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acupofbooks 's review for:
Treasure Island and The Ebb-Tide
by Robert Louis Stevenson
I have only read Treasure Island out of the two books in this collection. Whilst it was a fun read in places, I think the bulk of the enjoyment came from nostalgia of classic scenes I remember from movies of it from my childhood rather than any actual joy in the writing itself. The characters were fun and the description pretty in places, but I struggled with the pacing. The book takes 50 odd pages before we get anywhere good, and then the relationship and inevitable betrayal from Silver takes all of about 20 pages. We spend far too long on boat terminology and not enough time with the actual action. I kept alternating scenes wanting Stevenson to hurry up to the good bit and then slow down once some action was actually happening. He seems to have completely reversed the pacing I wanted from the story within every scene.
Due to this, I can't see myself reading The Ebb Tide any time soon. My lack of knowledge of its story means I think I'll struggle with it even more than Treasure Island and there are far too many better books waiting for me on my shelves to bother with this.
As is so often the case with a classics - the ideas are great and the bare bones of a good story are there but it needs finessing. One can't help but compare it to the many adaptations of it that have come since, and in this case the adaptions are far better.
Due to this, I can't see myself reading The Ebb Tide any time soon. My lack of knowledge of its story means I think I'll struggle with it even more than Treasure Island and there are far too many better books waiting for me on my shelves to bother with this.
As is so often the case with a classics - the ideas are great and the bare bones of a good story are there but it needs finessing. One can't help but compare it to the many adaptations of it that have come since, and in this case the adaptions are far better.