Friday, August 24, 2007

Listened to: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Listened to: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson, 1883 with a 1993 audio version by Blackstone Audio.

Good book with the same narrator as Kidnapped.

During the 1980s WGN used to show movies every Sunday afternoon. Usually the pictures were Charlie Chan and Sherlock Holmes features but I associate the 1934 version of Treasure Island with that show. I don't recall that movie very well but I kept comparing it to the book anyway.

Stevenson just keeps the excitement and adventure rolling along. First Jim Hawkins has the mysterious, threatening, and drunkard pirate at his family's tavern. Then Blind Pugh shows up, the tavern is attacked by pirates looking for the treasure map, the map gets to the local Squire who outfits a ship, Jim finds out that half the crew plan mutiny, shoot-outs between the two sides, castaway Ben Gunn meets up with Jim, Jim voyages across a bay in an unworthy boat, springs free the anchored ship with a pirate aboard, escapes the pirate's murder attempt, shoots the pirate, gets back ashore and is captured by the remaining pirates, another shootout, recovery of the treasure, and onward back to England.

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