Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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19 of 19 people found the following review helpful:
One of the greatest pirate stories of all time, 23 Jun 2005
Treasure Island is arguably one of the greatest works of storytelling in the English language. Stevenson created other novels, with greater depth and insight, but the highlight of Treasure Island is the combination of color and poetic prose that distinguishes his tale of piracy and boyhood adventure from the rest of the field of other adventure books. The title alone paints an image of suspense, and salty pirates battling over great riches. Most people tend to view Treasure Island as a story for children, but it can be enjoyed by anyone longing for a rollicking adventure. Like so many stories from the 1800s, each chapter ends with a cliffhanger, and once you get used to the language the author's humor shines through.
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16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
Smart as paint, 9 Sep 2006
I first read Treasure Island when I was about 9 or 10 and although it was a fairly challenging read for a child whose literary excursions up to then had largely been confined to The Famous Five, I loved every page of it. There was adventure, violence (loads of it), tall ships, tall tales, goodies, baddies, maps, treasure and, best of all, pirates! At that age there's something deeply evocative about word like pirate, stockade, musket and so on and I remember ed Jim's adventures with great fondness over the years.
In a fit of nostalgia I decided to read it again, although I was genuinely worried that I would n't like it now. If anything it's even better as it has all the great elements I remember from my childhood, but now I appreciate it on a different level and see that it's not all adventure on the high seas, but Treasure Island is a book with vivid and complex characters. Long John Silver remains the charismatic rogue I remember and even though he's a rotten villain and tricks Jim at every turn, you can't help but like him. Similarly, Blind Pew remains the terrifying character I remembered him to be and he should rattle more than a few big kids and little kids with his fierce roaring and cursing.
Some might say that Treasure Island won't appeal to today's children but this book is immediately accessible to any child with an imagination and an attention span longer than 2 minutes. In the same way, it will appeal to overgrown kids keen to live a bit of their childhoods again. It remains, as Long John Silver would say "smart as paint".
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10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:
subtle masterpiece, 6 May 2006
There is more to this book than meets the eye, you may lay to that. Apart from the fairy tale plot there is superb dialogue and dialect hidden in the pages. The relationship between Long John and Jim unfolds grippingly. There are also superbly detailed scenes of action and adventure allways achieved with an economy of language. The seafaring language is used very deliberately without any ostentation. Always a pleasure to read. Great pace.
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