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Often considered a children's book, Treasure Island, like all great children's books, can be readily enjoyed by all. Though very different from current children's works, it certainly has much that young readers are likely to enjoy - rollicking adventure, an astonishingly quick pace, great suspense, colorful characters, an engaging young narrator, etc. However, it has at least as many elements that anyone can appreciate, such as deft plotting; few works draw us in so immediately or are as well put together, and the action never lets up. It is very hard to put the book down even after more than a century; modern thrillers certainly have nothing on it. For pure adventure and excitement, it is nearly impossible to top. The plain, straightforward prose is still lucid, and Treasure has the great virtue of being easy for anyone to read. Perhaps what really makes the book, though, are its characters. The notorious Long John Silver is the most famous, a splendid and unforgettable creation; he is one of the most lively and simply fascinating characters ever. Many others are also memorable, not least Jim Hawkins, one of literature's most notable young protagonists and narrators.

Treasure belies its children's story origins in several ways, such as strong binary oppositions between heroes and villains in regard to alcohol, religion, thriftiness, etc. However, it has many serious, even thought-provoking themes; for example, it is in large part a very fine bildungsroman, which young readers will certainly appreciate. That said, reading it shows just how much children's stories have changed; such a work would never be considered, much less marketed as, a children's story now. This is most obviously due to surprisingly graphic violence and a strong glimpse or real evil; more fundamentally, it has much to do with moral murk. The good/evil distinction is far less clear than it first seems. For instance, Silver is very hard to pin down; no character can dislike him fully, and much the same can be said of readers. This may go a long way toward explaining the seemingly mysterious fact that he is by far the best-known character, is often depicted at worst as ambivalent, and has had his name used for such things as a fast food chain. He somewhat recalls Shakespeare's Richard III in that we are - somewhat perversely - drawn to him because of his evil, but the issue is very complex and subtle. None can deny that he has several conventional virtues, including bravery, determination, and resourcefulness. Conversely, the heroes' actions also give us much to think about, as does Treasure itself; to begin with, it deals with several important morality questions like justice, law, mercy, etc. All this will more than satisfy those expecting something more than adventure, though the book certainly has plenty of that.

Treasure is one of the few books that everyone should truly read. It has become a true cultural institution, still immensely popular and constantly adapted. If nothing else, one should at this point read it just to see its immense effect on the popular consciousness, especially the view of pirates and everything associated with them, which the book virtually invented. There are few books I would recommend unhesitatingly to readers of all ages; this is one, and I recommend it very strongly indeed.
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