Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson
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Read in February, 2008
Even though Treasure Island might be Robert Louis Stevenson's most famous work (it's in a close race with Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde), it is my least favorite of the three I've read. It is, of course, full of adventure and extremely significant in the way that it's influenced the cultural representation of pirates, but, while I wanted to know what was going to happen next, I never really felt for the characters. It was curiosity, not suspense, that kept me reading. Which is ultimat...more
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Read in February, 2008
Never was I so surprised to love a book. For some reason Treasure Island had a spot in my mind as a sort of dusty fusty victorian children's book which would be a real drag.
Read this book and you'll see how Stevenson has managed to set up the boilerplate for children's literature to this day. First it has the child protagonist (Jim Hawkins) who manages to be the important element in an adult world. In fact, almost every important action in this story happens because of Jim. It's kin...more
Read this book and you'll see how Stevenson has managed to set up the boilerplate for children's literature to this day. First it has the child protagonist (Jim Hawkins) who manages to be the important element in an adult world. In fact, almost every important action in this story happens because of Jim. It's kin...more
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Read in January, 2008
In my childhood I read Treasure Island and enjoyed it immensely. Reading it along with my kids this much has given me a new appreciation for the classics, though I think that every time I reread something of this calibur.
The beautiful language combines with a strong story that sweeps the reader into a tale of pirates, treasure, and adventure.
While I enjoyed the book, I did not enjoy it as much as I hoped. I think that with so much going on surrounding the Pirates of the Carribean movie...more
The beautiful language combines with a strong story that sweeps the reader into a tale of pirates, treasure, and adventure.
While I enjoyed the book, I did not enjoy it as much as I hoped. I think that with so much going on surrounding the Pirates of the Carribean movie...more
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Read in March, 2008
This is just a good old-fashioned tale of adventure and pirates and mutiny and double- and triple-crossers, and of course, buried treasure. Sometimes I have trouble with old books because the authors used five sentences where one would do, but this book moves very swiftly, only 200 pages or so. It was originally intended as a story for youngsters, so it doesn't include useless details. I can't help but wonder about the youngsters of those days as compared to today, though! It doesn't read li...more
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Read in November, 2007
recommends it for:
Anyone
Treasure Island is the story of young Jim Hawkins. When an old pirate dies in the inn owned by his parents, he finds a treasure map. Dr. Livesey and Squire Trelawney join Jim, along with a crew of mutinous pirates, to sail and find the treasure.
The trouble they find themselves in seems to have them finished several times, if it hadn't been Jim.
One thing that I lamented in this book, was the fact that Jim never really redeemed himself in the eyes of his shipmates, after he deserts the...more
The trouble they find themselves in seems to have them finished several times, if it hadn't been Jim.
One thing that I lamented in this book, was the fact that Jim never really redeemed himself in the eyes of his shipmates, after he deserts the...more
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Read in January, 2008
Ever since our trip to virgin islands this past December, I longed to reread Treasure Island. One wonderful day, we took a charted tour of the BVI, which including a stop at Norman Island; the very island that supposedly inspired Robert Louis Stevenson to write Treasure Island. As our guide pointed out what was supposedly Lookout Point, and Skeleton Hill, the desire to immerse myself in the thrilling tale of young Jim Hawkins grew.
I just finished this wonderful story of life at sea, the de...more
I just finished this wonderful story of life at sea, the de...more
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The first half of this book, prior to their arrival at the island, is about the most perfect thing I can imagine. On every re-read, I marvel at how beautifully it's all built, such that Stevenson can keep the storytelling goods coming in an absolutely unbroken stream for scene after scene after scene. Indiana Jones and Jason Bourne and the rest of them should be so lucky. Once they get to the island, the action becomes less elegantly linear and some of the tension finally goes out of the rope. T...more
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Read in August, 2007
Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum. Find out the origin of Long John Silver, x marks the sport, talking parrots, deserted tropical islands, and more pirates than you can shake a stick out. Odd that some consider this a children’s book, I don’t know that I would find it particularly nice bedtime reading for children.
Speaking of this book and pirates (and I am stealing most of these thoughts from Klosterman), what is the deal with the recent renaissance in pirate culture in recent years? As...more
Speaking of this book and pirates (and I am stealing most of these thoughts from Klosterman), what is the deal with the recent renaissance in pirate culture in recent years? As...more
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
people needing a return to childhood.
i randomly picked up this book for free at a hotel i was staying in. i think i was too focused on sweet valley high books when i was supposed to be reading this as a kid. it was fun to read--although half the time i really couldn't understand the pirate speak. my favorite thing about it was that right when i was sure something really bad was going to happen, the narrator would tell you that the "mistake" was going to turn out to help the good guys in the long run. so you could sit ...more
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I liked it. Some have complained it takes them forever to get to sea, but I don't see that as much of an issue, as the book passes over most of the sea voyage and concentrates on what happens on the island: Precious little of the book actually happens on the ship, except for a couple notable chapters. Plus, I like the stuff at the beginning with the evil blind beggar Pew, tho I couldn't help but imagine him looking like John Cleese.
It was a touch predictable in spots -- which is interesting ...more
It was a touch predictable in spots -- which is interesting ...more
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Read in November, 2007
For the first time in English. Using Scribner's Collected Works edition of 1903. I wonder whom Stevenson means in the following passage from the introduction, which can also be found in the collection 'Essays in the Art of Writing':
"And then I had an idea for John Silver from which I promised myself funds of entertainment; to take an admired friend of mine (whom the reader very likely knows and admires as much as I do), to deprive him of all his finer qualities and higher graces of temper...more
"And then I had an idea for John Silver from which I promised myself funds of entertainment; to take an admired friend of mine (whom the reader very likely knows and admires as much as I do), to deprive him of all his finer qualities and higher graces of temper...more
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Read in May, 2008
simultaneously read with Laxness' wonderful and extraordinary "Independent People" (which I simply cannot praise too much) this one was a fast and enjoyable adventure tale. Long Jon Silver was a great villain and a compelling figure that I could even feel for and relate to. Other than that, treasure island is, seen through today's eyes, a fairly straightforward tale. It is indeed the very work that gave us the stereotypes of ruthless pirates with parotts hunting treasures. You can well...more
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Read in April, 2006
recommends it for:
People who like pirates (a.k.a. everybody)
Arrrrrrrrgh! Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest, yo ho ho and a bottle of rum! This book is a story of young Jim Hawkins and his adventures that bring him to a desert island in search of buried treasure. Of course, this adventure inevitably involves gentlemen of fortune, a.k.a. pirates, most notably the quintessential pirate captain, Long John Silver (and his parrot Cap’n Flint of course). Although it is more of a children’s story than a serious novel, it is about friggen’ pirates. ...more
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
a person that is interested in adventure
I thought that this book was quite difficult to read because the text was very old and was a bit confusing but anyway the book is about a young boy named Jim Hawkins who loses his father towards the begining of the book. After this event Jim finds a chest that his mother shows him in it which lies a map of Treasure Island. He tries to find the island as he embarks on the Hispaniola but runs into pirates on the way. He also meets a cook called Long John Silver who is both eccentric and courageous...more
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Read in January, 1988
One of my favorite books of all time. Part of what appeal about it is obviously the attraction to a really well told pirate story. Deeper than that though, I think what makes this book a favorite is Jim Hawkins. Our young narrator is the unquestionable hero of the story. With all of the smarter more seasoned adults around him, Jim manages to outwit everyone and always be one step ahead of the action. There's something really powerful as a child in reading a story about another child who's i...more
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Read in May, 2008
I finally got around to reading this book after picking up a copy of it at DI for 50 cents. I enjoyed reading this book, and feel the satisfaction of completing another "classic", but it is unlikely I will ever read it again, which is how I usually choose how to rank a book.
I am happy that our good Jim Hawkins remained true throughout the book, stayed strong, found some luck, relied on some good gut feelings, and experiences a happy ending with everyone getting their due! Definit...more
I am happy that our good Jim Hawkins remained true throughout the book, stayed strong, found some luck, relied on some good gut feelings, and experiences a happy ending with everyone getting their due! Definit...more
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Has a copy to sell/swap
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Read in December, 2007
12/28 - I swear I am almost done with this. WILL finish by the end of the year. Crocheting for Christmas kind of took up all my time. :)
12/28 - Nighttime - OK, so I finished this book. It wasn't bad as far as a story goes, and I'm sure that in its time it was quite an adventure story. I think I read it in the wrong time period - because it wasn't quite as adventurous as I thought it would be. Maybe it's because my idea of a good pirate story is Disney's version.
That all said - I get a l...more
12/28 - Nighttime - OK, so I finished this book. It wasn't bad as far as a story goes, and I'm sure that in its time it was quite an adventure story. I think I read it in the wrong time period - because it wasn't quite as adventurous as I thought it would be. Maybe it's because my idea of a good pirate story is Disney's version.
That all said - I get a l...more
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Read in October, 2007
recommends it for:
adventure lovers, anyone who thinks pirates are cool
Let's face it, pirates have made a comeback. Treasure Island takes it back to the beginning. Stevenson's imagination brought us the original "talk like a pirate" ways, the dress, the songs, the parrot, and of course, the unforgettable Long John Silver.
They say this book is for boys or perhaps men who are boys at heart, but I say, "To the scuppers with that, ye landlubbers!"
This book has adventure on every page and is full of suspense and fun pirate stuff. My only di...more
They say this book is for boys or perhaps men who are boys at heart, but I say, "To the scuppers with that, ye landlubbers!"
This book has adventure on every page and is full of suspense and fun pirate stuff. My only di...more
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Read in January, 2001
recommends it for:
anyone!
Now reading it. My hubby and I sit in the evenings after we are done with "dinner and a classic movie" and he will read a book aloud for us. I like his voice and listening to him read so I prefer this method (unless I have books like the Potter books)! We finished Kidnapped this week and are now on Treasure Island! Though I have read Tom Sawyer and Huck Finn as a child and an adult, we shall read them again these next few weeks together I suspect! :) Try it sometime with your spouse, ...more
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Read in January, 2008
reading this book made me want to play Skies Of Arcadia again, particularly because of the "black spot," which is something that comes up frequently in the game (only in the gamecube version).
the book itself was good, but having previously experienced innumerable things influenced by it (skies, pirates of the carribean, pretty much anything in popular culture with pirates in it), the book felt very familiar despite my never having actually read it before.
i enjoyed it, but i do...more
the book itself was good, but having previously experienced innumerable things influenced by it (skies, pirates of the carribean, pretty much anything in popular culture with pirates in it), the book felt very familiar despite my never having actually read it before.
i enjoyed it, but i do...more
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