Adam's review
Treasure Island (Kingfisher Classics)
by Robert Louis Stevenson
Adam's review
Treasure Island (Kingfisher Classics) by Robert Louis Stevenson
Adam's review
rating:
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 kind of like the "home-alone" scenario, a young-ish boy, through wits and luck, wins against a group of not-too bright and disorganized bad guys.
Other than Long John Silver that is--Long John is a brilliant character, so far outshining everybody else in the book that the rest of the pirates turn into background characters. It's telling that the only Pirates I remember in the book OTHER than Long John were characters like Black Dog and Billy Bones--who came in before Long John's enter...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 kind of like the "home-alone" scenario, a young-ish boy, through wits and luck, wins against a group of not-too bright and disorganized bad guys.
Other than Long John Silver that is--Long John is a brilliant character, so far outshining everybody else in the book that the rest of the pirates turn into background characters. It's telling that the only Pirates I remember in the book OTHER than Long John were characters like Black Dog and Billy Bones--who came in before Long John's enter...more
