Argh matey! I finally got to this classic!

I’ve wanted to read Treasure Island for most of my life. This book is not only a classic but it brings forth the lore of pirates, lost treasure and a love for adventure.

While moving, I wanted an audiobook that would entertain me while packing up the mess.

Looking through the Audible Originals, I came across Treasure Island and thought,
“Why not! Let’s give this one a try and hope for this best.”

The Audible Original was well done for this book and I loved all the different narrators that they used for the characters.
Long John Silver, Jim Hawkins, Ben Gunn to the parrot Captain Flint were all fun to listen to while the swashbuckling was going down.

If you struggle with reading this classic, maybe try the audiobook for this one.
I vastly enjoyed this one while dealing with the chore of moving!

“Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest—
Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!
Drink and the devil had done for the rest—
Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!”

With this shanty ringing in the air begins the best pirate adventure.
Follow young Jim Hawkins from his home in the Admiral Benbow Inn on the English coast, through the deep seas of the Atlantic, to Treasure Island. Late in the voyage he discovers that most of the ship's crew are pirates with the worst one of all (Long John Silver) appearing to be his close friend.

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The Treasure Map
The paper had been sealed in several places with a thimble by way of seal; the very thimble, perhaps, that I had found in the captain’s pocket. The doctor opened the seals with great care, and there fell out the map of an island, with latitude and longitude, soundings, names of hills and bays and inlets, and every particular that would be needed to bring a ship to a safe anchorage upon its shores. It was about nine miles long and five across, shaped, you might say, like a fat dragon standing up, and had two fine land-locked harbours, and a hill in the centre part marked “The Spy-glass.” There were several additions of a later date, but above all, three crosses of red ink—two on the north part of the island, one in the southwest—and beside this last, in the same red ink, and in a small, neat hand, very different from the captain’s tottery characters, these words: “Bulk of treasure here.”

Promises kept?
“Ah,” said Silver, “it were fortunate for me that I had Hawkins here. You would have let old John be cut to bits, and never given it a thought, doctor.”

“Not a thought,” replied Dr. Livesey cheerily.

A likeable rogue
Long John Silver is bad, but has a heart of gold. He had killed many men in order to keep his promises and his chance of getting his share of pirate gold.

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Enjoy!

One of the most popular pirate fiction stories ever told. It introduces so many tropes we still associate with pirates to this day. This speaks volumes about how great this story actually is.


We all know the story. Jim Hawkins is a young boy who receives a treasure map from Billy Bones, a pirate whose former associates very much like to get their hands on said map. A crew is assembled to go on the adventure of a lifetime. But the ship’s crew are not who they say they are.


Overall, it’s a pretty simple treasure hunt adventure featuring pirates, with a few solid twists. But it’s just so gripping and so easy to read. This is an absolutely incredible feat considering how long ago this book was written. And it also features some strong themes like greed and friendship. Honestly, if you like pirates this classic book is simply a must read.

TO THE HESITATING PURCHASER

If sailor tales to sailor tunes,
Storm and adventure, heat and cold,
If schooners, islands, and maroons,
And buccaneers, and buried gold,
And all the old romance, retold
Exactly in the ancient way,
Can please, as me they pleased of old,
The wiser youngsters of today:

—So be it, and fall on! If not,
If studious youth no longer crave,
His ancient appetites forgot,
Kingston, or Ballantyne the brave,
Or Cooper of the wood and wave:
So be it, also! And may I
And all my pirates share the grave
Where these and their creations lie!

I honestly don’t remember if I ever actually read Treasure Island as a kid. Between various movies (Muppet and otherwise), it’s a story that’s just part of popular culture. Practically every pirate stereotype comes from this novel. Buried treasure, and a map to that treasure where X literally marks the spot. Mutiny. Drunk pirates. Peg legs. A talking parrot on the shoulder. “Fifteen men on the dead man’s chest—Yo-ho-ho, and a bottle of rum!”

Robert Louis Stevenson reportedly wrote this book for his 12-year-old son, and I don’t consider it an insult to say that it reads that way. The protagonist, Jim Hawkins, is a young man caught between the mutinous pirates, led by the charismatic Long John Silver, and the smaller band of honest men, led by honest Captain Smollet. The book is full of action sequences, narrow escapes, crosses and double-crosses. It’s not subtle, and outside of Long John Silver—whose complexity is the only real wrinkle to the story—the characters are exactly who they seem to be.

As an adult, I preferred reading  The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, which is a much more serious story exploring the duality of human nature and the struggle within each of us between good and evil. But Treasure Island is every bit as timeless and influential; it’s simply written for a younger audience. The fact that one person created both of these classics is remarkable. If you’ve never read it before, or are looking for a classic action-adventure tale, it’s recommended.

La historia de "La Isla del Tesoro" nos narra las aventuras por las que pasa Jim Hawkins luego de embarcarse con el doctor Livesey y el caballero Trelawney hacia una isla en busca de un tesoro hallado en las manos de un pirata muerto cerca al lugar donde vivía.
Es un libro que sin ser histórico ni (por lo menos para mí) netamente pirata nos habla de rasgos de piratería. Es una historia de piratas metida en una historia de marineros. Jim allí tendrá que usar todo su ingenio y su poca resistencia física si no quiere caer abatido a manos de los salvajes pero simplones piratas, ser arrojado a los peces o torturado. Al ser una historia para niños Stevenson suavizó digamos la historia, no es algo que necesariamente hunda la historia, me gustan ver novelas bien escritas, tal vez simples pero con el hilo de la narración muy bien llevado como en este caso. Sin descripciones extraordinarias ni monólogos abundantes pero que sin embargo nos explica bien las inquietudes y deseos de los que allí navegan.
Es como un acertijo ir descubriendo lo que se traman, sus planes, y eso la verdad me pareció interesante. A pesar de todo me gustó mucho la habilidad de Jim y su osadía para actuar frente a los piratas, me encantó también cómo está dibujado Jhon El Largo con su astucia, verborrea y crueldad sin parangón. Se establece una relación admiración-odio entre Jim y el viejo cocinero, un duelo, casi una complicidad. Eso me pareció lo más profundo de la novela.
En suma una historia sencilla, no tan épica, pero que sin embargo me sirvió para pensar nuevamente en leer más libros de aventuras.

Last year I read Kidnapped and I was truly amazed by the fact that I ignored the existence of such a good novel, so I decided that I definitively have to read more Stevenson. Treasure Island was the second novel I ever read. Then I was too young and I realized I didn’t remember neither the plot nor the characters nor anything. Truth be told I remember it was a novel about a treasure in a desert island and someone (a pirate?) called John Silver. Even though I had completely forgotten what Treasure Island was about (besides the treasure and the island), I was absolutely certain that I really enjoyed reading it and that it was a great book. So after the great experience of reading kidnapped I decided that I had to read Treasure Island one more time. I recently found it in a bookstore and for a moment doubted about buying it: I was afraid it might be a children’s tale or that I wouldn’t enjoy it as much as I did the first time.
Well, I bought I read it and NO REGRETS. Actually I was sorry I waited so long for reading it again, this is simply a marvellous tale.
The nautical terms and the pirate slang made reading a little slow at first but then I got used to it. The rest is awesome. You can read what this book is about in Wikipedia so I won’t bother you with the “Young Jim Hawkins meets captain Flint, blah blah blah” I will say this though: Yes, it’s a coming of age book, and no, it is not a "tale for children". If you read this book when you were young and kind of remember liking it, read it again. If, on the other hand, you kind of remember not liking it, then read it again, chances are you were too young to grasp all the beauty of this book. #JustSaying.
Treasure Island is the result of a very talented author who puts in one place all the elements to create a classic of literature: A great plot, amazing descriptions, and incredibly well developed characters. The prose is magnificent: the pace is excellent with more than one cliff-hanger and a couple of twist that make you put the book down for a moment until you realise what just happened and then eagerly resume reading to know what will happen next.

TL;DR: Read this book if you haven’t. Read it again if you read it when you were young. Because it’s awesome, that’s why.

This review was also posted in my blog

Really fast paced and thrilling! I would rather read a good, entertaining classic with convincing characters with an unpredictable plot than the average hyped books.

I love this book so much!

The writing is so easy and the plot twists are so well done. Yes, I am talking about a dark adventurous story of a boy who has the secret map of a treasure who has to go along with a bunch of cheeky adult men.

I love the writing more so because of the realistic characters (yes, I know the characters are based on times which is quite historical yet they do sound so alive and realistic like the adults us and so I like them for who they are despite their unlikeliest parts).

But damn I was up the entire day and night just to know what happens next each time until I reached the last line. That shows how thrilling the entire book is! The betrayals, the fights, the eerie moments the boy had to endure. It’s so worth it. The ending wraps up all the chaos and the games the characters played.

Yes, we have to survive the storm of a story here and close the book with a thud because it’s so damn satisfying how it ends!

n  n    Book Reviewn  n
4 out of 5 stars to Treasure Island, a coming-of-age-of-sort novel, written in 1882 by Robert Louis Stevenson. I read this book as a young adult when I received it as a Christmas present from an aunt and uncle. At first, although I knew it was a classic, I wasn't too anxious to jump into it. I wasn't a big fan of pirates and boats. I wasn't a normal kid, what can I tell you. But... it was a gift and I thought I should give it a chance. And once I did, I loved it. I had read Peter Pan recently and felt a kismet connection of sorts between them. From the adventures to the bonds, to the test of good versus evil, the book had so many wonderful moments. And since then, I've sampled many different iterations, from movies to other books with pirate stories, all the way to Once Upon a Times interpretation. It's truly a remarkable story that helps young adults figure out how to approach a world full of fears, hopes and questions. And to think it's a pirate and a cook who help you to figure some of it out. But it's more. There's bonding. And team work. And treasure hunting. And challenges. And mystery. All culminating in reaching one's goals in ways you didn't necessarily expect.

n  n    About Men  n
For those new to me or my reviews... here's the scoop: I read A LOT. I write A LOT. And now I blog A LOT. First the book review goes on Goodreads, and then I send it on over to my WordPress blog at https://thisismytruthnow.com, where you'll also find TV & Film reviews, the revealing and introspective 365 Daily Challenge and lots of blogging about places I've visited all over the world. And you can find all my social media profiles to get the details on the who/what/when/where and my pictures. Leave a comment and let me know what you think. Vote in the poll and ratings. Thanks for stopping by.

Although rated as a children's book, there is some real terror at the beginning as well as a murder. This is a classic and wonderful tale of pirates that has been made into innumerable films and features characters that have entered deeply into the imagination of children that now they have heard of the characters but have no idea what book they came from and almost assume that they were historical figures. Perhaps the best screen adaptation I have enjoyed of Treasure Island is the prequel series called Black Sails that happens before Flint hides his treasure. That however is definitely NOT for kids as there is loads of sex, violence and language. Treasure Island on the other hand, features some scary scenes at the beginning but once the ocean adventure is underway, it is pure joy to read - even as an adult.

Motivations to read Treasure Island have been pinging me all my life. Most recently I read Henry James's famous essay “The Art of Fiction,” in which he says “I have just been reading . . . the delightful story of Treasure Island, by Mr. Robert Louis Stevenson.” That got me recalling all the favorable mentions of Stevenson in good old Jorge Luis Borges' Selected Non-Fictions. More recently, while streaming Blade Runner 2049, I decided to throw in the towel when Rick Deckerd says to Officer K “'You mightn’t happen to have a piece of cheese about you, now?'” which is an allusion to Treasure Island's desperate Ben Gunn. Thus, was I finally sent regressing. Well, not really; I’d never read it as a boy. And neither, says James, is it a book solely for boys. It’s a book for all ages, rather like Defoe’s Robinson Crusoe. Read it. It’s pure narrative pleasure—a treasure in itself.

A great joy is the suspense, but also the description of passing across the landscape. This is a gift all the great novelists share—Gabriel García-Márquez, Thomas Hardy, Edith Wharton, V.S. Naipaul spring to mind. Here’s a favorite passage as the search for the treasure finally begins:

Heavy, miry ground and a matted, marish vegetation, greatly delayed our progress; but by little and little the hill began to steepen and become stony under foot. It was, indeed, a most pleasant portion of the island that we were now approaching. A heavy-scented broom and many flowering shrubs had almost taken the place of grass. Thickets of green nutmeg trees were dotted here and there with the red columns and the broad shadow of the pines; and the first mingled their spice with the aroma of the others. The air, besides, was fresh and stirring, and this, under the sheer sunbeams, was a wonderful refreshment of our senses. (p. 166)

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com:]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted here illegally.)

The CCLaP 100: In which I read for the first time a hundred so-called "classics," then write essays on whether or not they deserve the label

Essay #32: Treasure Island (1883), by Robert Louis Stevenson

The story in a nutshell:
Inspired by a doodle from his step-son and originally written as a rainy-day family diversion, the slim 1883 children's book Treasure Island (originally published serially in 1881 and '82) was not only the first novel of sickly genre author Robert Louis Stevenson's short career, but eventually one of his most famous. Essentially the tale of young adventurer Jim Hawkins, the story opens with him as a dutiful mama's boy off the southwest coast of England, helping to run a family inn that sees little action because of being located much more inland than most of the other local sailor-oriented hotels. Ah, but this is exactly what brings the drunken, scary Billy Bones there, where it becomes quickly apparent that he is on the run and in semi-hiding from a whole crew of mysterious, nefarious characters; and when they finally show up after Bones' alcoholism-related death, the family realizes that they are in fact pirates, on the hunt for a treasure map that Bones stole from a recent mutinous voyage that went horribly, horribly wrong. This then convinces a group of local Victorian gentlemen and family friends to go after the treasure themselves, eventually buying a boat and hiring a local crew to take them to this far-off tropical island; but little do they realize that the sailors they've hired are none other than the surviving pirates of the former mutiny, led by the charismatic yet psychopathic one-legged "ship's cook" Long John Silver, who plan on turning on the ship's owners once actually reaching the island and retrieving the treasure they were forced to leave behind during their last voyage. The rest of the book, then, is essentially an adventure tale, full of all kinds of legitimate surprises that I won't spoil here; let's just say that a lot of swashbuckling takes place, that many details regarding ship-sailing are faithfully recorded, and that the day is eventually saved by our fast-thinking teenage hero Jim, no surprise at all for a book designed specifically to amuse fellow teenage boys.

The argument for it being a classic:
Well, to begin with, it's arguably the most famous pirate tale ever written, and in fact established for the first time many of the stereotypes now known within the genre, including one-legged buccaneers, treasure maps with a big 'X' on them, shoulder-sitting parrots squawking "Pieces of eight! Pieces of eight!," and even the very idea of British pirates being associated with exotic tropical islands in the Caribbean, an association now so strong that it's almost impossible to separate the two; and of course it's also the novel that created the unforgettable Long John Silver, now a thoroughly ingrained part of our Western culture at large. Add to this that it's simply an incredibly thrilling tale (rumor has it that England's Prime Minister at the time stayed up until two in the morning to finish his first reading of it), that it still holds up surprisingly well even 126 years later, and that it's also of immense importance to fans of Stevenson, a prolific author whose genius is just now starting to be widely recognized, after being dismissed by the literary community for almost a century as a frivolous "kiddie writer;" and now add to all this that Treasure Island is a surprisingly sophisticated examination of the era's ethics and moral code as well, taking an unblinking look at the "Victorian Ideal" as manifested in different ways among the stuffy gentlemen "heroes" (unable to improvise in changing circumstances, much to their detriment), the anarchic pirate villains (who almost kill themselves off just on their own, through drunkenness, ignorance and jealousy), and the ruthless yet principled Silver who straddles both these extremes.

The argument against:
A weak one at best; like many of the genre prototypes of the late Victorian Age, one could argue that this is simply too flippant a tale to be considered a classic. But we already established a long time ago here at the CCLaP 100 that genre stories are indeed eligible for "classic" status in this series, making this argument inapplicable in our case.

My verdict:
Holy crap! What an incredible book! And what a refreshing change in this case to not have to add my usual caveat to statements like these regarding late Victorian genre experiments: "...you know, for a century-old children's story that's kind of outdated and that you need to take with a grain of salt." Because the fact is that Treasure Island to this day still reads as fresh and exciting as the day it came out, which is a real testament to the writing skills of Robert Louis Stevenson (who I was already a big fan of before this essay series even started, because of his superbly creepy and also surprisingly relevant Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde); what a shame that this illness-plagued author ended up dying at the age of 44 in the prime of his career, instead of surviving to pen the truly mindblowing mature works I'm convinced that he had been capable of. And it's exactly for the reasons that his fans bring up that this book remains such an amazing one, and how it is that it can still easily be read for pleasure instead of having to force one's way through for historical purposes; because it is indeed not only a thrilling adventure tale, not only written in a style that largely rejects the purplish finery of the Victorian Age in which it was created, but is also a deceptively complex look at the entire nature of "gentlemanness" that was so prevalent at the time, gently poking holes in the entire notion of what it means to be a Refined Citizen of the Empire, even while acknowledging that a complete disavowal of these gentlemanly standards is even worse. There's a very good reason that Long John Silver has endured so strongly in our collective imagination over the last century, when so many other fictional pirates have fallen by the wayside, because he turns out to be a surprisingly complicated character worth coming back to again and again, a vicious killer but with a consistent internal moral code worth perversely admiring; it's but one of many reasons that I confidently label this book a undeniable classic today, and highly recommend it to anyone on the search for the best of 19th-century literature.

Is it a classic? Absolutely

Note finale : 5/5

Alors ce que j'ai vraiment appris en lisant ce livre (et que je pensais déjà savoir), c'est l'importance du choix de la traduction. J'ai commencé ma lecture de L'Île au Trésor avec celle d'André Bay. Je la trouve très bien (vraiment, je ne me pose pas la question de la traduction, je trouve le roman très bien), je suis pris dans l'aventure, j'adore le personnage de Long John Silver, je suis subjugué (comme je m'attendais à l'être) par la vivacité de l'héritage de ce livre. J'ai l'impression que tout l'imaginaire autour de la piraterie s'est cristallisé autour de ce récit. J'ai eu cette impression à la lecture de rares livres (Le Seigneur des Anneaux et Dracula, notamment) : un mythe moderne est né dans ces pages.

Et je tombe sur la version illustrée par Anton Lomaev, éditée par Sarbacane, sorti en 2023 dans une boutique. Je trouve les illustrations vraiment chouettes et c'était dans un contexte où j'avais quelques dizaines de minutes à tuer, donc je me dis "Ecoute, t'aimes beaucoup le livre, offre-toi une version illustrée. Bon, c'est pas la même traduction apparemment, tant pis, tu seras peut-être un peu déstabilisé mais bon...". Et donc je découvre la traduction de Jean-Jacques Greif : et là, c'est un véritable coup de foudre. J'expliquerai en détail pourquoi dans le Coin Lecture qui va en parler mais globalement, il y a un parti pris dans la traduction des dialogues qui rend tout infiniment plus vivant, plus immersif, plus amusant aussi, quelque part plus terrifiant... avec cette traduction, tout est plus "là". Et avec cette traduction, L'Île au trésor de Stevenson passe, dans mon appréciation, de "Classique que j'ai vraiment beaucoup aimé et c'est pas souvent" à "Gros coup de cœur pour un classique et c'est rare".