Castaway

by James Gould Cozzens

In this short novel Mr. Cozzens has constructed a modern parable of the Robinson Crusoe tale, one with powerful implications for the survival of modern man. Beyond doubt an interesting and distinguished piece of work. --Times Literary Supplement

Genres: Fiction

Hardcover

First published January 1, 1934

About the author

Pulitzer Prize for Fiction for Guard of Honor in 1949

Reviews

[Shawn · Rating 4 out of 5]

I don't know how I became aware of this slim book but it's sat on my to-read shelf for years, awaiting the time when I felt like exploring it.

Most certainly the basic synopsis drew me in - "man retreats to department store after unnamed catastrophe and hopes to survive there" - here we have, from 1934, a plot that precedes both John Collier's brilliant short story "Evening Primrose" (1940) and George Romero's monumentally significant film DAWN OF THE DEAD (1978) - and all three of which, while they spin in different directions, can't help but make a commentary on consumer society and man's place in it. It's a little trope I like to call "at play in the fields of commerce" and one look at our current society will show that no one listened to Cozzens or Collier or Romero...

This is a very simple book, in a way, although written in a style of its time that may seem unnecessarily cluttered to those who demand action through-lines in their plots. It is as already said - on the first page, a man forces his way into the basement of a multi-floor department store and, after reconnoitering, sets up house there. Something has happened in the outside world but we'll never know what (the first line gives only the briefest hint at some kind of immediate detonation or massive shock) and that's not really that important. Around our Mr. Lecky sits everything he has always needed and, more importantly, everything he has always wanted - whether he needs it or not - and now he only need figure out how to use important items he's never used before (how do you load a gun?), how to preserve his holdings and, eventually, defend them.

Everything in the book happens on a small scale and (understandably so) we see it from Mr. Lecky's sole vantage point, privy as we are to his confusion, hope and fears. Since the novel occurs on such a small scale, it would be ruinous to say more about how the book progresses but remind yourself that it's a rumination on man, mankind and the philosophical underpinnings of individuality and society - and how some actions cannot be taken back. There will be quotes posted, in time, but if you're looking for something a little different, you could do much worse than this interesting, contemplative short work.

[Herb Hastings · Rating 4 out of 5]

Published in the 1930's this is an odd little book. It could be categorized as SciFy, Fantasy, Allegory, a psychological drama, or even as magical realism. The plot is very simple, a man is isolated in a major department store after some catastrophic event that is not identified. He is surrounded by nine floors of consumer plenty. Younger readers of this book may find the hardest thing to believe about this story is that such stores ever existed. The man finds existence, alone among such luxury, to be as barren as any outcast's on a deserted island. He is forced to fight and kill an intruder, but maybe not.
This modern parable is worth spending some time with.

[Ben Arzate · Rating 5 out of 5]

Full Review

Castaway is a fascinating novella that remains relevant despite being published in the 1930s and written by a reactionary author. It explores how, despite the abundance many find themselves surrounded with, they’re still miserable and incapable of making connections. I can’t speak for Cozzens’s other books, but I think Castaway deserves to be sought out and to be brought back in print.

[Mary · Rating 3 out of 5]

I found this on my shelves while purging old textbooks and thought I'd read it since I never had. The writing style is a little convoluted and wordy but I didn't mind it. It's a pretty short book and I found it to be a quick read. Definitely a book that begs to be discussed and interpreted.

[Leigh Ann · Rating 4 out of 5]

This book has stood the test of time.My father who is 85 read this in his youth during college and recommended to me. It is a quick read with a great twisty ending. Loved it.

[Adrien · Rating 4 out of 5]

A strange, short little allegorical novel about Modern Man. Our fears (especially of 'the other') keep us from fulfillment even in in the midst of plenty and convenience. Still a valid lesson.

According to the biography A Rather Haunted Life, this book was one of Shirley Jackson favorites. Probably because it manages to be simultaneously brutal, droll and uncanny.

Originally published in the 1930s, not 1967 as Goodreads lists it.

[Bill Wallace · Rating 4 out of 5]

I have a growing fondness for forgotten novels and authors. I was hepped to this odd, brief parable by a couple of positive mentions in Fiedler's LOVE AND DEATH IN THE AMERICAN NOVEL and, though I only knew Cozzens' name from the spines of abandoned bestsellers on old bookshelves, I think I'm safe in saying that this is a work that prefigures the flood of post-apocalyptic works that appeared in the late 20th and even more profusely in the 21st century.

An open-ended parable of alienation, isolation, material culture, and more, CASTAWAY is a retelling of ROBINSON CRUSOE inside a high-rise department store in 1934. To say more would be spoiling the remarkable story told here, an early exploration of themes that would make Ballard and McCarthy, among others, top-selling authors half a century later. Sam Peckinpah wrote a script for an intended adaptation of CASTAWAY that may yet be filmed, though much of the story has become familiar territory, if not in this exact form.

Reading about Cozzens online, it sounds like he underwent a sort of "canceling" by academia at first (for aiming at the accursed "middlebrow" audience) and later by readers who found his work too conservative for the 1960s and 70s. Based on this book, it's hard not to think he was wronged by both camps.

Recommended.

[Mike · Rating 4 out of 5]

The two poles of a reader's reaction to James Gould Cozzens's Castaway might be to 1) throw the book against a wall, or 2) plunge deep into thought (ideally with the help of a fellow reader) about its meaning. I fall somewhere in between. The story is simple enough, about a lone man in a multistory department store after an unnamed catastrophic event outside. He gathers material to make a fort, looks for food and weapons, and then there is an event and a "trick" ending. What struck me before the ending was the pointlessness of the man's labors: all of those efforts, to what end? Does he believe he will be able to live out his days in the empty store? It's the survival instinct on display, and it is, ironically, not wholly rational. Cozzens's prose is thorny but usually worth the effort to untangle. I ordered this book after learning that Sam Peckinpah had a lifelong wish to turn the story into a movie. Reading it with that in mind, and seeing in my mind's eye what he might have done with it, added to the pleasure of reading.

[Matt Jaeger · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book that takes place entirely in the equivalent of Act 2 in a three act play. The beginning and end are yours to determine. Where has our “hero” come from, where is he going? A simultaneously vague and detailed narrative. The language and sentence structure are intentionally dense, which I appreciate when the POV is single, overthinking character, yet it does make the reading pace slow.

[Scott Givens · Rating 4 out of 5]

A great horror-thriller that kind of reminds me of the story “The Most Dangerous Game.” The complete lack of backstory and context adds to a weird dream- (nightmare) like quality. I think this book needs to be read a couple of times, and in my essay-writing years I would have dissected the heck out of the content.

[Dr Janice Flux · Rating 3 out of 5]

This is basically a Last Man novel written by someone who seems to be trying to write an allegory for the ages without engaging in the history of apocalyptic or Last Man literature. It can be frustrating and not much fun. It gets an extra star for when it's not those things.

[Aitana · Rating 2 out of 5]

2.5

[Martin · Rating 5 out of 5]

Would make an apt companion with Ballard's High-Rise.

Did Borges ever read this?

[Rachel · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5

Even though very little actually happens in this novel, and many things are left unexplained, I was hooked. Readers find Mr. Lecky, terrified, in a nine-story department store. Apparently some end-of-world scenario has brought him here, though we know not what. Now, his main goal is merely to survive.

I'll warn you now that it has a curious ending -- this is a book worth discussing.

[Lauren · Rating 3 out of 5]

I really liked the entire concept of this book. There were so many different ways all the components of this book could go that nothing was predictable. Purely based on personal preference, there were a few particular pieces in the book where I didn't entirely like the descriptive writing style used. But overall, it was an easy and quick read and definitely worth it. Truly unique.

[Nicole · Rating 3 out of 5]

More like 3.5 stars for this one. I had a terrible time staying awake while reading it, and for a while I thought it was just going to be a description story without a real plot. Once I hit the plot, it became more interesting because I could see the changes in the protagonist. Definitely an interesting - and slightly disturbing - read, but I can't say I loved it.

[Benny Morris]

In the selected bibliography of Masterpieces of Terror and the Supernatural, Marvin Kaye praises Castaway for its heart-stopping suspense. I'm still not convinced that we read the same book.

[Rebecca Dunbar · Rating 3 out of 5]

Wacky thirties gothic!!

[Jody · Rating 3 out of 5]

an interesting conceit for the 1930s - the time period in which it was written - but, as a twenty-first century reader it's hard to get past what is really a lack of story.

[C.K. · Rating 3 out of 5]

Very strange story.