The Bottle Imp [Hardcover]

Robert Louis Stevenson (Author), Jacqueline Mair (Illustrator)

Book Description

Age Level: 8 and up | Grade Level: 4 and up

Keawe buys a magic bottle that grants its owner all wishes, but its enchantment is such that he must sell it before he dies or he will be condemned to eternity in hell.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

In the later years of his life, the Scottish-born Stevenson and his American wife moved to Samoa, where this tale was originally published, in Samoan, in 1891. Offering an engrossing spin on a time-honored theme-the risky business of making a pact with the devil-this short story is a radiant jewel. It recounts the mercurial lot of Keawe, a Hawaiian who purchases a bottle inhabited by an imp capable of granting any wish. Yet this enticing object holds a dark curse: anyone who dies with it in his possession will burn forever in hell. And here's the sticky rub: one can only sell the bottle for less than its purchase price. Keawe rids himself of the bottle after acquiring a palatial home. But when he needs it again to ensure his happiness with a newfound love, its cost is, chillingly, one cent, and the responsibility of ownership becomes a good deal more complex. Stevenson throws unexpected curves and laces his narrative with memorable imagery and canny understatement. Blending period and contemporary elements, Mair's warm, grainy paintings hold more than a hint of Gauguin's renderings of the tropics' lush vegetation and gleaming blue seas and skies. Ages 8-12.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From School Library Journal

Grade 6-8?Published first in Samoan in 1891, this story is suffused with the magic of Polynesian culture. Keawe, a native Hawaiian, comes upon the wealthy but downcast owner of a magic bottle. His fortune comes from a demon that lives in the bottle and gives its owner anything he desires. There is a catch, of course. The owner must sell it for less than he paid or "burn in hell forever." Being young and adventurous, Keawe buys it for $50, and his wishes are granted. In addition, he sells the bottle to a friend who is fully aware of the stipulations it carries. Keawe then meets and falls in love with the beautiful Kokua, but now his circumstances take a dreadful turn for he discovers a spot of leprosy on his flesh. To reverse this condition, he seeks out the bottle imp, and he finally traces it to a man who has purchased it for two cents. The horror of Keawe's dilemma is plain; if he buys the bottle for a penny he will be unable to sell it again, and he will loose his soul. Yet his love for Kokua is so great that he makes the purchase. This transaction sets the stage for events that follow. Told with all the elegance of Stevenson's style, the story is enriched by Mair's opaque watercolors that recall the work of Paul Gauguin. Her primitive style and brilliant colors add to the tension of the story and evoke the lush environs of the setting. Older readers who enjoy horror stories but are ready for something challenging will surely find this spooky tale satisfying.?Barbara Kiefer, Teachers College, Columbia University, NY
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc.

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Product Details

• Reading level: Ages 8 and up
  
• Hardcover: 60 pages
• Publisher: Clarion Books; 1ST edition (September 9, 1996)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0395721016
• ISBN-13: 978-0395721018
• Product Dimensions: 10.1 x 9 x 0.5 inches
• Shipping Weight: 15.2 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.2 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #2,636,689 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Robert Louis Stevenson (1850-1894) was a novelist, poet, short-story writer, and essayist. In 1883, while bedridden with tuberculosis, he wrote what would become one of the best known and most beloved collections of children's poetry in the English language, A Child's Garden of Verses. Block City is taken from that collection. Stevenson is also the author of such classics as Treasure Island, Kidnapped, and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Careful what you wish for, December 9, 2001

By 

Alyssa A. Lappen (Earth) - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: The Bottle Imp (Hardcover)

Stevenson wrote this tale of the islands in 1891 and it appeared in Samoan before being published in English.

The story is one of want and envy. Although it ends happily, the narrator comes perilously close to living eternally with the devil--all for his envy. There is poetry in this prose, love, and of course magic.

The tale opens as Keawe the Great--a poor, brave, mariner, a reader and writer, shipped on a vessel to San Francisco where he saw a house "smaller than some others, but all finished and beautified like a toy." Its steps shone like silver, the borders of its gardens bloomed like garlands and the windows shone like diamonds. Keawe could see the man who lived there "like a fish in a pool upon the reef."

Of course the owner's life was perfect in every respect, except that he owned a magic bottle which must be sold for less than he bought it, or else in death he would be condemned to hell. He was ill, and therefore desperate to sell the bottle. Keawe bought it.

Small children may not appreciate this story, which seems best suited for independent or sophisticated readers of 11 and up.

But the tale (beautifully illustrated) is as much a treasure as Stevenson's most famous classic, Treasure Island. Alyssa A. Lappen

2 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars More interesting than Stevenson's other stories, December 14, 2004

By 

Kate Morgan (US) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Bottle Imp (English Easy Readers) (Paperback)

"The Bottle Imp" has a very creative, interesting storyline.

When Keawe, a Hawaii native, travels to San Francisco and comes across a beautiful house and a man looking to sell a mysterious bottle with magic powers, he buys it. Keawe wishes for a beautiful house, as well. Upon getting it, he sells the bottle, but again buys it back for a cent. (The seller must sell the bottle for less than he bought it for, or the bottle will come straight back to him.) After a string of events, Keawe and his new wife, Kokua, again look to sell the bottle to save Keawe from going to Hell for having the bottle. They go to Tahiti, where there are coins for less than an American cent. No one wants to buy the bottle until a drunkard buys it and Keawe and Kokua live happily ever after.

A very creative storyline makes for an interesting, fun-to-read book, though Stevenson's writing is sometimes hard to understand and read. I recommend this books before Stevenson's others.

~Atalanta

3.0 out of 5 stars I think I'll buy the hard copy!, April 8, 2010

By 

L. Marantz (Kaneohe, HI) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: The Bottle Imp (Kindle Edition)

I read the Bottle Imp on my daughter's Kindle. There were several annotated footnotes with no footnote to be found, which was rather distracting.

This is a wonderful tale of self sacrifice and the fight between good and evil in which the evil is stored in a bottle!

A classic story, told very well by RLS from a Native Hawaiian voice. Robert Louis Stevenson spent much time in the Pacific Islands and you can tell he knows them well from this lovely quick read.

I plan on purchasing the hard copy because I was disappointed with the Kindle version. Illustrations were missing as were the footnotes that I mentioned above.

I rate three star becuase I purchased the Kindle version, otherwise I would have rated 5 stars for Stevenson's work.