Kerguelen

Island of Souls

A Battalion of Napoleon Buonaparte's Army finds itself marooned on a remote, miserable desert island in the Southern Indian Ocean by the misfortunes of war, with no hope of rescue. With one thousand men to lead, both the Military officers and the Roman Catholic priest, cut off from their usual chains of command, struggle to make their respective orders mesh with reality. This becomes harder and harder to do as the food begins to run out and their true situation becomes obvious to the members of the Battalion.

A soldier, Court Martialled early after their arrival and attempting suicide by firing squad, is instead condemned to work as the priest's Assistant, non-Catholic though he may be. Conflicts ensue between the two ranging from the validity of Church rituals, the Secret of the Confessional, the sanctity of hallowed ground and whether or not homosexuality is a sin.

The jousting between them continues throughout the story as the Assistant slowly assumes spiritual leadership of the marooned battalion. When the Colonel dies from a heart attack the command of the battallion shifts to the weaker Lieutenant Colonel and an armed conflict breaks out. The deaths of several men are described in detail, including a few moments of their soul's on-going journeys after they are dead.

This novel reinforces the concept of life after death, the peace that comes from confessing spiritual discomforts to any understanding person regardless of their faith and the freedom one gains when accepting one's own true God.