The story focuses in on Jim, the son of the innkeepers of the "Admiral Benbow", a pleasant inn not unlike any other. The arrival of one particular sailor, who is rowdy and likes drink too much for his good, is the catalyst to the plot. The man, demanding to be called "Captain", has a past wrapped in secrecy, but deathly fears other seafaring men, and when one such a man comes to deliver a dire message, the captain dies from his weak heart. From there, it's all downhill as Jim finds in the man's trunk a most mysterious chart, which tells of the location of fabulous treasure, on a mysterious island far out to sea. He soon, with the respected Doctor Livesie and the bumbling Mr. Trelawney, sets out upon a voyage for this treasure, where he gets more than he bargained for.
The basic plot may seem trite to anyone familiar with Treasure Hunt stories, but, it should be remembered that this book is the one that spawned all the cheap imitations that have become so much more well known today, and may even claim to be inspiration for the popular series "Pirates of the Caribbean". The original is fantastic, and is a thousand times better than any knockoff you can find. It has my highest praise for its comedic scenes, its sorrowful scenes, and even all the confusing sailing terms in between.
In short, to any who have not read this wonderful book, READ IT! To those who have, I recommend that you re-read it, as it is the kind of book that cannot be fully enjoyed the first time through.
Nice synopsis and nice recommendation - I will take your advice and read it again!
ReplyDeleteWill-- I do not agree that "from there, it's all downhill" after Jim enters into the biggest adventure of his life! Uphill, maybe. I did enjoy your review, and since it's been a while I may re-read Treasure Island, definitely an excellent book.
ReplyDeleteSorry about the malapropism XD. I sort of meant more that the action got rolling like a stone(or car) going downhill, as opposed to the novel's quality degrading. Sorry 'bout that.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of rolling downhill, I just read a piece in the Chronicle about how to avoid writer's block when you're writing your thesis. The writer passed along some advice from a character in Hemingway's posthumous novel, who said always quit when you know exactly what you're going to write next - that way you can start right up the next day and get the juices flowing. A commenter on this article referred to someone else who gave the same advice and referred to it as "parking downhill". Nice phrase I thought.
ReplyDeleteOK OK. For pedants and carpers, the novel was published posthumously, not written posthumously!
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