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3.26 AVERAGE
3.26 AVERAGE
This book is delightful and interesting to read. It has unexpected twists like Ralph fainting, and also being kidnapped, and the death of the pirate friend of his. It is kind of 'stranded', 'shipwrecked' themed and lovers of treasure Island would probably enjoy it.
A delightful Robinson Crusoe-like boys adventure, where author clearly relishes storytelling about faraway, exotic locations - not unlike Karl May who so thrillingly let his imagination roam trough the places he never actually visited in real life, Ballantyne lovingly describes isolated coral island that in some other hands could have been shipwrecking hell, but in this case he made it sound like a heaven. Its all about three boys who bond trough daily explorations of "their" island and in process learn how to swim, cook, dive and survive on their own. Its all very, very uplifting and not once these boys ever get depressed about missing their families and such, in fact, they seem to have been perfectly content being where they are, their only care being how to build a fire and what exotic fruit to eat.
Occasionally the book shows its age (with chapters devoted to description of plants, fruits, etc) but to my eyes this gives it even more of quaint charm and I have absolutely no problem with now-dated racial and moralistic aspects of it, since its obvious that Ballantyne lived in different time and he was not malicious person. Three boys are divided between various strengths - each of them have something to bring to the company and along the way they grew genuinely attached to each other. Perhaps the last few chapters were not really necessary (kind of stretch just to add some more action) but this didn't diminish my pleasure in reading something so inspiring and wonderful. Truly loved it.
Occasionally the book shows its age (with chapters devoted to description of plants, fruits, etc) but to my eyes this gives it even more of quaint charm and I have absolutely no problem with now-dated racial and moralistic aspects of it, since its obvious that Ballantyne lived in different time and he was not malicious person. Three boys are divided between various strengths - each of them have something to bring to the company and along the way they grew genuinely attached to each other. Perhaps the last few chapters were not really necessary (kind of stretch just to add some more action) but this didn't diminish my pleasure in reading something so inspiring and wonderful. Truly loved it.
"The Coral Island" by R.M. Ballantyne was quite a disappointment to me.
It's not that I disliked this book because of all the racism and the scientific inaccuracies: I read a lot of 19th-century novels and I'm perfectly capable of enjoying them even though they reflect a different value system than mine and even though the pseudo-scientific explanations in them are based on the author's imagination rather than on solid research. So no, it's not the racism or the crazy pseudo-biology. It's the boredom!
It's hard to bore your reader when you are writing about shipwrecked sailors, deserted islands, pirate ships, and all sorts of adventures, yet R.M. Ballantyne somehow managed to bore me half to death while writing about my favourite subjects for a novel.
The three main characters are not only completely flat, but also perfectly obnoxious. For the first several chapters there's no conflict at all, and even the most exciting adventures, later on, are described in such a pompous, wordy writing style that I was reduced to tears by my uncontrolled yawning.
This is definitely the worst adventure novel I've read in a long while.
It's not that I disliked this book because of all the racism and the scientific inaccuracies: I read a lot of 19th-century novels and I'm perfectly capable of enjoying them even though they reflect a different value system than mine and even though the pseudo-scientific explanations in them are based on the author's imagination rather than on solid research. So no, it's not the racism or the crazy pseudo-biology. It's the boredom!
It's hard to bore your reader when you are writing about shipwrecked sailors, deserted islands, pirate ships, and all sorts of adventures, yet R.M. Ballantyne somehow managed to bore me half to death while writing about my favourite subjects for a novel.
The three main characters are not only completely flat, but also perfectly obnoxious. For the first several chapters there's no conflict at all, and even the most exciting adventures, later on, are described in such a pompous, wordy writing style that I was reduced to tears by my uncontrolled yawning.
This is definitely the worst adventure novel I've read in a long while.
I probably should have read this before I read Lord of the Flies, as LOTF is a parody of sorts and I maybe would have appreciated it more. The way round I read it, I had to two read books that I didn't enjoy. This seems like the kind of book you read in English Literature classes at school then you go on to analyse every paragraph. But as a story to read for fun? No.
Like William Goulding, I too was baffled as to why Ralph and Jack had not killed Peterkins.
Came for the coconuts, stayed for pirates, wanted to leave because of the racism.
Came for the coconuts, stayed for pirates, wanted to leave because of the racism.
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Death, Gore, Torture, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Animal death
Well, some aspects of the writing was interesting- very full of character. I was originally interested in this book because apparently, lord of the flies was based off of it and I can see that in some ways but the two are....not alike in any way that I found important. It's an adventure story, much more geared toward young men who dream of such things. I found it dry and unbelievable. I really don't believe that three teenaged english sailor boys could fight off a small tribe of full grown male islanders- i just don't.
The story seems to go a thousand ways, starting off with the three being shipwrecked then exploring then discovering native islanders, being kidnapped by pirates then by said islanders, saving a lovely damsel in distress and ugh it just keeps going. Also, the portrayal of missionaries in the Pacific's was disgustingly pleasant though given the time it was written I know I can't expect anything less but glowing reviews.
I don't know, if you REALLY like Treasure Island (the novel) give it a shot.
The story seems to go a thousand ways, starting off with the three being shipwrecked then exploring then discovering native islanders, being kidnapped by pirates then by said islanders, saving a lovely damsel in distress and ugh it just keeps going. Also, the portrayal of missionaries in the Pacific's was disgustingly pleasant though given the time it was written I know I can't expect anything less but glowing reviews.
I don't know, if you REALLY like Treasure Island (the novel) give it a shot.
It had its ups and downs, so I'd say it's a 2.5...while the descriptions of life on the island and the beauty of nature made the story more realistic and much more vivid in my mind, after the first ten chapters it became tedious--like I-want-to-shoot-myself-in-the-foot tedious. I am so thankful to be done with it.
This was a good read. Lengthy, but good. Ballantyne does a good job of portraying these boys' experience on a Polynesian island. It is unpredictable and full of detail.
adventurous
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This was a very adventurous book, and I enjoyed the way the characters continued to come together throughout it