Customer Reviews

A journey to Matecumbe

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Taylor's books are well-researched historical fiction. His plots are generally captivating, his characters, believable, funny and unusual. The comparisons by some reviewers to Huck Finn and his friends are probably valid on some level. Journey to Matecumbe begins on the Mississippi River, involves a raft trip downstream to escape the KKK, and includes a number of amusing, colorful characters involved in unlikely situations. It's worth the price of admission, if only for an interesting read.

However, readers who wish to get some historical knowledge with their enjoyment will find the obscure, post-Civil War era Florida Keys portions also to their liking. Taylor obliges the historical fiction reader by also taking some of the characters through Seminole villages, swamps, and a trek along the land route from the Florida panhandle to Miami. The descriptions of the earliest origins of the KKK might also be accurate.

I'd recommend this book as a better than average historical fiction to rest on the bookshelf for a later re-reading.

Robert Lewis Taylor's 'Travels of Jaime McPheeters' deservedly won a Pullitzer, but 'Journey to Matecumbe' is the better book. It's a heartwarming Twain-esque story about young Davey Burnie's flight down the Mississippi to the Florida Keys. Like, 'McPheeters' it's an adventure book, and a damned good read. For some reason, it's out of print, but used copies can be be found.

A young man and his older brother get themselves cross-wise with the KKK during the years following the Civil War. This begins a long chase, an adventure to compare with Huck Finn, minus Mark Twain, that will keep you smiling and turning pages all the way down the Mississippi River to New Orleans, then to the Florida swamps. I think you'll love this one. Trust me.

Probably the best "fun" adventure story I have ever read. Just when you think the story is coming to a conclusion on an issue, it reopens. All along the well thought up characters keep you laughing and amused at what happens next. This book is written along the lines of a Tom Sawyer or Huckelberry Finn, but takes the adventure and fun to the next level. I would recommend it to anyone who loves to read and has the time because you won't want to put it down.

I, too, greatly enjoyed "Journey to Matecumbe" but don't rate it the equal of (let alone better than) "Travels of Jamie McPheeters," one of my all-time favorites. Matecumbe was made into a movie, called "Treasure of Matecumbe" (by Disney, I think). It featured the wonderful Joan Hackett, Peter Ustinoff, and (as I recall) Robert Foxworth.

I'd seen the movie before I read "Travels." After reading "Travels" I was looking for more R.L. Taylor books and found "Matecumbe" and realized it was the one made into the fun movie. I'd love to see "Travels" made into a movie!

For those who loved "Travels," I also recommend the Further Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, by Greg Matthews.

After seeing the Disney movie, I wanted to read the book.

The book was better than the well-scrubbed Diseny version, be warned, though, that it doesn't pull its punches as far as Klan violence is concerned.

Have always loved this book, but mine had become too worn out. When I ordered this book from Amazon, it was specified that, due to its age, it wasn't in perfect condition. It arrived quickly and was in as good a condition as could be expected and was in much better condition than my old one.