Cast Away

How big must a man’s folly be, that it can cost him the whole of his life? As big as a ship; as big as an island.

1704: Alexander Selkirk, navigator of a buccaneering ship in the South Pacific Ocean, is abandoned by his crew on a deserted island. An intelligent yet disagreeable man, he surely only has himself to blame for this ignominious fate. It is undoubtedly his unbending inability to compromise or to abate his arrogance that has led to his exile. And yet, in the unforgiving fact of such stark desertion, explanations and reasons why become mere inconsequential quibbles.

Selkirk must use his grit, tenacity and ingenuity to survive the harsh and unfamiliar landscape of the island. But logistical necessities are only superficial and trials abound. As time stretches on – warped, flexing, immeasurable – the mental toll of isolation takes Selkirk to the brink of sanity, distorting his perception of reality. Now that he has only himself, who is this man who has never truly belonged?

In Cast Away, Francesca de Tores reimagines in mesmeric detail and sparkling prose the real-life years Alexander Selkirk spent as a castaway on a desert island, the inspiration for the classic novel Robinson Crusoe. Ousted from society, left in the company of only a goat and a cat, his story asks us who we are – and who we become – when no one is around.