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marianneo 's review for:
Island of the Lost: Shipwrecked at the Edge of the World
by Joan Druett
It is January of 1864, and we are on Auckland Island, one of a collection of hostile, storm-prone subpolar islands some 300 miles southwest of New Zealand. A ship carrying five sailors crashes into the island, stranding the men and forcing them into a harrowing survival situation. But they have a few things going for them. Using their ingenuity and the remains of their wreck, the Grafton, they eke out an existence that is alternatively meager and passable. They build a cabin, make clothes out of seal skins, and establish a “school” of sorts to keep themselves distracted in the evenings. They hunt many, many seals and find a handful of other food sources. They are not without periodic bouts of depression and despair, but they are organized and generally remarkably functional for a group of men who have lost nearly everything. They are also lucky in that have certain key “things”; a gun for hunting, access to much of the Grafton’s wreck which they can use for building materials, the Grafton’s dinghy to help them get around, and a handful of other tools that they put to use. All told, they will spend more than 18 months on the island and will end up self-rescuing by upgrading the Grafton’s dinghy and sailing to New Zealand.
Remains of the Grafton, Auckland Island
Fast forward to May of the same year, five months into the Grafton crew’s misadventure. A second ship crashes on Auckland Island, just a mere twenty miles north of the first group. This wreck, the Invercauld, has twenty-five men aboard, but only nineteen make it to shore. This second group of men is far less successful than their neighbors to the south; they are more prone to panic and disputes, probably because they lack leadership in their captain, who is mostly concerned with his own survival and seems to be suffering from some kind of serious mental disconnect from the situation. They are also tempted by cannibalism and are generally far less resourceful, both in terms of tools at hand and with regards to their creative power as a group. The men split into several bands but by midwinter there are but three left; the useless Captain Dalgamo, the antagonistic First Mate Smith and the young but determined sailor Holding (consequently the only one I’d pick to be on my team of survivors let alone let into my house). To make matters worse, Holding is eventually ostracized by the officers, even though it’s clear they entirely depend on him for food, decision-making, and generally anything related to their survival. A year after setting foot on the island, having survived a harsh, miserable winter and a barely easier summer, they get lucky; they spot a passing ship and are able to get onboard.
Neither group is ever aware of the other’s presence.
These twin survival stories are fascinating not only because they’re true and happened on the same island, at the same time, but also because like most survival stories they span so much of the spectrum of human emotions and resourcefulness. While the Invercauld survivors were in constant crisis mode and never solidified themselves as a collaborative team, the Grafton crew truly made the best of their situation. They democratically elected a leader (Musgrave, the Captain of the ship), rotated chores and duties, always looked after any ailing group members, and generally got along well. Another ace in their pocket was the truly ingenious shipmate Francois Raynal, whose ability to make just about anything out of three ingredients (shells, seals and wood) seemed superhuman. During his time on the island, he figured out how to make lye in order to properly tan seal hides, he created cement with which to build a chimney, and - most incredibly - built a forge (and bellows) with which he made nails for the dinghy’s makeover. As if that wasn’t enough, he was also a generally positive person by nature who was deeply anchored in his faith and also understood human needs very well. One of my favorite anecdotes depicts these two sides of him perfectly; he figures out how to distill alcohol from a native plant, but realizes alcohol could severely affect group dynamics and so decides to tell the group his experimentation has failed. He was no doubt much of the glue that kept the group vested in and caring for each other and possibly the only reason they made it off the island. This man was unstoppable, a real hero, and he merits his own book.
Francois-Edouard Raynal, an experienced sailor and gold prospector, whose ingenuity and people skills saved his group from tragedy.
Druett’s storytelling is captivating, and thanks to the detailed narrative and descriptions of the island, events and personalities, I developed a little bit of an obsession with the Auckland Islands and Raynal (my interest in sailing has probably suffered, though). I sometimes questioned whether she was speculating on some accounts, especially in some of the very detailed sections, but there are quite a number of sources to draw from as nearly all of the survivors ended up relaying their stories through newspaper articles and/or autobiographical books. In the epilogue, she also describes how she managed sources and conflicting narratives; this helped put many of my concerns to rest.
My own experiences working in polar regions echo many of the issues these two groups faced on Auckland Island, namely the psychological aspects and limitations of resources at hand… except I’d categorize them as “mild challenges” instead of actual matters of life and death. Still, I learned quickly that group dynamics in remote places will make or break the experience. In the worst cases, a bad group can ruin an otherwise comfortable camp. Things can devolve into dysfunction - alongside basic civility, things like camp hygiene and honesty can be among the first things to be sacrificed. Resentment and loneliness increase. There’s also the challenge of “things” - you’re forced to think of the objects around you beyond their single-use function and forced to sometimes get really creative with them when you just really need this one “thing” (a spring, a plastic case top, a lever arm, a fire maker) and it doesn’t exist in your world. So while I haven’t been in too many survival situations (nothing worth mentioning after reading this story anyway), I know what it’s like to feel like everything is kicked up a notch, day in and day out. So I imagine that all of those challenges are at their highest intensity when your existence relies on a group’s ability to socialize into a functional organism and to get creative with what is available…. Or, in the worst case, to navigate the situation despite your group’s inability to function. This book neatly shows you both of these scenarios and the contrast couldn’t be clearer. It’s almost a perfect, cruel experiment. I often wondered what might have happened had the two groups met.
I was so captivated by Island of the Lost that it made me add at least three more books to my reading list. I will definitely be reading Raynal’s first hand account, “[b:Wrecked on a Reef: or, Twenty Months Among the Auckland Isles. A True Story|25160661|Wrecked on a Reef or, Twenty Months Among the Auckland Isles. A True Story|F E. Raynal|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1426591343l/25160661._SX50_.jpg|44864168]” (“[b:Les naufragés: Ou vingt mois sur un récif des îles Auckland|32671146|Les naufragés Ou vingt mois sur un récif des îles Auckland|François-Edouard Raynal|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1476730228l/32671146._SX50_.jpg|53240474]” in the original French), which was translated into multiple languages and became an immediate, huge international success when it was published in 1880. It’s even supposed to have inspired Jules Verne’s [b:The Mysterious Island|32831|The Mysterious Island (Extraordinary Voyages, #12)|Jules Verne|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388278046l/32831._SY75_.jpg|1167706], so I’m adding that one to my list as well. And finally, because I enjoyed this book so much, I’ve been eyeing a few of Druett’s other books, all of which are about shipwrecks. Like Alison Weir, she makes history fascinating and is able to draw me into history topics I would otherwise know next to nothing about.
Remains of the Grafton, Auckland Island
Fast forward to May of the same year, five months into the Grafton crew’s misadventure. A second ship crashes on Auckland Island, just a mere twenty miles north of the first group. This wreck, the Invercauld, has twenty-five men aboard, but only nineteen make it to shore. This second group of men is far less successful than their neighbors to the south; they are more prone to panic and disputes, probably because they lack leadership in their captain, who is mostly concerned with his own survival and seems to be suffering from some kind of serious mental disconnect from the situation. They are also tempted by cannibalism and are generally far less resourceful, both in terms of tools at hand and with regards to their creative power as a group. The men split into several bands but by midwinter there are but three left; the useless Captain Dalgamo, the antagonistic First Mate Smith and the young but determined sailor Holding (consequently the only one I’d pick to be on my team of survivors let alone let into my house). To make matters worse, Holding is eventually ostracized by the officers, even though it’s clear they entirely depend on him for food, decision-making, and generally anything related to their survival. A year after setting foot on the island, having survived a harsh, miserable winter and a barely easier summer, they get lucky; they spot a passing ship and are able to get onboard.
Neither group is ever aware of the other’s presence.
These twin survival stories are fascinating not only because they’re true and happened on the same island, at the same time, but also because like most survival stories they span so much of the spectrum of human emotions and resourcefulness. While the Invercauld survivors were in constant crisis mode and never solidified themselves as a collaborative team, the Grafton crew truly made the best of their situation. They democratically elected a leader (Musgrave, the Captain of the ship), rotated chores and duties, always looked after any ailing group members, and generally got along well. Another ace in their pocket was the truly ingenious shipmate Francois Raynal, whose ability to make just about anything out of three ingredients (shells, seals and wood) seemed superhuman. During his time on the island, he figured out how to make lye in order to properly tan seal hides, he created cement with which to build a chimney, and - most incredibly - built a forge (and bellows) with which he made nails for the dinghy’s makeover. As if that wasn’t enough, he was also a generally positive person by nature who was deeply anchored in his faith and also understood human needs very well. One of my favorite anecdotes depicts these two sides of him perfectly; he figures out how to distill alcohol from a native plant, but realizes alcohol could severely affect group dynamics and so decides to tell the group his experimentation has failed. He was no doubt much of the glue that kept the group vested in and caring for each other and possibly the only reason they made it off the island. This man was unstoppable, a real hero, and he merits his own book.
Francois-Edouard Raynal, an experienced sailor and gold prospector, whose ingenuity and people skills saved his group from tragedy.
Druett’s storytelling is captivating, and thanks to the detailed narrative and descriptions of the island, events and personalities, I developed a little bit of an obsession with the Auckland Islands and Raynal (my interest in sailing has probably suffered, though). I sometimes questioned whether she was speculating on some accounts, especially in some of the very detailed sections, but there are quite a number of sources to draw from as nearly all of the survivors ended up relaying their stories through newspaper articles and/or autobiographical books. In the epilogue, she also describes how she managed sources and conflicting narratives; this helped put many of my concerns to rest.
My own experiences working in polar regions echo many of the issues these two groups faced on Auckland Island, namely the psychological aspects and limitations of resources at hand… except I’d categorize them as “mild challenges” instead of actual matters of life and death. Still, I learned quickly that group dynamics in remote places will make or break the experience. In the worst cases, a bad group can ruin an otherwise comfortable camp. Things can devolve into dysfunction - alongside basic civility, things like camp hygiene and honesty can be among the first things to be sacrificed. Resentment and loneliness increase. There’s also the challenge of “things” - you’re forced to think of the objects around you beyond their single-use function and forced to sometimes get really creative with them when you just really need this one “thing” (a spring, a plastic case top, a lever arm, a fire maker) and it doesn’t exist in your world. So while I haven’t been in too many survival situations (nothing worth mentioning after reading this story anyway), I know what it’s like to feel like everything is kicked up a notch, day in and day out. So I imagine that all of those challenges are at their highest intensity when your existence relies on a group’s ability to socialize into a functional organism and to get creative with what is available…. Or, in the worst case, to navigate the situation despite your group’s inability to function. This book neatly shows you both of these scenarios and the contrast couldn’t be clearer. It’s almost a perfect, cruel experiment. I often wondered what might have happened had the two groups met.
I was so captivated by Island of the Lost that it made me add at least three more books to my reading list. I will definitely be reading Raynal’s first hand account, “[b:Wrecked on a Reef: or, Twenty Months Among the Auckland Isles. A True Story|25160661|Wrecked on a Reef or, Twenty Months Among the Auckland Isles. A True Story|F E. Raynal|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1426591343l/25160661._SX50_.jpg|44864168]” (“[b:Les naufragés: Ou vingt mois sur un récif des îles Auckland|32671146|Les naufragés Ou vingt mois sur un récif des îles Auckland|François-Edouard Raynal|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1476730228l/32671146._SX50_.jpg|53240474]” in the original French), which was translated into multiple languages and became an immediate, huge international success when it was published in 1880. It’s even supposed to have inspired Jules Verne’s [b:The Mysterious Island|32831|The Mysterious Island (Extraordinary Voyages, #12)|Jules Verne|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1388278046l/32831._SY75_.jpg|1167706], so I’m adding that one to my list as well. And finally, because I enjoyed this book so much, I’ve been eyeing a few of Druett’s other books, all of which are about shipwrecks. Like Alison Weir, she makes history fascinating and is able to draw me into history topics I would otherwise know next to nothing about.