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3.49 AVERAGE
3.49 AVERAGE
It’s rare that I need to look up words when reading nowadays, but there’s so much archaic Scottish slang here that I frequently had to.
Of the three Robert Louis Stevenson novels I have read so far (Treasure Island, Dr. Jeckyl and Mr. Hyde, and Kidnapped), Kidnapped was the most difficult. The difficulty stemmed from two causes, the language and the history of 18th-century Scotland.
I have been reading these adventure stories out loud to my wife, and Kidnapped is more thoroughly drenched in dialect than any of the other novels. My Scottish accent is not much more than a bad Shrek impersonation, but my wife endured it admirably. What impressed me however, was that the very cadence and movement of the sentences demanded that the accent be used for the whole book, not just the dialogue. Given that Stevenson hails from Edinburgh, this is not particularly shocking, but since I did not feel this impetus in either of his other two novels, I felt that he purposefully employed this rhythm to capture the language of David Balfour as a narrator. While the language was challenging to read out loud, it was greatly enjoyable since Stevenson is a wonderful writer.
The second difficulty, the history, required that I read up on the various revolutions in Scotland in the first half of the eighteenth century and the parliamentary acts that were enacted in their wakes. This was fantastic educationally, but it did mean that we were frequently stopping to research things, which interfered with the rhythm of the narrative.
Stevenson’s true gift is for understanding the human nature and the complicated cluster of emotions that come together and get in the way with communication and clear actions. The best example of this in Kidnapped is the sequence near the end of David’s and Alan’s travels, when David is angry with Alan and angry with himself for being so childish, which only forces him to act still more childishly. It is a beautifully constructed passage in which Stevenson thoroughly dissects the various emotions at play.
Related to this understanding is Stevenson’s other gift, which I have commented on in my posts about his other novels: he is a fantastic creator of complex characters. Alan Breck is reminiscent of Long John Silver in his richness. There is always a perfectly moral foil for these more complex characters (Hawkins for Silver and Balfour for Breck), and I suspect that these morally upright characters not only fit Stevenson’s own desire for moral rectitude but allowed him to revel in the moral messiness that is the more common human experience, and clearly the thing that most interests Stevenson.
While the language and history are challenging and while the adventure itself is not as gripping as in Treasure Island, it is still very rewarding and enjoyable, as are the characters and the completeness of the world.
I have been reading these adventure stories out loud to my wife, and Kidnapped is more thoroughly drenched in dialect than any of the other novels. My Scottish accent is not much more than a bad Shrek impersonation, but my wife endured it admirably. What impressed me however, was that the very cadence and movement of the sentences demanded that the accent be used for the whole book, not just the dialogue. Given that Stevenson hails from Edinburgh, this is not particularly shocking, but since I did not feel this impetus in either of his other two novels, I felt that he purposefully employed this rhythm to capture the language of David Balfour as a narrator. While the language was challenging to read out loud, it was greatly enjoyable since Stevenson is a wonderful writer.
The second difficulty, the history, required that I read up on the various revolutions in Scotland in the first half of the eighteenth century and the parliamentary acts that were enacted in their wakes. This was fantastic educationally, but it did mean that we were frequently stopping to research things, which interfered with the rhythm of the narrative.
Stevenson’s true gift is for understanding the human nature and the complicated cluster of emotions that come together and get in the way with communication and clear actions. The best example of this in Kidnapped is the sequence near the end of David’s and Alan’s travels, when David is angry with Alan and angry with himself for being so childish, which only forces him to act still more childishly. It is a beautifully constructed passage in which Stevenson thoroughly dissects the various emotions at play.
Related to this understanding is Stevenson’s other gift, which I have commented on in my posts about his other novels: he is a fantastic creator of complex characters. Alan Breck is reminiscent of Long John Silver in his richness. There is always a perfectly moral foil for these more complex characters (Hawkins for Silver and Balfour for Breck), and I suspect that these morally upright characters not only fit Stevenson’s own desire for moral rectitude but allowed him to revel in the moral messiness that is the more common human experience, and clearly the thing that most interests Stevenson.
While the language and history are challenging and while the adventure itself is not as gripping as in Treasure Island, it is still very rewarding and enjoyable, as are the characters and the completeness of the world.
It says in the introduction to my edition that David Balfour, the young man who is kidnapped at the behest of his Uncle, is the character that Stevenson put most of his own personality into. He is certainly a mature 18 year old and there are some fantastic, witty exchanges with Alan Breck, his older fellow escapee. Stevenson writes beautifully about the countryside and with great admiration for the fortitude and courage of the Highlanders during what were times of great deprivation. The story is essentially an adventure, however the quality of the prose rightly set it out as a classic.
I really need to stop reading these old books, I never like them. I'm sure the story is fine if you like the old ways, but books have come so far since them and I'm more of a fan of the new way of writing. Not my style.
Book Confessions of an ExBallerina
Book Confessions of an ExBallerina
This has got to be one of the most famous adventure stories ever written, and I hadn’t read it! Kidnapped feels a good deal darker and older than I was expecting; yes, the premise is that a teenage boy’s dastardly uncle sells him to a ship’s captain who, in turn, plans to sell him into North American slavery, but I thought it would be far more of a romp, with far less genuine peril. In the end, Kidnapped reminded me strongly of two other novels I’ve read relatively recently: Adventures of Huckleberry Finn (1884; my review) and City of Thieves (2008; my review). David Balfour finds, just as Huck Finn does, that his youth will not protect him from the violence and politics of adults. Like Pap Finn, David’s uncle Ebenezer is a greedy, aggressive man who thinks little of imprisoning or causing the death of a child for financial gain. David’s time on board the brig Covenant is marked by danger and cruelty: a cabin boy his age, Ransome, who lacks education and confidence, is so regularly beaten by the captain and mate that the latter actually murders him not long into the voyage. The captain is regretful, but not particularly remorseful, and the boy’s body is discreetly thrown into the sea. When David meets his ally and best friend-to-be, Alan Breck Stewart, they are forced to barricade themselves into the main cabin and defend themselves against the rest of the crew, resulting in several deaths. These haunt David the way that the Grangerford/Shepperson feud haunts Huck; later in the book, he repeatedly wakes in a cold sweat of terror from confused dreams of bloodshed. The timing of Kidnapped's writing and publication makes it entirely possible that Stevenson had read Twain and was, consciously or not, emulating some of his narrative beats. I would love to know if anyone else has remarked the similarity, and if there’s anything written on their mutual literary influence, in either or both directions.
Alan, meanwhile—and the dynamic of his friendship with David—reminded me strongly of Kolya, the older of the main pair in City of Thieves. They share a romantic devil-may-care attitude to life, a vocation to soldiering and spying, and a role as mentor and model of manhood to a younger lad. (Kolya is more explicitly a sexual being; Alan, since he is in a book written for children, is not so obsessed with the lassies, though he approves of one woman who helps them cross the Firth of Forth). They are also both morally grey characters. Alan disclaims responsibility for a murder, but it’s never clear that he’s totally innocent, and he’s quick to anger, arrogant, and overbearing, while also being loyal, brave, resourceful, and tenacious. Kolya shares many of these qualities. I have no idea whether Benioff has read Kidnapped, but it’s hard not to imagine that he was drawing on, at the very least, a common well of characterisation.
A quick note on which to end this meditation: Kidnapped is very largely concerned with the Jacobite movement that sought to replace the English Hanoverian kings (the Georges) with the descendants of James I/VI. If you’re not up on that political phenomenon, I would suggest opening a Wikipedia tab while you read. It’s possible to get by with the information in the text, but it’d help to have background. Source: local public library #LoveYourLibrary
Alan, meanwhile—and the dynamic of his friendship with David—reminded me strongly of Kolya, the older of the main pair in City of Thieves. They share a romantic devil-may-care attitude to life, a vocation to soldiering and spying, and a role as mentor and model of manhood to a younger lad. (Kolya is more explicitly a sexual being; Alan, since he is in a book written for children, is not so obsessed with the lassies, though he approves of one woman who helps them cross the Firth of Forth). They are also both morally grey characters. Alan disclaims responsibility for a murder, but it’s never clear that he’s totally innocent, and he’s quick to anger, arrogant, and overbearing, while also being loyal, brave, resourceful, and tenacious. Kolya shares many of these qualities. I have no idea whether Benioff has read Kidnapped, but it’s hard not to imagine that he was drawing on, at the very least, a common well of characterisation.
A quick note on which to end this meditation: Kidnapped is very largely concerned with the Jacobite movement that sought to replace the English Hanoverian kings (the Georges) with the descendants of James I/VI. If you’re not up on that political phenomenon, I would suggest opening a Wikipedia tab while you read. It’s possible to get by with the information in the text, but it’d help to have background. Source: local public library #LoveYourLibrary
Abandoned... I'm really not having much luck with books at the moment...
Kidnapped is a book that is both an easy read and a hard one. Good for any age about 11 which is when I think I read this book the first time. Easy because the plot is basically when you boil it down to the bare basics is get back home/don't get killed. What makes it hard (besides the 18th century Scottish dialect what does unco mean anyway?) is the realness of the characters and the pacing of the book) David Balfour is a 17 year old that thinks he knows the world and through his arrogance, trust, and ignorance gets into a shipwrecks worth of trouble. For all that he is an extraordinary lucky and humble young man. Sometimes, I think he is pathetic and whiny (and it is within reason) then he does something that has me liking him once more. He even acknowledges his faults tries to better himself and his thinking. A great friend to Alan who sweeps David into and out of trouble being a guide through perilous unknown country back to home. I won't lie this story has a rocky start and an abrupt ending. There is a sequel so I am willing to forgive the ending; why it stared 3 and not 2 1/2 stars.
I think I had the kids version, but no complaints about the large font and illustrations :)
A great classic tale of being wronged and seeking revenge.
