Treasure Island - Robert Louis Stevenson

Published by Aerie Books Ltd: USA, 1988.
Originally published 1883.

A true classic, Treasure Island tells the story of Jim Hawkins, a boy living with his parents in a sea-side inn in the 1700s, who becomes caught up in the search for the buried treasure of Captain Flint, a notorious pirate. Along the way he encounters various pirates, a castaway named Ben Gunn, and is befriended by the one-legged cook, Long John Silver. 

Treasure Island is an incredibly well-known tale, and the character of Long John Silver is the most well-known part of that story - his name itself is almost a spoiler of sorts, as we come to the story with our preconceived ideas of what sort of individual he will be. Reading the book, the reason for this popularity is discovered. As is the case with King Solomon's Mines, a book that was written in a similar era, Treasure Island takes a while to 'adjust to' when reading, but as the story picks up it becomes more and more gripping. Robert Louis Stevenson has a great feel for the art of cliffhangers, and often as we approached the end of a chapter we found ourselves eager to learn what would unfold in the next pages.

Stevenson has also understood his characters well, and there was an occasion when, while reading, one of us would make a comment on what we felt a character should do, only for that character to indeed do that in the pages to come. 

A fun adventure, a classic story, and one that has me keen to rewatch the various movie versions of it, particularly Muppet Treasure Island (Tim Curry makes a great Long John).

Completed with Elise, 20 November 2020.



(Elise Books)

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