Jannine Smith
asked:
Am I the only person who found reading this book difficult? I left it unfinished as it was hard for me to follow - and it shouldn't be the case as it is a short book!!
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Treasure Island,
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Mohammad Mansoor
I read the book when I was probably 9, and I was gripped from the first page. And I didn't read it once, I read it over and over just for the sheer joy of it. I couldn't have a meal without reading this book at the same time. I think why I found it easier to read was because there were no instant dictionary lookups in paper books, and using the Oxford dictionary was too cumbersome... so I just assumed the meanings of the words I didn't understand and kept going. This didn't break the flow of the story and that's the most important thing when you're reading fiction that flows as well as Treasure Island does.
Cecily
I had a lot of trouble with it, myself. I had no knowledge of nautical terms, and the pirates' accents were a bit difficult to follow. It made the reading of the book much less enjoyable for me. I put it down several times, but there was always this "I must make it through this book" spirit in me, so I continued.
Mi VaHu
I was about to give up but I promised myself to read it till the end. I just wish I had enjoyed it more. At the beginning it was a real page turner but after that I started it to put it down more often.
Dan Stein
Jim comments more than once that the pirates' language is unintelligible, so don't let all the pirate speak distract you. It really wasn't meant to be understood; rather, I believe it's purpose was to be illustrative of the ways of seamen and pirates. As a novice sailor, I know there is an unfamiliar vocabulary associated with the sea.
Lastly, I read this on audio, so it was probably easier for me.
Lastly, I read this on audio, so it was probably easier for me.
Jack
If I hadn't been familiar with the story because of the movie I wouldn't know what the heck was going on. I'm halfway through and the pirate-speak and the way people spoke back then has really slowed me down. I'm sure it's probably the first true "buried treasure" book and for that it's a classic, but I'm really not enjoying it, but I MUST finish!
Ameliedanjou
I'd suggest reading it on a kindle or other device that lets you highlight a word to immediately get the definition. It really helps with all the nautical terms. Of course, it won't help with with creative spelling. "Dooty is dooty, captain." But hopefully if you pronounce them, most of those will become clear. Dooty=duty.
Emelia
I struggled. There's no real reason why, I often struggle with classics, but I read them because I feel I should ever now and then. The writing style and language just doesn't engage my interest very well I think. I stopped following it properly somewhere and suddenly Jim was on land then there's some other person out of thin air or something it seemed. I didn't understand what was going on. Simply because I think I got bored, stopped following it. It took me three days to read because I wasn't glued to it. I had the same issue with Black Beauty. I'm not saying Treasure Island is a bad story, just that it's not for me, I prefer The Muppets Treasure Island, because it was just silly and made me laugh.
Jessica Hammer
I need a glossary!
Catherine Clausen
Jannine, you are not alone. I couldn't comprehend this story the first time I read it! The language is outdated, and the pirates' dialogue was gibberish to me without the help of the Explanatory Notes and the Glossary of Nautical Terms in the back of the book.
With that being said, once I was able to talk about the book with others, I could finally appreciate it for the great story that it is. It's certainly a classic and has influenced North American literature a fair deal.
With that being said, once I was able to talk about the book with others, I could finally appreciate it for the great story that it is. It's certainly a classic and has influenced North American literature a fair deal.
Cait Cher
It's a very old title, so of course, the use of English is going to be confusing to understand for the modern day. As I was reading this, I had SparkNotes open so when I finished a chapter, I looked at SparkNotes and made sure what I was reading was what I was thinking happened.
That and I cheated and I've been watching Disney's Treasure Planet throughout my childhood, though this book and the movie are not exactly the same at all.
That and I cheated and I've been watching Disney's Treasure Planet throughout my childhood, though this book and the movie are not exactly the same at all.
Hutch
OMG yes! I was very tired of it after a while. It didn't appeal to me at all. Hard read.
Rari Houchin
The language is different enough that I find Treasure Island difficult too but have managed so far by reading the ebook while listening to an audio copy of it. I get all the benefits of a Kindle like built in access to a dictionary and Wikipedia while getting to hear somebody else pronounce the words I am less familiar with.
joms
No it's not really hard... the accent is actually intuitive, and you probably need some basic knowledge for the nautical terms. It's just approx. 300 pages long (in my Puffin paperback) and I finished it less than a month (I'm a slow reader and tend to finish a book in half a year.)
And as far in my reading experience, Stevenson had this great skill of describing things, which makes my imagery more vivid than ever. I don't find this book really hard to comprehend.
And as far in my reading experience, Stevenson had this great skill of describing things, which makes my imagery more vivid than ever. I don't find this book really hard to comprehend.
Prakash Shenoy
All classical books of 1800's Victorian age are very difficult to read because of strange language they use to describe things prevalent in those days. It is difficult for any modern reader to read these books. I think these books should be re-edited and published in modern English.
Liz
Just because it's short doesn't mean it's an easy read. I don't recall it being a hard read for me personally, but it's a book from the 1800s; it's bound to seem slow and have language that's hard to follow for some people. You shouldn't feel embarrassed about it.
In high school, when I was reading door-stopper sci-fis, I could not finish several "classics" that were a mere 30 pages long, because they were so tortuously dull and plotless. That was American "literature" though. British Classics tend to have actual stories in them, so if you haven't already, I highly recommend giving "Treasure Island" another try.
In high school, when I was reading door-stopper sci-fis, I could not finish several "classics" that were a mere 30 pages long, because they were so tortuously dull and plotless. That was American "literature" though. British Classics tend to have actual stories in them, so if you haven't already, I highly recommend giving "Treasure Island" another try.
Sheryl
Probably a little harder because it's 1800's dialect. Have to be "in the zone" to read these kinds of books...at least I do.
Ellen
I also did not finish it. I listened to the audio book and while the man reading it was somewhat entertaining, his accent was difficult to listen to and understand. I also was not fond of the style of writing.
Laurie
Jannine, Have you tried reading the audio version? It's great! I listened to it in the kitchen in short stints while washing dishes. The audio version is written by a Brit, and they know how to pronounce all those dialectical words. I hope you will go back to reading it because if you didn't get to the part where David and Alan have an argument, you missed the best part of the book.
Louis
I read it such a long time ago, im really not sure...
Pam
Never have 155 pages seemed so long.
Kirsten
If you have trouble reading it in print, try an audiobook. It makes the accents much easier. I found it action packed and I really enjoyed all the different characters.
Mike Metal
This answer contains spoilers…
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Kim
I read the Kindle version, so was able to look up the nautical terms, which helped. Other words have several meanings that have gone out of popularity since the 1800s, but I found their secondary meanings in the Kindle dictionary as well. There are many purposeful misspellings to account for the pirates' mispronunciations and their slang. I agree the language was somewhat difficult and I would have lost interest without the Kindle dictionary. I don't think the original would appeal to many children today, unless it's an abridged version.
Kristafee
Try the audio version. Amazon has it in a full cast of readers and it's really gripping and exciting.
Jennifer
I listened to an audio version driving across Florida for Thanksgiving and loved the story! Couldn’t wait to get back in the car to hear the end.
Jason Robertson
I first read Treasure Island when I was about 10 - had no trouble with it. Tried reading it again about 15 years later and just couldn't get into it. Perhaps I was reading an abridged 'dumbed down' version when I was a kid, but even then I aimed for 'complete and unabridged' where possible.
Marc Mcdonald
I had the same experience, and I bought it on Kindle. I shelved it for a long time, then came back and did it with audio narration, which helped somewhat. I had finished Stephen King's "IT" just before so didn't want to let a shorter book like this intimidate me. But yeah, I had a hard time following the plot as often I couldn't visualize what was going on.
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