Title: Treasure Island
Author: Robert
Louis Stevenson
Literary Level:
Advanced
Rating: 3/5
Published as a series in 1881-1882
by Robert Louis Stevenson. Tells the story of a young boy named Jim Hawkins running
amongst sailors and pirates. A captain harbors himself in the inn Hawkins’
mother run but nothing ends peacefully as he is targeted for having the map to
a great sum of coins from different places. Soon after his untimely demise and
a hunt for the map, young Hawkins sets out in Hispaniola (the ship) with a
doctor, a captain, and Long John Silvers, who recruits the remaining crew. Jim
finds out that Silvers is no civilian but a member of the captain that hid the
treasure and also a pirate that is not willing to share the spoils with the
doctor and the ship’s captain. Once near the island, a mutiny ensues.
Successfully escaping, Jim, the Doctor, the ship’s Captain, and a handful of
men hide from the pirates. Jim encounters a former member left for dead. Eventually, everyone comes to an agreement, after several deaths, to find the treasure. The
pirates do not keep their word and attack; however, Silvers has a change of
heart and helps the other side. They find the treasure and mount it in the ship,
only a handful making it back home.
I have conflicting feelings about this
story, mostly because there’s an animated movie interpretation that is widely
accepted to be great—which I agree with. The conflict arises when I refuse to
compare them to each other. The book is underwhelming, to say the least, bland
characters, a character used a Chekhov’s gun with the only personality that he
is mostly bizarre or crazy. And it contrasts with the great storytelling of the
movie, the loveable characters, and a novel interpretation of the setting in outer
space. It’s not a terrible book, just not what I would expect of a top one-hundred
classic novel. Still would recommend it; a good read to pass the time.