Review of The Island of the Day Before

" I challenge anyone to find himself abandoned on a deserted ship, between sea and sky in a vast space, and not be ready to dream that in his great misfortune he at least has had the good fortune to stumble into the heart of time."

PLOT The narrator of the story is a gentleman who has discovered a collection of letters written by a man named Roberto. The book is HIS story. Our "hero", Roberto de la Grive, has floated at sea for days on a piece of debris from a sunken ship that he was once a passenger on. In a daze, he finds another ship and climbs aboard, only to find that it is fully provisioned... and without crew. These letters are mainly of his history and how he became shipwrecked UPON a ship. However, briefly, the momoires are interrupted with mysterious happenings on this deserted, floating, haven called "The Daphne". Among the mysterious happenings are: The replenishment of food given to animals he has discovered in a strange managerie at the heart of the ship, and evidence that someone else is on with him. He spends a good amount of time attempting to find this invisible person and telling us (in a long and round-about way) how he arrived on the daphne.

HOW DID HE GET THERE? We shall start with his memories. I will not get into too much detail, as I don't want to give the story away. Throughout his childhood, Roberto praised his dad for his beliefs and expressions of them. As a ruler of La Grive, his father has constantly supported his neighboring communities. When the castle of Casale was under siege by the Spaniards, he of course offered help: ---"...So we're going to Casale and, if we have to, we'll get ourselves killed because, God damn it, you can't stick with somebody when things go well and then drop him when he's up to his neck in the muck."--- Of course, the siege of Casale ends up taking his father's life, but Roberto does escape, only to end up in the hands of a man who has sworn to protect him. This friend, Saint-Savin, is a quick-witted smart-ass who's words often get him into and out-of trouble. Usually, his wit is anti-Christian, not because it is his belief, but only because he likes to push people's buttons. And in this era, plunging a red hot poker into Christianity is the way to do it: ---"If the world were finished and surroinded by the Void, God would also be finished: since His task, as you say, is to dwell in Heaven and on Earth and in every place; He could not dwell where there is nothing. The Void is a non-place. Or else, to enlarge the world He would have to enlarge himself, and be born for the first time where before He was not, and this would contradict His proclaimed eternity"---

The remainder of his time, is spent in phylosophical conversations with Saint-Savin and his opposition. Through this, he learns much.... enough to get him in trouble. Let me just say, that when he finally opens his big mouth to express some of his knowledge, it gets him caught in a bad conspiracy which he later discovers.

WHO'S ON THE SHIP? Throughout his childhood, Roberto has been haunted with the memory of something his father said to him. He was thought to be an only child, but in a compliment, it was stated as if there was a compareson to another. From then on, he always believed that there was a secret brother running around and getting him in trouble. This follows him through to his adulthood. Now, in the boat, he is unsure who is on with him, but it has suddenly sparked these images from the past of his imaginary brother. Could this be him?

WHERE ARE THEY? Later in the letters, we find that he is not simply on a ship. It is apparent why he kept this information.. I would to. You see, Roberto cannot swim, which is why he was simply floating... and the ship is just a few hundred feet from an island. On the ship is a telescope, and he sees that the island is beautiful. Some of the exotic birds were caged on the ship, so he has had the pleasure of seeing them up close... but that's not all... The OTHER person on the ship (I won't say who... that would be telling) has finally been discovered and they engulf themselves in a huge conversation... and how they are both stranded there for the same reason... they both arrived for the same reason... and neither can swim. What the conversation reveals is that they were both on a mission to find the "punto fijo".... which leads me to my final section:

WHAT IS THE PUNTO FIJO? In these times, the secret of longtitudes was only theory. You see, latitudes had long been figured out simply by measuring the sun's distance from the horizon on a particular season, however, it was impossible to tell exactly the distance between each LONGTITUDE on the earth as time is constantly changing. I'm sure, after this review, you are going to come up with many ways this could have been done, but believe me.. all corners are covered in the book... anyway... A religious man knows that the Island of Solomon is fixed on the 180th meridian.. which is the spot the sun was shining the day the Earth was created. And so... if one could find this island, then one would be able to find the 180th meridian (The other side of the world). By finding the 180th meridian, one has found exactly how large the world is and figure the distance between each longtitude. By doing this, it would be easy to figure exactly what time it is no matter where, at sea, you are. And this race to find the punto fijo has sparked many wars and races. The problem is... these two people, with all the time in the world and reason to leave all bitternes and war-like races aside, have found it. But it doesn't matter.. they are stranded and have nobody to tell but eachother.