Customer Reviews

Treasure Island (Classic Collection (Brilliance Audio))

5 star:		(253)
4 star:		(117)
3 star:		(34)
2 star:		(19)
1 star:		(21)

 

 

Treasure Island is perhaps THE classic pirate's tale. Robert Louis Stevenson, the author, created a rich story of adventure and treachery on the high seas all seen through the eyes of a boy named Jim Hawkins. Jim starts off as the son of tavern owners in a humble little port village. When an old seaman stays at the tavern, trouble soon follows him in the form of a pirate crew seeking revenge. I will not give away any more specific plot points, but events move forward to a great treasure hunt, treachery, and a surprisingly engaging story for adults as well as children.

Jim Hawkins is the hero of the story and he's a good lad with a stout heart. Long John Silver is the real star, however, and his character is a fascinating character study in moral ambiguity... or perhaps a study in amoral perfection. The pirate language is good and thick but this edition has plenty of notes to help you decipher some of the references that have become too obscure for today's readers. The plot moves along very briskly with no wasted scenes.

In short, Treasure Island well deserves its status as a beloved classic. It's a story of suspense and adventure that can be enjoyed at a child's level, but has substance for adults as well. I would recommend without reserve it to virtually anyone.

I am a sixth grade student living in Denver, Colorado. My review analyzes the novel Treasure Island by Robert Lewis Stevenson. Treasure Island was first published as a book in 1883. It has an enormous influence on the modern day perception of pirates, from their association with tropical islands and the "X" marking the spot where treasure is hidden; to the image of pirates with a wooden leg, parrots on their shoulders, scarred faces, and three cornered hats.
Treasure Island is a magical treasure hunting adventure on the high seas. The book is filled with pirates, mutiny and swashbuckling. It is told from the perspective of a boy Jim Hawkins. The story is filled with such unforgettable characters as the pirate Long John Silver, Dr. Livesey, and Squire Trelawney as they sail in search riches hidden on the mythical Treasure Island. The book opens in the Admiral Benbow inn, where Jim lives. Following a series of strange events involving a blind beggar, an old sea chest, and a scar faced old sailor; Jim becomes involved in the sea bound search for Treasure Island. The characters end up on a tropical island but find themselves caught up in a dangerous mutiny. This culminates in a battle with the mutineers in which several of the men are killed. Finally the search for the buried treasure commences. The story ends with the finding of the treasure and the marooning of the former mutineers.
Due to the time period in which Treasure Island was written, the language and sentence structure is complex and at times can be difficult to understand. Stevenson writes with a precise attention to detail and plot occasionally gets lost in the minor points of the story. I think that while Treasure Island is a great book, I would only recommend it to older readers owing to the complexity of the story. Although it can be tedious with its long descriptions and many fine points, I really enjoyed reading Treasure Island and would recommend it as a wonderful introduction to more complex novels.

How can you even review the ultimate pirate book of all time? I read it when I was 9 and loved it. I read it again when I was 34 and loved it again! (Actually, I read it several times between, as well.) Long John Silver is arguably one of the most Macchiavellian characters you will ever find between the covers of a book. (I'm mainly reviewing it to raise the average rating. Anyone who thinks this book is boring has to have a screw loose!) From the arrival of the mysterious Billy Bones, to the attack on the inn, to the sea voyage, to the mutiny, to the battle for the island, to the treasure hunt, even to the final fate of John Silver, this book is a stunning rollercoaster of suspense and adventure! I'd give it ten stars if I could.

Here's a bit of information you other readers might enjoy: the meaning of the pirates' song--

Fifteen men on a dead man's chest Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum!

The real-life pirate, Edward Teach (Blackbeard the Pirate) once marooned 15 of his men on a small island named Dead Man's Chest. He put them ashore with no weapons, equipment or supplies--just a bottle of rum.

All four things mentioned above can be found at your fingertips with Robert Louis Stevenson's "Treasure Island." Before Johnny Depp stumbled off of the Black Pearl, before Errol Flynn took us on swashbuckling journeys, and even before "Lucky" Jack Aubrey took to the water, Long John Silver and Jim Hawkins thrilled fans of high-seas adventure. "Treasure Island" tells the story of one young Jim Hawkins. It starts off in the simple setting of a family-owned inn where we are introduced to Billy Bones, an old seadog who has a secret. After a couple of visits from some strange characters, a confrontation occurs and a treasure map lands into the hands of Hawkins. From there, we set sail on the Hispaniola with Hawkins, the squire Trelawney, Dr. Livesey, the sea cook Silver, and a whole slew of pirates and scoundrels in general. All are after the treasure of Captain Flint, who graciously marked his treasure map with an "X" to show the way to the riches.

This is a wonderful tale of intrigue, double-crossing, greed, and swordplay. Promoted as a children's book, I'm sure that any adult will find this story captivating as well. Robert Louis Stevenson is a literary legend and deserves that honor based on this book alone. However, if you read this book and are interested to read more of Stevenson's work, check out "The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde," "Kidnapped," and "The Black Arrow." He also wrote a number of traveling books which are also fun to read.

Highly recommended.

I had already tried reading my copy of this book when I was far younger, but I was not as avid a reader as I am these days. Recently, parted from my copy, I picked up an old nondescript hardcover of Treasure Island at the library to complete the book in its entirety.

I found the first half of the book highly enjoyable, one that I recalled warmly as I re-read it. But as the book progressed, I was astounded at how difficult the reading was becoming; the pirate slang and their use of strange metaphors obviously grew proportionate to the amount of pirates in the scene. In one of the few moments of humor, the hero Hawkins even says, "`Well,' I said, `I don't understand one word that you've been saying. But that's neither here nor there[...].'" The dialects makes the book that much more realistic; in my mind, however, I wonder if children reading this book fully comprehend it, or were they simply smarter in the 19th century? After spoiling myself with easy modern thrillers, I had to hunker down and really concentrate my efforts in trying to understand the subtext. The rough slang slowed my reading down greatly, but increased my enjoyment. And, of course, having finally completed the book and knowing the true story, my re-read in a few years will be thrice as good!

In 1881, while vacationing in Scotland, Stevenson painted an island with his stepson which became the inspiration for the novel. He soon wrote 15 chapters, and completed the rest in Switzerland at the rate of one chapter a day. It was finally published as an entire novel in 1883.

Stevenson throws together goods that have become legendary in pirate lore: Pirates with fantastic names, like Captain Flint, Billy Bones, Black Dog, Pew, Israel Hands (based on the real-life member of Blackbeard's crew), and the now-infamous Long John Silver, himself with a parrot on his shoulder; a single treasure map that has three red crosses (designating two piles of treasure, one pile of arms); a beautiful schooner that's put through its paces; a 23 member crew (excluding Jim Hawkins, Doctor Livesey, and Squire Trelawney), most of whom become gentlemen of fortune; mutiny; double-crosses; the shanty "15 men on a Dead Man's chest/Yo ho ho and a bottle of rum"; the notorious Jolly Roger; spirits, superstition, and lore; and even a skeleton or two.

Treasure Island actually refers to the fictitious Skeleton Island---perhaps an inspiration for the children's book The Secret of Skeleton Island (1966)---, a sweltering jungle in the day and eerily submerged in mists in the early mornings. A strange coincidence I found led me to some interesting finds. Stevenson named an anchorage point after the pirate Captain Kidd. In 1935, Harold T. Wilkins published a book entitled "New Facts about Mysterious Captain Kidd and his Skeleton Island Chests," in which can be found one of Kidd's treasure maps. Two years after Wilkins's book was published a treasure hunter found an uncanny resemblance between this "Skeleton Island" and Oak Island in Nova Scotia, Canada. Oak Island's impervious Water Pit is purportedly where Captain Kidd buried part of his treasure before being hanged in 1701 (the Pit is also the main inspiration for the 1998 novel Riptide). In a twist worthy of Robinson himself, despite Kidd's map uncovering some of Oak Island's mysteries, Wilkins eventually stepped forward to admit his maps were fabricated. But was Stevenson alluding to Kidd's connection with Oak Island?

Treasure Island is an adventurous classic I heartily recommend anyone to read. I personally advocate reading the book if you're older, or re-reading it, to fully enjoy the environment created through the striking language. A fantastic aid in understanding pirate slang is the online Encyclopaedia Piratica. While you're at it, go to any map engine and plug in the latitude and longitude found at the end of Chapter 6, "The Captain's Papers," to see where Billy Bones claimed booty!

I am dumbfounded by the reviews that my peers have given Treasure Island. This book is a masterpiece of children's literature. It has everything one could hope for: action, intrigue, pirates, buried treasure... What more does it need? I, too, read the novel for my class, but it did not put me to sleep at all. Instead I couldn't put it down and had to read by flashlight after my Mom made me turn out my lights. It was incredible. Long John Silver is a creepy guy! As for the other reviewers who are my age, I hope you adults do not judge my generation by their ignorance and unwillingness to accept anything without man eating dinosurs. Treasure Island is an excellent novel.

RL Stevenson was born in 1850, and died in 1894. "Treasure Island" was first published in 1883, though was originally written for the amusement of Stevenson's stepson, Lloyd Osbourne.

Set in the 1700s, the book's hero is Jim Hawkins. Jim is, apparently, an only child whose parents run the Admiral Benbow - a quiet inn, though with a good reputation, not far from Bristol. His troubles begin with the arrival of a mysterious sailor - a rather intimidating, poorly dressed and generally filthy character, though not one who was short of money. He's reluctant to give his name, though claims to hold the rank of captain, and he generally says little. However, occasionally his tongue is loosened a little by his fondness for rum - upon which he would either burst into song or tell the most terrifying stories. At the mysterious sailor's request, meanwhile, Jim keeps an eye out for another salty old sea dog the nameless captain seems keen to avoid : the unwanted visitor's most notable feature is his one leg.

Things change with the arrival of an even nastier sailor named Black Dog. He's obviously acquainted with the Admiral Benbow's resident sailor - whose name, Billy Bones, is soon revealed - though they're not on the best of terms. Things turn nasty, one thing leads to another and before you can say "oh, arrr", Billy has died of a stroke. Jim and his mother quickly rifle Billy's sea chest - he'd left a substantial bar bill, and Mrs Hawkins meant to collect payment - though among his possessions they also find a mysterious sealed packet. When eventually opened, the packet proves to hold treasure map of a notorious pirate called Captain Flint. Shortly afterwards, Jim joins Squire Trelawney and Dr Livesey on a mission to retrieve the treasure. Unfortunately, their ship proves to be manned by a crew of treacherous pirates - including the one-legged Long John Silver...

A very easily read, fast-moving and enjoyable book - and one that (presumably) has had a huge impact on how we still see pirates : lots of songs about rum (naturally with a few yo-ho-hos thrown in), treasure maps where X marks the spot and one-legged salty old sea dogs with parrots that scream "pieces of eight". Highly recommended.

Simply put, this is an excellent book! I didn't read it until I was 37, but it was worth the wait. I certainly would not classify this as a children's book at all. In fact, I strongly suspect that the few negetive reviews this book has received here have been due to children being forced to read it in school. My view is if you force a child to read anything, he's going to hate it. The fact that the book was written over a hundred years ago, when people talked very differently than they do today, and novels were written very differently also, spells disaster for anyone expecting a child to understand it, let alone like it. That aside, this is still a wonderful book full of adventure with descriptions that are vivid only if you have a vast vocabulary. If you can get through the first chapter, it gets easier and it's definately worth the time and effort to read. I loved it and plan to read it again very soon. Do yourself a favor and ignore any negetive comments you've seen about this great book. Read it and then judge for yourself.

Brimming with danger, suspense, excitement, and adventure, Treasure Island relates the story (in first-person) of Jim Hawkins as he journeys with his good friends, the doctor and squire, in search of buried treasure. He overhears the crew's plans of mutiny, headed by the polite, one-legged "gentleman," Long John Silver, and is plunged into a world of treachery. The characterization is beautiful: the doctor, shrewd and kind; the squire, fiery and outspoken; Jim Hawkins, quick and intelligent; the crew, sly and devious; and Long John Silver, so unsuspectingly polite, so wickedly sly... A must-read! (BTW, I am 13-years-old.)

Giving Treasure Island five stars is like declaring Helen of Troy homecoming queen. It's too little,too late. This is the classic tale of pirates. Its' themes have been worked and worked again,but it remains untouched. Stevenson is a master storyteller at the top of his form. From beginning to end the plot never lags,and the characters possess a richness and depth rare in an adventure story. Every reader of English ought to make their acquaintance--Jim Hawkins,Billy Bones,Old Pew,Silver,and the rest--at some time in his life,preferably when he is young,and his heart still believes it can find that treasure. Treasure Island has been francised,moppetized,filmed,and abridged,but never bettered. Accept no substitues! Read the entire book. There is plenty here for children and adults. Like all great literature,it works on more than one level. Dominating the whole Story is the figure of Long John Silver. As his name implies he has a lunar quality. He is attractive,facinating,powerful,but with a dark side. Again,he is murdering,lying,and infinitly self-seeking,yet like Jim we cannot help liking him and wanting him to like us. At this level Treasure Island is a study in criminality that asks: Why is it that the best,the most full of natural power, often turn their gifts to evil? And why do we find evil so attractive? A word about editions. There are many,but by far the best is the hardcover featuring the illustrations of N.C. Wyeth. No one has succeeded as he has in capturing the spirit of the tale. If you are looking for a cheaper paperback edition that won't blind you with cramped layout, or ruin the whole experience with goofy illustratons,choose the Puffin Classic. It's unabridged,sturdy,and features a beautiful cover illustration.