Take a photo of a barcode or cover
thecanadagoose 's review for:
Treasure Island
by Robert Louis Stevenson
A timeless classic: parrots, pirates and treasure! I've wanted to read more classics (of which I have failed miserably...), but thankfully I picked up this copy up in a charity shop. [a:Robert Louis Stevenson|854076|Robert Louis Stevenson|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1192746024p2/854076.jpg] wrote a story that entered popular culture so completely that some characters are known completely by the masses without being associated with the novel at all. The idea of buccaneers as seen in [b:Treasure Island|48766119|Treasure Island|Robert Louis Stevenson|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1573670911l/48766119._SY75_.jpg|3077988] have been the basis for caricatures of pirates since Stevenson put pen to paper.
The trio hire the 'Hispaniola', captained by Captain Smollet in order to take them to find the island. Among the crew is the cook Long John Silver, a well-admired seaman, who takes Jim under his wing. The journey is far from simple, as Smollet suspects the crew may not be as trustworthy as they would like to believe. Subsequently, the night before they reach the island, Jim overhears Silver's plan to take over the ship and take the treasure for themselves. But will they succeed, or will Jim and the others be able to stop them?
It's hard to judge a book when you have seen so many variations: Treasure Planet, Muppet Treasure Island, Pirates of the Caribbean etc. Some could complain that the novel is full of tropes, but I have to believe this novel is the origin of most of them! However, the key is that Stephenson created a range of layered and complex characters that you can easily become invested in... and not just the 'good guys'.
There are a couple of things that stopped me from giving this book 5 stars is, unfortunately, probably not the books fault. At times, because it was written in 1882, at times the language can be somewhat difficult to follow. The pacing of the story is also sometimes put in the wrong place. With this, I'm also assuming it's a consequence of the time period, where the focus will naturally tend to be different, moving with the inclination of the culture around it. Perhaps I'm giving too much the benefit of the doubt, but I don't think so.
Even though everyone will likely already know the twists and turns of this book, I still really enjoyed letting the story flow over me. There were many more interesting interactions in the novel than I was expecting, from one on one adventures of Jim to the mass heroism of the few left! Even in a fairly short story, the characters find themselves in a huge variety of different situations, each with its own subtleties and power balances: this is really the mark of a strong novel.
I could go on for a long time about the cultural impact of this book, whose themes are known to (quite possibly) everyone on the planet, in some cases not knowing where those ideas came from. If you need any more persuasion, the Pirates of the Caribbean series made billions of dollars stealing (fundamentally) the whole plot. What more do you need to read this?
Spoiler
Jim Hawkins works at the Admiral Benbow Inn near Bristol. His daily routine becomes interrupted upon the arrival of old sailor, referred to as the "The Captain". After being visited by his old pirate crew, "The Captain" is delivered the black spot and dies, leaving behind a chest he has been protecting. Jim finds hidden in the chest a map, for which the pirates return and ransack the inn. Jim escapes, taking the map to Squire Trelawney and Doctor Livesey, who realise this map is the key to finding treasure hidden by a renowned pirate lord.The trio hire the 'Hispaniola', captained by Captain Smollet in order to take them to find the island. Among the crew is the cook Long John Silver, a well-admired seaman, who takes Jim under his wing. The journey is far from simple, as Smollet suspects the crew may not be as trustworthy as they would like to believe. Subsequently, the night before they reach the island, Jim overhears Silver's plan to take over the ship and take the treasure for themselves. But will they succeed, or will Jim and the others be able to stop them?
It's hard to judge a book when you have seen so many variations: Treasure Planet, Muppet Treasure Island, Pirates of the Caribbean etc. Some could complain that the novel is full of tropes, but I have to believe this novel is the origin of most of them! However, the key is that Stephenson created a range of layered and complex characters that you can easily become invested in... and not just the 'good guys'.
There are a couple of things that stopped me from giving this book 5 stars is, unfortunately, probably not the books fault. At times, because it was written in 1882, at times the language can be somewhat difficult to follow. The pacing of the story is also sometimes put in the wrong place. With this, I'm also assuming it's a consequence of the time period, where the focus will naturally tend to be different, moving with the inclination of the culture around it. Perhaps I'm giving too much the benefit of the doubt, but I don't think so.
Even though everyone will likely already know the twists and turns of this book, I still really enjoyed letting the story flow over me. There were many more interesting interactions in the novel than I was expecting, from one on one adventures of Jim to the mass heroism of the few left! Even in a fairly short story, the characters find themselves in a huge variety of different situations, each with its own subtleties and power balances: this is really the mark of a strong novel.
I could go on for a long time about the cultural impact of this book, whose themes are known to (quite possibly) everyone on the planet, in some cases not knowing where those ideas came from. If you need any more persuasion, the Pirates of the Caribbean series made billions of dollars stealing (fundamentally) the whole plot. What more do you need to read this?