted island. Their passenger liner sunk and their lifeboat was the only one not to be rescued.
Forced to survive on oysters and two casks of water, they last 15 days before the first incident occurs.
The morning of the 16th day brings distressed shouts and a body. Each night thereafter, another man is robbed of his life.
In the end Counselman leaves us with two men. Kenshaw, a doctor, and Landers, a broker. Each having come to the disturbing conclusion that one of them must be the killer.
The story reaches its climax as Kenshaw abruptly takes his own life, telling Landers he “couldn’t stand to know.”
Landers, though distraught at losing Kenshaw, notices a passenger liner heading straight for him. In his excitement, he forgets Kenshaw and the killings and hurriedly lights a signal fire.
It’s only when he’s sure the boat has seen him that a horrible realization hits him.
What if he was the killer? Would he strike again once saved? He could never feel comfortable around his wife and daughter again.
Landers takes the pocketknife and treads the same path Kenshaw did mere minutes before.
“The Accursed Isle” is a study in character building. It may seem daunting to flesh out seven men in a few short pages but Counselman makes it seem easy.
While not every character is as deep as others, they all play an important role, from the terrified 19-year-old to the grizzled bodyguard. Each provides important dissonance that Counselman uses to build a robust story.
We are left never knowing who the real killer is. Which one of the two committed those violent acts against their fellow man.
What makes this story so great is that the killer doesn’t even know it’s him. This lends credence to the argument that someone, not a part of the seven, is doing the killings.
The reader, along with Kenshaw and Landers, struggles with the idea of self-doubt. What if you truly are the killer? Is it better to die, like Kenshaw, not knowing the truth or live to see yourself kill again?
It is a quandary that hopefully, none need to answer.
Mary Elizabeth Counselman’s “The Accursed Isle” presents a worn-out premise in a new and scintillating way. She builds up deeper than surface level characters that impact the reader as they are taken from life and pages.
The bleak ending leaves the reader wondering if any of the events on the island mattered.
The terrifying realization that any one of them could be the real killer.
All it takes to push them over the edge of humanity and into depravity is a few weeks without real sustenance.
One can’t help but put themselves in the men’s shoes. Wonder what they would do in that situation. That is the true prerogative of this story. To present a situation where any one person could devolve into a monster.
Griffen Winget can be reached at [email protected]