Treasure Island

Title- Treasure Island

Author- Robert Louis Stevenson

Rating- 5/5

Comments- There is a lot more than just action needed to make a book "good". At least that's what I believe. And personally, I think Treasure Island is one of those books that have managed to have just the right amount of adventure, combined with what I perceive as one of the most vital elements in book writing- emotion. 

Unlike the common misconception that most have about classic books, Treasure Island has a opening line that grabs you straight away. 

"Squire Trelawney, Doctor Livesey, and the rest of these gentlemen having asked me to write down the whole particulars about Treasure Island, from the beginning to the end, keeping nothing back, but the bearings of the island, and that only because there is still treasure not yet lifted, I take up my pen in the year of grace 17- and go back to the time when my father kept the Admiral Benbow Inn, and the brown old seaman, with the sabre-cut, first took up his lodging under our roof."

I honestly could not have phrased it better myself. And Stevenson's commendable writing doesn't halt there. One of the reasons that I particularly enjoyed this book was because of his storytelling skills. His ability to phrase things simply enough to be easily understood, but descriptive enough to hold the interest of the reader is certainly admirable and can captivate a wide range of readers which makes this book so wonderful. 

This book has also proved to be one that can be understood on different levels- something that I think requires quite some thought and talent to be able to achieve. It works both as a story for younger audiences as well as a bit of a story that can be interpreted more in-depth. One example of this being the "coming of age" of the main character, Jim. The themes of isolation and greed were also present, conveying, in a sense, the realities of life and mankind.

This is one of those books that I definitely wouldn't mind reading again- both for the in-depth look on it as well as the classic pirate adventure that I doubt anybody can resist.