Stevenson, Robert Louis. Treasure Island. New York : Oxford Press. 1883. Print.
Squire Trelawney, Dr Livesey, and the rest of these gentlemen having asked me to write down the whole particulars about Treasure Island from the beginning to the end, keeping nothing back but the bearings of the island, and that only because there is still treasure not yet lifted, I take up my pen in trhe year of grace 17--, and go back to the time when my father kept the "Admiral Benbow" inn, and the brown old seaman, with the sabre cut, first took up his lodging under our roof.
Description:
Yes, hard to believe but I had never before read Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (not counting my beloved Classics Illustrated comic book version). But I was inspired to read this adventure tale after recently watching the film, On Golden Pond , where Henry Fonda tells his bored grandson that he needs to read this book immediately. I can't go against Henry Fonda, so picked up a copy.
And it's every bit the page-turned that I had hoped for. Sure, the language can be stiff from the era it was written in and the age it depicted. But the action was first rate. Treasure, pirates, marooning, the Black Spot, a peg-legged captain, and a young adventurous boy. Who could ask for more?
For those unfamiliar with the tale, young Jim Hawkins comes in possession of a map to the nefarious pirate Captain Flint's treasure from a mate who was on board Flint's ship when it was was buried (along with the six men who buried it and were immediately killed by Flint). Others, of course, want the map, but Hawkins avoids them and sails as cabin boy on a boat commissioned by a wealthy ship owner and a doctor to seek the treasure.
Unfortunately, their crew is recruited by silver-tongued Long John Silver, their first hire as ship's cook. Unbeknownst to the owners and the ship captain, Silver hires dastardly men from Flint's pirate crew. Their plan is to find the treasure, dig it up and put it onboard, then mutiny and kill the ship's owners, captain, doctor, and anyone else who doesn't agree to their plan.
Silver is a true leader of men, but also can quickly change allegiances when his plans don't work out. Is he a good guy or bad? Depends on how the wind blows and who seems to have the upper hand in the fate of the treasure and control of the ship.
I was hooked, from the plot to the characters and setting, and even to the formal language. The novel certainly keeps you guessing as to whom to trust, who will turn traitor, what plans will succeed or be thwarted, and how will everything work out in the end, all the components of a great story.
So pick it up and give it a whirl. You'll be able to tell in the first few pages whether or not this is the novel you can spend time with. I for one was all in and enjoyed taking myself to an age long ago, experiencing the thrill of hunting for treasure, and meeting some very dasterly people.
[If this book interests you, be sure to check out:]
Dumas, Alexandre. The Count of Monte Cristo
Adventure, treasure, revenge, love, evil-doers and wrongful imprisonment all come together in this classic novel, another page-turner of adventure.
Happy reading.
Fred
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