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We learn about the first 31 days for the castaways through chapters told from Lori's experiences in the past. The time on the island is frightening. There is danger when those within the group of survivors turn on each other. Lori misses Erin. I won't say any more about what happens during these first 31 days, but it is far from pleasant. The plane veers off course and crashes into a remote island. As the days pass, the survivors come to realise any hope of rescue is fading. With their plight now desperate, a fight for survival ensues — survival not only from the elements but from one another. Onboard the flight are the pilot, the flight attendant, an elderly couple, a young mother with a baby, two men, and Lori. Their fear is palpable when they realize the plane is going down. The pilot manages to crash land the aircraft on one of the many small, uninhabited islands in the Pacific that surround Fiji. Four of the passengers died in the crash. From this frightening beginning, the tension and fear accelerate, becoming pulse-pounding and almost unbearable. It should be like any other holiday. Beautiful beaches. Golden sunsets. Nothing for miles. You'll never want to leave. Until yoou do. Two English sisters, Lori and Erin, were to be aboard this small plane for two weeks of rest and relaxation with blue sky, sandy white beaches and sunny days. The sisters have very different lifestyles, but neither is content with their life at present. Their love for and dependence on one another is intense, but they have a bitter quarrel the night before travelling to their final destination. Erin storms off, determined to return home the following day. Lori is disappointed to board the plane alone.
When the plane's pilot miraculously turns up alive in a Fijian hospital two years after the plane's disappearance, Erin's "need to know" intensifies and she's more determined than ever to get answers. Superb premise, 2 Sisters on their way to Fiji for a holiday, 1 misses the flight, the flight that turns into a disaster
The author’s imagining of how it would be to be involved in a terrifying accident that leaves you stranded in a remote place with people who are strangers, the descent into barbarism and self-interest, how suspicion and paranoia develop, and what the removal of the comforts and trappings of society reveals about our basest needs and desires, feels real and frightening. You will find yourself stranded on that isolated island with them, going through all the things they are feeling. It really is an immersive read in this respect and it felt like the author had taken herself to that place while she was writing, it came across as authentic (as far as someone who has never been marooned can judge anyway!) Australia’s Winton writes landscapes and loners with unrivalled rawness and clarity. In Dirt Music, which was shortlisted for the Booker prize in 2002, he writes of Lu Fox, an outcast in the tough coastal town of his childhood. When events conspire and he is chased out of town, he chooses to cast himself away on an island off the west Australian coast. Lu lives only in the company of sharks and rays, foraging and fishing for his meals. Winton explores our communion with nature, and those grainy stretches of our lives when we crave an island for ourselves. Several people go on holiday to a Fijian island resort. The sister of one of the passengers misses the flight....but then the plane just disappears. No sight or trace of the passengers or plane are found. the sister decides to take matters into her own hands... The Castaways (5 x 60”) sees Lori and Erin embark on the holiday of a lifetime in Fiji. After a huge fight, however, Erin never boards the island-hopping flight to their resort – and the plane, with Lori on board, never arrives at its destination.
This story was told through two distinct timelines and perspectives. This ensured the reader was privy to Lori's plane crash as well as Erin's bid to find out what truly happened to her, two years later. I was just as invested in each, as both sisters were intriguing characters with their own demons to deal with and a distinct inner-light to aid in fighting them. The series is part of Paramount+’s strategy to commission 150 international originals by 2025, and will debut exclusively on the service in the UK. THE CASTAWAYS is the second Lucy Clarke adaptation planned for the service, alongside NO ESCAPE, which is available on Paramount+ UK from May 18th. Months later, with no plane or survivors having been found, Lori’s credit card is suddenly used in a corner shop in a remote village in Fiji, and on CCTV Erin recognises the plane’s pilot. She sets out on a journey to find him and discover the mystery of what happened to her sister. This memoir explores Calidas’s decision to swap city life for a remote Hebridean island. A series of devastating events leads to the breakdown of her marriage, and Calidas finds herself alone and isolated, cast away from the places and people she knows. Ultimately, it is the power of nature and the rhythm of the tides that offer both a healing and an awakening. It’s a book about solitude, resilience and survival.Gripping, twisty and full of sun-soaked atmosphere, THE CASTAWAYS will whisk you far away to the island - and never let you go. Everyone's talking about the hottest thriller for 2021: The story races along and takes you for quite the ride if you excuse the pun. I was totally invested as we follow each sister as one gets on the plane and one doesn’t. The story both before and after that fateful day merges together slowly to reveal quite the mix of events! There are secrets and more secrets which flood out as you discover what happened. What did happen to the sisters, the passengers, that plane and the pilot? Written following a now and then timeline with wonderful depth and detail to each character, this is a brilliant race to discover who, if anyone, survives. I really enjoyed this book, the mystery of what happened to Lori, the plane and the other people on board. At the heart of the book is the love and bond the sisters have for one another. Chosen as a LoveReading Star Book, The Castaways really is the most compulsive, enthralling and beautifully written tale, it’s a 2021 sure-fire winner.
But for me this is where it stopped, the actual rest of the story was really just ‘biding time’ until the end and tbh not much happened, it had already happened in the first few chapters Lori and Erin. Sisters who have planned an unforgettable holiday to the beautiful islands of Fiji. The night before the flight, the sisters have a falling out. Now on the plane without Erin, Lori wonders about her sister when the unthinkable happens… A beautifully written, emotional and intelligent thriller. Full of atmosphere and tension as well as brilliantly drawn characters that I cared about. I loved it!’ Claire Douglas The book is split into past and present sections, and there are harrowing descriptions of what happened with the plane, the aftermath. Everything described so vividly that I felt as though I was there, and may end up dreaming about it tonight as a result. I'll definitely be looking up to see what else Lucy Clarke has written, and if they are anything near as good as this book, I'm in for a treat. A thoroughly great and entertaining read with lots of unexpected twists and turns.In Ben Harris we have one of the most empathetic and thrilling writers and both he and the writing team have done a tremendous job adapting Lucy’s gripping novel. We’re determined to deliver a fantastic series for our friends and partners at Paramount+ and BBC Studios.” Filming of The Castaways is happening in Fiji and Greece from June 2023. It's based on the novel by author Lucy Clarke, whose other novel The Blue was also adapted by Paramount Plus as the thriller series No Escape released earlier in 2023. Lucy Clarke takes psychological thrillers to a whole new level. I adored You Let Me In, and The Castaways now ensures she is a must-read author for me. Set in two time frames, as the story progresses ‘Then’ inches, then hurtles towards ‘Now’. Each change in time frame felt like a hammer blow before I was immediately gathered up in the story again. The survivors must find a way to work together and stay alive until they are rescued. They must survive among the dense jungles, searing heat, shark-infested waters, biting insects, little food, and growing distrust, suspicion, and hatred. There are twists and turns, secrets, a character with anger issues, unexpected connections, a brief romance, no communication with the outside world, and a dawning realization that a rescue is unlikely. No one knows where the plane went down. The night before the plane's departure, the sisters argue and Erin is a "no show" and misses the plane.
Erin now finds herself scrambling as the news breaks. Lori’s plane has disappeared without a trace… Two years later, Erin takes matters into her own hands and is on a mission to find out what happened to her sister and the rest of the passengers. This book is a definite MUST read! It is tense and so incredibly well written that it is hard to stop reading. The idea of being stranded on a desert island with nothing but the vast ocean and an endless horizon is intimidating in itself. Add to that the uncertainty that you will ever be rescued, the arduous nature of battling to survive with little food, and you have a chilling thriller that has nothing to do with adventure but everything to do with desperation, resilience and the dark side of being human. Omg that was one breath taking book, that had hold of me from the second I started it until I finished it barely letting me pause for breathe. It is addictive and kept me guessing throughout. It was great to be on that Fiji island and I was reminded of the novel The Beach in many ways. The sense of remoteness, loss, fear and survival really is well done. The way in which paradise suddenly goes very dark indeed and in ways you might not expect…. was fun to read. THE CASTAWAYS is the second Lucy Clarke adaptation commissioned by Paramount+, following NO ESCAPE, which premiered on Paramount+ UK in May of this year.This read like a literary Lost, with the reader also privy to the world outside of the island containing the survivors, and I was hooked throughout. The final 10% provided a twist I did not see occurring and which altered my perspective on much of what came before. I can't say I fully appreciated this final direction the novel took, but it definitely made for an interesting conclusion that also left me with much to ponder over. There’s a plane in the novel on its way to one such island but then it disappears. No trace of it at all. The sister of one of the passengers who was due to take the plane herself, is desperate to find out what happened. Talk about setting! This book more than transports you to the island retreat but I have to say the journey getting there was a bit hairy. The chapter where the plane goes down made my stomach churn so if you’re a nervous flyer you might want to speed read this part.
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