Wednesday, January 25, 2012

Treasure Island!!!


Treasure Island!!! by Sara Levine
Published:  2012 by Tonga Books (Europa Editions)
Source:  Purchased

  This novel has a very interesting premise -- a young woman (unnamed), recently graduated from college and rolling through a succession of dead-end jobs reads the classic novel Treasure Island and decides to use it as the manual to re-invent her life, using the novel's Core Values:  Boldness, Resolution, Independence, and Horn-Blowing.  As I am always interested in stories that might inspire me to embark on my own life-changing adventure, I read with a notebook at my side; ready to write down any nuggets of wisdom I would come across.

  Alas. 

   It's not that the protagonist does not pursue adventure.  There's plenty of it, though mostly of the unintentional kind.  And she is certainly motivated by those Core Values.  But to me the motivation didn't lead to anything concrete and positive; and perhaps it's because I'm older and (ahem) more mature that I just became more and more frustrated with her and wanted to just yell GROW UP ALREADY.   My attention quickly re-focused to the much more entertaining supporting cast of characters:  her parents, older sister, her former boss, her best friend, her ex-boyfriend; many of them seemed to exemplify the qualities the main character was pursuing.

  At least the book was fairly short (172 pages), and the writing incredibly witty, otherwise I probably would have given up on this book once my impression of the main character turned negative.  Maybe I'm just not in the right age group to properly appreciate the heroine's efforts.

5 comments:

  1. I bought this one when I was out in SF last week but I won't be able to read it until after April 1st since I have accepted the TBR Dare. Your review will help me tamp down my expectations.

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  2. I have heard some less than stellar things about this book, and know that it's probably not for me. I do appreciate reading your thoughts on it, as I got a much better idea of what to expect with this one. Thanks for sharing your thoughts, even if you didn't love this one.

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  3. Too bad you didn't care much for the book. Treasure Island is one of my favorites (http://manoflabook.com/wp/?p=1190) and your first paragraph grabbed my attention.

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  4. Pity it wasn't such a good book for you. Sounds chick-litty to me (which I do like, as long as the protagonist isn't too silly).

    Also checking whether commenting works.

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