Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Title: Treasure Island

Author: Robert Louis Stevenson (Scottish, 1850-1894)
Originally published: 1883
Page count: 194

Dates read: 8/10/2020-8/14/2020
2020 book goal progress: 22 out of 20
Month category: August - Summer (Travel / Sun) 
Back to the Classics category: Classic Adaptation


Read my other book reviews for my 2020 goal HERE.

Description on back of book:
For sheer storytelling delight and our adventure, Treasure Island has never been surpassed. From young Jim Hawking's first encounter with the sinister blind man Pew to the climactic battle with the most memorable villain in literature, Long John Silver, this novel has fired readers' imaginations for generations. A rousing tale of treachery, greed, and daring, Treasure Island continues to enthrall readers of all ages.

First sentence:
"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."

CAWPILE Rating: Overall - 7.6 - ⭐⭐⭐⭐
Characters      - 8
Atmosphere   - 8
Writing Style - 7
Plot                - 7
Intrigue          - 8
Logic             - 6
Enjoyment     - 9
What is a CAWPILE Rating?

Review:

I have never read this before and I was excited to compare it to the movie adaptation Treasure Planet. I liked the intro to the book; it basically said that this story is where a lot of general pirate lore originated from - which is really neat to me! The book was a lot of fun and I enjoyed many of the characters. My favorite character in both mediums was definitely Ben Gunn/B.E.N. I also hate that I loved Long John Silver so much, even though he was even darker in the book than the movie. 

The book was by far better than the movie, which was a bit of a disappointment to me - I've always enjoyed the movie. The movie is a very quick summary of the book and you lose a lot of the details and tension from the story. There also are characters in the book completely missing in the movie (such as the squire) and several characters from the book in the movie are drastically changed from who they are in the story (such as the doctor). Even the name of the ship they go out treasure hunting in is changed from Hispaniola to RLS Legacy (as a nod to author Robert Louis Stevenson). Oh, and, other than Jim's mom (who doesn't go on the trip in either medium), there are no females in the story - and no romance.

Overall, it was a great book - especially when you remember it's a children's book. Unfortunately, a film I had greatly enjoyed as a kid has dimmed in my eyes since reading the book - oh, well. If you didn't have to read this one for school (like I didn't), I highly suggest you give this book a read,

Now I'm off to read another book... but since a review should be more about the author of the book than about the writer of the blog, I will let Robert Louis Stevenson have the last words:

     "'Is this Ben Gunn a man?'

     'I don't know, sir,' said I. 'I am not very sure whether he's sane.'

     'If there's any doubt about the matter, he is,' returned the doctor. 'A man who has been three years biting his nails on a desert island, Jim, can't expect to appear as sane as you or me. It doesn't lie in human nature. Was it cheese you said he had a fancy for?'

     'Yes, sir, cheese,' I answered.

     'Well, Jim,' says he, 'just see the good that comes of being dainty in your food. You've seen my snuff-box, haven't you? And you never saw me take snuff, the reason being that in my snuff-box I carry a piece of Parmesan cheese - a cheese made in Italy, very nutritious. Well, that's for Ben Gunn!'"