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A review by novella42
Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Read this for a book club and was surprised how much I enjoyed it.
Interesting to see the ableism in these tropes they came to be central to all pirate stories that followed after. Esp cially after reading Amanda Leduc's short masterpiece Disfigured, on disability tropes in folklore, fairy tales, and modern books, films, and shows. Disability as villain is crystal clear in this story. Pew and Silver's disabilities being played for horror, pity, and to keep us from identifying too much with them... It was interesting.
I was impressed with how well Stevenson depicted Silver's disability, describing the grace with which he moves on his crutch and the accommodations he had on ship like ropes functioning like railings to help him pull himself around. I looked it up and was rather horrified to find out he based the depiction off a friend, William Henley, who he only notified after the book was published. I would be fucking livid if someone based a villain off me because of my disability, and then that villain becomes so notorious that it's basically what I'm most remembered for!
Interesting to see the ableism in these tropes they came to be central to all pirate stories that followed after. Esp cially after reading Amanda Leduc's short masterpiece Disfigured, on disability tropes in folklore, fairy tales, and modern books, films, and shows. Disability as villain is crystal clear in this story. Pew and Silver's disabilities being played for horror, pity, and to keep us from identifying too much with them... It was interesting.
I was impressed with how well Stevenson depicted Silver's disability, describing the grace with which he moves on his crutch and the accommodations he had on ship like ropes functioning like railings to help him pull himself around. I looked it up and was rather horrified to find out he based the depiction off a friend, William Henley, who he only notified after the book was published. I would be fucking livid if someone based a villain off me because of my disability, and then that villain becomes so notorious that it's basically what I'm most remembered for!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Violence, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Colonisation
Moderate: Racism, Classism
Minor: Racial slurs