Silver: Return to Treasure Island by Andrew Motion
| Silver: Return to Treasure Island by Andrew Motion | |
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| Category: Literary Fiction | |
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Reviewer: Robin Leggett
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| Summary: Adventure, pirates, buried treasure, love story, noble seamen and Long John Silver - if that doesn't whet your appetite, then nothing will. | |
| Buy? Yes | Borrow? Yes |
| Pages: 404 | Date: March 2012 |
| Publisher: Jonathan Cape | |
| External links: Author's website | |
| ISBN: 9780224091190 | |
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Even if you have not read Robert Louis Stevenson's 1883 classic Treasure Island, or you have read it a long time ago, the chances are that you will be broadly familiar with the story and in particular some of the rich characters he created because they have entered into the culture of our image of pirates. Before Johnny Depp convinced us that pirates looked like Keith Richards, it was the terrifying image of Long John Silver and his parrot, squawking 'pieces of eight', double dealing his way to buried treasure and the innocence of young narrator Jim Hawkins that conjures up what we think of in terms of pirate adventure. But Stevenson left some tantalizing threads to his tale, not least the fact that Silver made off with only the majority of the treasure and left the remaining silver behind together with three marooned pirates to fend for themselves. Setting the story 40 years after these events, Andrew Motion picks up the tale and has the offspring of Hawkins, in the form of his son also called Jim and Long John Silver's daughter Natty returning to collect the remaining bounty. Of course, it's never going to be that simple.
Motion's ability to capture not only the spirit but the writing style of the original is nothing short of remarkable. The layout of the book and chapter titles, together with the twists and turns of adventure all combine to seamlessly fit with Stevenson's original. Presented side by side, you would be hard pressed to discern the original from the copy. But by setting the book 40 years after the events of Treasure Island he avoids this being a mere 'me-too' version and adds different aspects to the tone of the story. By that point piracy had been much reduced and slavery was a key issue of the times, and Motion brings these into the narrative.
Young Jim has grown up in his father's inn hearing stories of his swashbuckling past and when Natty arrives with a plan put together by her father, also now a London innkeeper, the chance to have an adventure is hard to resist, even if that means stealing the infamous map from his father's safekeeping. Long John Silver himself is now a shadow of his former self, blind and infirm, but if anything this makes his presence even more fearsome.
If I have one slight qualm about the book it is that Stevenson's pirates were all wonderful characters and now that the crew of the ship returning to collect the treasure are mere seamen, the new characters that Motion adds somewhat pale beside Stevenson's cast. Natty's pet bird, for example, is a caged mynah named Spot which is hardly the same as the fearsome parrot of her father. The crew of the Silver are all rather too nice and wholesome. However, once they arrive at the island, it is rather more inhabited than they were expecting and Motion has fun making Stevenson's own characters even more gruesome, as indeed he achieves with Long John Silver. What it lacks in comparison with the original though is the double dealing and lack of trust. The protagonists are all just too, well, nice.
Narrated by young Jim Hawkins, he echoes the voice of his father as he embarks on a similar adventure and there is the same sense of wonder as well as adventure. Again as with the original, Motion understands how to build the tension to make things even more terrifying. It's that build up of tension to events that you know are coming that is so appealing.
It's rare that prequels or sequels of classics stand up to the originals stories (Wide Sargasso Sea by Jean Rhys is one of the few examples I can think of), but this one does. There's a love story, the fight between good people and evil, cruel pirates, hidden treasure and genuine adventure - what's not to love about that?
In a particularly pleasing final touch, Motion leaves the thread of the story open for yet more adventure to continue the story, as if he is passing the relay of this tale onto another. Let's just hope it won't be another 130 years before someone rises to the challenge to pick it up.
The crew of the Bookbag extend an 'argh me hearties' to the crew of the good ship Jonathan Cape for revealing this hidden treasure to us.
For more seafaring adventure you may well enjoy Jamrach's Menagerie by Carol Birch. We also have a review of Motion's The New World.
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You can read more book reviews or buy Silver: Return to Treasure Island by Andrew Motion at Amazon.co.uk Amazon currently charges £2.99 for standard delivery for orders under £20, over which delivery is free.
You can read more book reviews or buy Silver: Return to Treasure Island by Andrew Motion at Amazon.com.
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