Treasure Island | Robert Louis Stevenson

I wish I owned this copy illustrated by Steadman

I've read quite a few short-stories by R.L. Stevenson including 'Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde', The Beach of Falsea, The Bottle Imp, Markheim, Thrawn Janet, The Isle of Voices, Will O' The Mill, The Bodysnatcher, Providence and the Guitar, and The Enchantress.  I must admit, however, to not remembering many of the stories with the exception of The Bottle Imp and Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, though I am brought back to the stories when I read a quick synopsis.  'Treasure Island' was the first novel I read by Stevenson, and I must admit that I enjoyed the adventure.

There are some good moral lessons and honor is constantly referred to, but for the most part it is just a good pirate story.  Stevenson has a way of keeping you interested and doesn't add much fluff... only content to add to the story.  I was happy to finally put a book to a bunch of pirate references that we take for granted as just being in existence, which I assumed originated in this novel.  John Silver was introduced, and I was surprised to know that he was a cook.  The phrase 'Yo-ho-ho and a bottle of rum' as well as 'shiver my timbers' was referenced here.  The island was called 'Skeleton Island' which is commonly referred to in pirate movies and peg-legged John Silver also has a parrot named 'Captain Flint'. 

John Silver was quite an interesting pirate - quite intelligent and always playing both sides.  It was no wonder he was able to live in difficult times for a pirate with a severe physical deficiency (loss of a leg).

There were a few things that made me chuckle in this novel.  For some reason, I really found that the references to how bad rum is and how upstanding 'brandy' was, rather funny.  At first, it seemed like Stevenson preached moderation of alcohol but he also had a distinction between good and poor alcohol, and this I found rather comical and indicative of British culture.

I believe I read an abridged version of this novel as a child, and I wish I would have read the real thing.  The prose was very simple and I found myself learning quite a lot about different tall-ship terms.  Thank you for the pictures Wikipedia, they helped bring the novel to life for a land lubber like myself.

I often laugh when I hear about someone wanting an 'easy read' and they pick up something by Dan Brown [poor Brown - I pick on him so much] to go sit on a beach.  I would rather bring 'Treasure Island'... a light adventure read that stimulates the imagination.

Book Beginnings | Treasure Island



Robert Louis Stevenson

 It's Christmas time, and I'm behind in next month's book club book and I have just decided to undergo a personal challenge to read "War and Peace."  It's not an ideal time to start a new book and it's not the season to read about pirates but arrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr, why not?

"Treasure Island" is short, so perhaps I can finish by the end of the month.  Usually I pull out a book beginning post on Friday but it's the holidays and Friday is the day before Christmas.  So, without further ado, here is the opening line from 'Treasure Island':

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 the 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.


That's a long sentence, but think about the adventure!  The sentence describes why this tale is being told and talks of an island, treasure, and inn and an old seaman with a sword living with the narrator.  Not surprising why this book became a classic with children... this would have roped me in.  What do you think of the opening line?