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13th out of 36 books
—
36 voters
The Bottle Imp
Offering an engrossing spin on a time-honored theme--the risky business of making a pact with the devil--this short story is a radiant jewel. It recounts the mercurial lot of Keawe, a Hawaiian who purchases a bottle inhabited by an imp capable of granting any wish. Yet this enticing object holds a dark curse: anyone who dies with it in his possession will burn forever in h...more
Paperback, 56 pages
Published
July 1st 2008
by Waking Lion Press
(first published 1891)
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Contado como si se tratase de un cuento (que en el fondo, es lo que es), este relato de Stevenson tiene muy buenas ideas detrás.
La idea general es que hay una botella con un demonio dentro, que concede todos los deseos de quien la posee, pero con toda una serie de reglas de por medio. La más importante es que si uno muere teniendo la botella, va derecho al infierno, así que hay que venderla antes de que eso pase (no se puede romper, ni mucho menos regalar, siempre vuelve a tus manos)... el prob...more
La idea general es que hay una botella con un demonio dentro, que concede todos los deseos de quien la posee, pero con toda una serie de reglas de por medio. La más importante es que si uno muere teniendo la botella, va derecho al infierno, así que hay que venderla antes de que eso pase (no se puede romper, ni mucho menos regalar, siempre vuelve a tus manos)... el prob...more
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This is a step to one side for Stevenson, both stylistically and in content. The Bottle Imp is about just what one would expect: an imp in a bottle. The story around it is equal parts Arabian Nights and European fairy tale, and Stevenson's adjusted his typically-period prose to suit the telling; for the most part, his writing here would be at home in any book today. The tale goes just about as one might expect for this sort of thing: there are triumphs, failures, sacrifices, and a reasonably hap...more
This was not as good as I was hoping. I was sort of looking for more interaction with the Imp I guess, but maybe that is a modern view of things. Stevenson deals with the implications of the bottle holder's actions.
I also have a hang up about tropical climes. For some reason, I am not inspired by depictions of Hawaii, Tahiti or anywhere in the South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand excluded. Tropical settings seem to turn me off.
I also have a hang up about tropical climes. For some reason, I am not inspired by depictions of Hawaii, Tahiti or anywhere in the South Pacific, Australia and New Zealand excluded. Tropical settings seem to turn me off.
Nouvelle que j'avais déjà lue il y a fort longtemps, et que les éditions Phébus m'ont fait retrouver en offrant ce petit livre à ses lecteurs. Cette traduction (de 2001, par Pierre Leyris) est un délice absolu et la nouvelle, presque un conte, se dévore à toute vitesse. Voilà qui m'a donné envie de lire davantage de nouvelles fantastiques de Stevenson, qui n'a pas fait de bien que ses romans les plus connus…
Such a beautiful, simple tale. Stevenson was well travelled through Hawaii and Polynesia and this tale - for it is a tale, based on a Faustian tale - is a reflection of all the magic he felt living in these lands. A familiar story, a imp in a bottle to grant wishes, but with joy arrives despair. Beautifully told, great moral story. What a talented man. Witten 1891.
I love Stevenson's short stories in which his characters face moral dilemas that place their very souls in peril. This one is my favorite. It's about a man who has made a deal with a devil. Everything is going fine and it looks like he has escaped with is soul intact . . . until he falls in love!
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This was part of the collection of other Stevenson stories I read. I actually enjoyed this short story. It was fun and had a good ending. It was not a horror story like the compilation described, but just a nice story about being happy with what you have
This was a fun bitty-bit of a story to curl up with when I couldn't seem to focus on anything more substantial. It's about a Hawaiian man and a magic bottle and a devilish conundrum. I wouldn't mind being the last one left holding the bottle, because I don't believe in hell. What a bargain, for a piddling little centime!
I loved Stevenson's word sketches of Hawaii and San Francisco and Tahiti as they were at that time.
I loved Stevenson's word sketches of Hawaii and San Francisco and Tahiti as they were at that time.
I picked this up expecting a children's story and found instead a great fairy tale for adults about love and sacrifice and in the end, about human greed.
Corto pero intenso. Un cuento para niños que tiene ese toque de suspenso que te mantiene pegado a la historia como si hubiera sido escrito por Edgar Allan Poe.
A brief book, but more interesting than I anticipated! It's actually a pretty good novel to read on a rainy day because it's so short.
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Intenta ser tenebrosa, pero una vez más, en el mismo nivel y tono del Club del Suicidio, solo es entretenida.
It was interesting enough I guess. It sort of showed what love and desperation can make a person do.
Native Hawaiian Keawe buys a bottle promising love, fame and money - but there's a drawback.
I just adored R.L.Stevenson...definitely a mustread....you will love the plot...
I remember reading this book as a child, liked the moral of the story.
Es un relato corto, un poco de idas y venidas...Pero no está mal ^^
A really curious one, had a nice time reading it.
Mi primer libro, solo por eso le doy 5 estrellas.
I really liked it! didn't expect the ending.
totally enjoyed this story.
One of my favorites!
cute
I enjoyed the plot. I think I might not be able to use "the monkey's paw" well but maybe I might be able to handle this bottle imp...
The Monkey Paw's less-evil twin.
I recently reread The Monkey's Paw and while it still maintains its eerie atmosphere and crisp themes, the writing is lousy with adverbs. I gave it to one of my Japanese adult classes as an assignment, and ended up removing every single -ly I could find.
That being said, The Bottle Imp isn't as bone-chilling, but it is a much smoother read.
The story reminded me of my own Faustian pacts, and the many forms in which they come.
I recently reread The Monkey's Paw and while it still maintains its eerie atmosphere and crisp themes, the writing is lousy with adverbs. I gave it to one of my Japanese adult classes as an assignment, and ended up removing every single -ly I could find.
That being said, The Bottle Imp isn't as bone-chilling, but it is a much smoother read.
The story reminded me of my own Faustian pacts, and the many forms in which they come.
Loved it!!
I finished reading this book last night and will have to say that this was a really awesome and probably the best short story that I have ever read. Robert Louis Stevenson is a really great that author that has amazing talent. I absolutely love LOVE his style. I read this book thinking that this book would be scary, because my dad told me that it would freak me out. WRONG! But whatever, this book is great. READ IT!!!
-Time 10/30 15min 11/1 15min 11/3 20min 11/4 20min Total 70min
-7wardsman-imp-bottle-wish-sick-wish again-happy
Discussion Question
1,If you can make one of your dreams come true, what would you like to wish?
I would like to eat very very big pudding.
2,How do you feel when you see imp?
I think I feel be scared.
This book is so interesting for me....more
-7wardsman-imp-bottle-wish-sick-wish again-happy
Discussion Question
1,If you can make one of your dreams come true, what would you like to wish?
I would like to eat very very big pudding.
2,How do you feel when you see imp?
I think I feel be scared.
This book is so interesting for me....more
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Robert Louis (Balfour) Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer, and a leading representative of Neo-romanticism in English literature. He was greatly admired by many authors, including Jorge Luis Borges, Ernest Hemingway, Rudyard Kipling and Vladimir Nabokov.
Most modernist writers dismissed him, however, because he was popular and did not write within their narrow definition of...more
More about Robert Louis Stevenson...
Most modernist writers dismissed him, however, because he was popular and did not write within their narrow definition of...more
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