Review: Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson

Today is International Talk Like a Pirate Day and the perfect opportunity to review Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson. 

The narrator and young hero of the book, Jim Hawkins is a very likeable character and I can definitely understand why this book was so popular with boys; who wouldn't want to be young Jim?

It was interesting to finally meet the characters of Captain Flint and Long John Silver and I enjoyed the pirate dialogue by thunder!

I was somewhat surprised to find the plot a little more layered than I expected, being written for young boys. I can definitely imagine a young reader enjoying the adventure the first time through, but discovering and understanding more about the nature of men on the second read, perhaps several years later.

I confess I feel a little late to the party - only reading Treasure Island in my 30s - but it's never too late to catch up on a classic. Having read it now, I can't rightly say what makes Treasure Island a classic though, or why it has endured. It was first published in 1883, but is still popular today. What are your thoughts?

My rating = ***

Carpe Librum!