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The Dynamiter:
And taking the arm of his companion, he led him in silence and at a brisk pace to the door of a quiet establishment in Rupert Street, Soho. The entrance was adorned with one of those gigantic Highlanders of wood which have almost risen to the standing of antiquities; and across the window-glass, which sheltered the usual display of pipes, tobacco, and cigars, there ran the gilded legend: 'Bohemian Cigar Divan, by T. Godall.' The interior of the shop was small, but commodious and ornate; the salesman grave, smiling, and urbane; and the two young men, each puffing a select regalia, had soon taken their places on a sofa of mouse-coloured plush and proceeded to exchange their stories.
164 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1882
11 people are currently reading
197 people want to read
About the author
Robert Louis Stevenson
6,813 books6,937 followersRobert Louis Balfour Stevenson was a Scottish novelist, poet, and travel writer, and a leading representative of English literature. He was greatly admired by many authors, including Jorge Luis Borges, Ernest Hemingway, Rudyard Kipling and Vladimir Nabokov.
Most modernist writers dismissed him, however, because he was popular and did not write within their narrow definition of literature. It is only recently that critics have begun to look beyond Stevenson's popularity and allow him a place in the Western canon.
Most modernist writers dismissed him, however, because he was popular and did not write within their narrow definition of literature. It is only recently that critics have begun to look beyond Stevenson's popularity and allow him a place in the Western canon.
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Displaying 1 - 28 of 28 reviews
June 24, 2020
Amatissimo Stevenson! 💓💗💖
Non credevo che sarei mai arrivata a questo punto (dico, di mettere cuoricini in un commento), ma non ho più parole per esprimere quello che provo. E per lui mi sputtano volentieri :)
Non credevo che sarei mai arrivata a questo punto (dico, di mettere cuoricini in un commento), ma non ho più parole per esprimere quello che provo. E per lui mi sputtano volentieri :)
November 15, 2019
Robert Louis Stevenson ha scritto questo libro (il titolo originale è Il dinamitardo) in collaborazione con la moglie Fanny un anno prima di pubblicare Lo strano caso del dr. Jeckyll e di mr. Hyde. La lettura è piacevolissima, con una trama di storie parallele che si intersecano e mescolano passato, presente e luoghi diversi; costruito come una detective’s story, a tratti molto ironica alla maniera de "La congiura degli innocenti", di Hitchcock, e con un pizzico di atmosfera kafkiana nella resa della personalità di alcuni protagonisti, il racconto è ambientato in una Londra colpita da attentati dinamitardi realmente accaduti. In una parte del racconto si cita la matrice irlandese degli episodi, ma le giustificazioni addotte dai cospiratori fanno riferimento (anche se in modo volutamente sfumato, secondo me) più all’ingiustizia delle condizioni socio-economiche nella Londra imperiale, capitalista e guerrafondaia: “In questi nostri tempi bui, una stella - la stella della dinamite - si è levata in cielo per gli sfruttati” perché “la guerra non risparmia certo i bambini… non risparmia nemmeno il carretto del povero spazzino. Non più di … non più di quanto faccia io”.
I cospiratori sono terroristi di professione, ricevono un compenso per non cedere alla delazione, e sono guidati da Zero, pseudonimo utilizzato dal chimico che costruisce micidiali congegni a tempo, ricercato e in fuga continua (“…posso a diritto qualificarmi come un individuo senza nome, di giorno. Ma … di notte, e tra i miei disperati compagni, io sono il formidabile Zero”), e in poche righe è descritta la logica del terrore, con una spiazzante modernità e attualità, “Qualunque cosa possa incutere terrore, qualunque cosa possa disorientare o paralizzare l’attività di un paese colpevole, carretto, bambino, Parlamento imperiale o vaporetto in gita, va tutto bene per i miei semplici progetti”.
Tutto sommato, nei dialoghi e nei resoconti di Zero e degli altri terroristi sembra prevalere la lucida follia del gesto alle motivazioni, che rende ancora più agghiacciante il fenomeno, e del resto i russi Raskolnikov (Delitto e castigo) e Bazov (il nichilista di Padri e figli) erano già comparsi sulla scena letteraria da qualche anno.
È interessante l’espediente utilizzato da Stevenson per costruire la storia; per scommessa tre ragazzi senza lavoro, con scarsi mezzi di sostentamento e piuttosto marginali, decidono di andare per le strade di Londra nella speranza di imbattersi in storie su cui indagare. Ognuno dei tre incontrerà una donna che racconterà loro storie diverse, quasi slegate dal contesto, e ognuno incontrerà sulla propria strada un frammento di terrore. Le vicende dei tre uomini sono raccontate separatamente e l’ultimo capitolo è destinato all’epilogo finale, con la ricomposizione della storia. C’è da sottolineare che le protagoniste femminili fanno una figura decisamente migliore delle figure maschili.
I cospiratori sono terroristi di professione, ricevono un compenso per non cedere alla delazione, e sono guidati da Zero, pseudonimo utilizzato dal chimico che costruisce micidiali congegni a tempo, ricercato e in fuga continua (“…posso a diritto qualificarmi come un individuo senza nome, di giorno. Ma … di notte, e tra i miei disperati compagni, io sono il formidabile Zero”), e in poche righe è descritta la logica del terrore, con una spiazzante modernità e attualità, “Qualunque cosa possa incutere terrore, qualunque cosa possa disorientare o paralizzare l’attività di un paese colpevole, carretto, bambino, Parlamento imperiale o vaporetto in gita, va tutto bene per i miei semplici progetti”.
Tutto sommato, nei dialoghi e nei resoconti di Zero e degli altri terroristi sembra prevalere la lucida follia del gesto alle motivazioni, che rende ancora più agghiacciante il fenomeno, e del resto i russi Raskolnikov (Delitto e castigo) e Bazov (il nichilista di Padri e figli) erano già comparsi sulla scena letteraria da qualche anno.
È interessante l’espediente utilizzato da Stevenson per costruire la storia; per scommessa tre ragazzi senza lavoro, con scarsi mezzi di sostentamento e piuttosto marginali, decidono di andare per le strade di Londra nella speranza di imbattersi in storie su cui indagare. Ognuno dei tre incontrerà una donna che racconterà loro storie diverse, quasi slegate dal contesto, e ognuno incontrerà sulla propria strada un frammento di terrore. Le vicende dei tre uomini sono raccontate separatamente e l’ultimo capitolo è destinato all’epilogo finale, con la ricomposizione della storia. C’è da sottolineare che le protagoniste femminili fanno una figura decisamente migliore delle figure maschili.
July 1, 2024
Free download available at Project Gutenberg
I must confess that it was not an easy book to read.
I must confess that it was not an easy book to read.
January 30, 2023
In questo romanzo Stevenson prende tre inetti (autodichiarati) senza professione e senza scopo nella vita e li manda alla ricerca di avventure. Come ne Le mille e una notte a cui questo romanzo dichiara di ispirarsi, ne troveranno a bizzeffe: giovani donzelle in fuga da agguerriti mormoni o satanisti vudù, signore attempate con troppe dimore da gestire e sopra a tutto, un farsesco terrorista dinamitardo.
Ci mette molto umorismo Stevenson e ho avuto più volte l'impressione che ammiccasse al lettore facendo riferimento ad altre opere letterarie dell'epoca (la panoramica sulle potenziali povere vittime di una bomba mi è sembrato un po' un "verso" a Dickens), quindi mi sono piuttosto divertita.
Però da appassionata dell'autore direi che nella sua vasta bibliografia troviamo di meglio.
Ci mette molto umorismo Stevenson e ho avuto più volte l'impressione che ammiccasse al lettore facendo riferimento ad altre opere letterarie dell'epoca (la panoramica sulle potenziali povere vittime di una bomba mi è sembrato un po' un "verso" a Dickens), quindi mi sono piuttosto divertita.
Però da appassionata dell'autore direi che nella sua vasta bibliografia troviamo di meglio.
June 2, 2015
The Goodreads summary begins: "More New Arabian Nights: The Dynamiter (1885) is a collection of linked short stories by Robert Louis Stevenson & Fanny Vandegrift."
Oh, it is so much more than that. In a book i recently read ("Just Too Weird") some reference was made to how R.L. Stevenson felt about Mormonism, which led me to this book.
Scheherazade would be proud of her tradition of stories RLS emulates; stories within stories that refer back to stories. Absolutely fun.
The characters are all over, the geography is likewise - add some "Hoodoo", strong women taking charge of their own lives, magic, dynamite, anarchism, displaced royalty and wacky monikers - such a good read, all in the wider, more colourful and evocative vocabulary of the 19th Century.
R.L S. is so much more than "Up in the air and over the wall..." although, a handful of decades ago, that delighted me, too.
Oh, it is so much more than that. In a book i recently read ("Just Too Weird") some reference was made to how R.L. Stevenson felt about Mormonism, which led me to this book.
Scheherazade would be proud of her tradition of stories RLS emulates; stories within stories that refer back to stories. Absolutely fun.
The characters are all over, the geography is likewise - add some "Hoodoo", strong women taking charge of their own lives, magic, dynamite, anarchism, displaced royalty and wacky monikers - such a good read, all in the wider, more colourful and evocative vocabulary of the 19th Century.
R.L S. is so much more than "Up in the air and over the wall..." although, a handful of decades ago, that delighted me, too.
March 1, 2021
This is the least known of Stevenson's works, partly because scholars can't figure out how to treat a work that was mostly written by his wife. The collection is a series of weirdly connected escapades of three bachelors and a woman who tells intricate stories--all lies--that the men come to believe in. Add to this is a ridiculous Irish bomber who can't quite get his bombs to explode. You have to be willing to stop in the middle of the story and take up another story for a bit. So, this is probably beyond the reading ability of modern readers, who I found, can't follow Jekyll and Hyde very well. Written just a couple of years before Jekyll and Hyde, it requires a flexibility of narrative comprehension that the Victorians could manage.
June 19, 2019
I picked up this book in a vintage book shop. Having never heard of it, I was curious how it would be, and I’m very glad I came across it.
The story centers on three young men, of different personalities but similar circumstances, who decide to break the dull repetition of their listless normal and actively seek an adventure. What follows is an interwoven tale of those adventures (they all three run into the same crew of terrorists in separate ways), and two of the three men are greatly changed for the trouble.
This book, marketed as a series of short stories and an addition to Stevenson’s New Arabian Nights, is a fun read. There’s plenty of suspense, decent character development, a couple of strong female characters (rare in that period’s literature), and satisfying resolution. The bona fide “short stories” included, while they go on a bit, were an excellent bonus to an already great story.
The story centers on three young men, of different personalities but similar circumstances, who decide to break the dull repetition of their listless normal and actively seek an adventure. What follows is an interwoven tale of those adventures (they all three run into the same crew of terrorists in separate ways), and two of the three men are greatly changed for the trouble.
This book, marketed as a series of short stories and an addition to Stevenson’s New Arabian Nights, is a fun read. There’s plenty of suspense, decent character development, a couple of strong female characters (rare in that period’s literature), and satisfying resolution. The bona fide “short stories” included, while they go on a bit, were an excellent bonus to an already great story.
July 13, 2025
I was curious, and when I looked into it, I saw it wasn't for me.
December 5, 2023
Esta ignorancia de la clase media me sorprende. Cree que el mundo está sumido en la ignorancia y el envilecimiento. Pero a la mirada sagaz no se le oculta que cada clase se divide en jerarquías adornadas de peculiares aptitudes. Ustedes, por deficiencias dé educación, no sirven para trabajar, pudiendo, en cambio, gobernar una nación.
Las artes verdaderamente liberales están más allá de la competencia de los profanos; son las que dan nombre al artista.
Mire usted qué dramático cuadro, señor Goall—señaló Somerset—. Tres inútiles.—Es una de las características de esta época, en la que abunda todo—repuso el dueño.
Empiezo a darme perfecta cuenta de que es necesario conocer algo a fondo, aunque sea la literatura. Y aun así, el hombre mundano es una de las facetas de este tiempo. Posee un asombroso conjunto de conocimientos; su casa está en cualquier parte, y ha vivido de todos modos. En resumidas cuentas, creo que esta forma de vida ha de dar algún resultado.
La vejez sólo pide que se le perdonen penas. La juventud, en cambio, pide alegrías.
No me atrevo a asegurar que esté usted completamente cuerdo, pues no he tropezado con nadie que lo esté. La única que está completamente cuerda soy yo.
Contemplaba el mundo sin preocuparse por la consecuencia moral frecuente de la juventud y de la salud.
¿No sospecha que los cuerpos químicos son tan volubles como la mujer, y que los resortes y mecanismos resultan tan caprichosos como el mismo demonio?
se proponen utilizar las alcantarillas de toda una ciudad para propagar la fiebre tifoidea. Este es un proyecto científico y tentador, pero demasiado simple. No es que deje de reconocer la elegancia del sistema. Sin embargo, hay en mí algo de poeta a la vez que algo de tribuno, y permaneceré fiel al sistema antiguo, que resulta más enfático, más llamativo, más indiscriminado. Me refiero a la bomba explosiva.
El objeto que debe perseguir la Humanidad es el glorioso triunfo de la Humanidad misma. Y estando obligados a trabajar para este fin, ¿vamos a reparar en los medios? Usted supondría, sin duda, que íbamos a atacar a la reina, al ministro Gladstone, al severo Derby, al hábil Grandville. Pues se equivoca. Vamos contra el pueblo, porque es el que nos interesa.
los verdaderos artistas sienten predilección por los caracteres interesantes.
Una diferencia en sentimientos afectivos parecerá siempre una culpa a los caracteres generosos.
esta es mi política: cambiar lo que podamos y mejorar lo que podamos, mas tener presente que el hombre es un demonio a quien sujetan apenas unas imposiciones o unas creencias generosas. Y ninguna palabra, por noble que parezca, debe ser tan fuerte que relaje estos lazos.
Las artes verdaderamente liberales están más allá de la competencia de los profanos; son las que dan nombre al artista.
Mire usted qué dramático cuadro, señor Goall—señaló Somerset—. Tres inútiles.—Es una de las características de esta época, en la que abunda todo—repuso el dueño.
Empiezo a darme perfecta cuenta de que es necesario conocer algo a fondo, aunque sea la literatura. Y aun así, el hombre mundano es una de las facetas de este tiempo. Posee un asombroso conjunto de conocimientos; su casa está en cualquier parte, y ha vivido de todos modos. En resumidas cuentas, creo que esta forma de vida ha de dar algún resultado.
La vejez sólo pide que se le perdonen penas. La juventud, en cambio, pide alegrías.
No me atrevo a asegurar que esté usted completamente cuerdo, pues no he tropezado con nadie que lo esté. La única que está completamente cuerda soy yo.
Contemplaba el mundo sin preocuparse por la consecuencia moral frecuente de la juventud y de la salud.
¿No sospecha que los cuerpos químicos son tan volubles como la mujer, y que los resortes y mecanismos resultan tan caprichosos como el mismo demonio?
se proponen utilizar las alcantarillas de toda una ciudad para propagar la fiebre tifoidea. Este es un proyecto científico y tentador, pero demasiado simple. No es que deje de reconocer la elegancia del sistema. Sin embargo, hay en mí algo de poeta a la vez que algo de tribuno, y permaneceré fiel al sistema antiguo, que resulta más enfático, más llamativo, más indiscriminado. Me refiero a la bomba explosiva.
El objeto que debe perseguir la Humanidad es el glorioso triunfo de la Humanidad misma. Y estando obligados a trabajar para este fin, ¿vamos a reparar en los medios? Usted supondría, sin duda, que íbamos a atacar a la reina, al ministro Gladstone, al severo Derby, al hábil Grandville. Pues se equivoca. Vamos contra el pueblo, porque es el que nos interesa.
los verdaderos artistas sienten predilección por los caracteres interesantes.
Una diferencia en sentimientos afectivos parecerá siempre una culpa a los caracteres generosos.
esta es mi política: cambiar lo que podamos y mejorar lo que podamos, mas tener presente que el hombre es un demonio a quien sujetan apenas unas imposiciones o unas creencias generosas. Y ninguna palabra, por noble que parezca, debe ser tan fuerte que relaje estos lazos.
March 18, 2024
I have very mixed feelings about this book. On one side it was very well written, I have forgotten how much I love the style of Stevenson. On the other side this book is just plain terrible. So, there was a start, middle and end, but, it was too complicated, the story did not flow, it didn’t gel, there were stories with stories (Story of the Destroying Angel, Zero’s Tale of the Exploding Bomb and Story of the Fair Cuban). They all kind of fit together but at the same time didn’t.
The ending was a damp squib. It had no sense of satisfaction and no relation to the start. I am still confused about what this story was about.
But looking at its component parts, Zero’s Tale of the Exploding Bomb and the Story of the Fair Cuban were truly wonderful pieces to read that thoroughly showed off Stevenson’s writing style.
The ending was a damp squib. It had no sense of satisfaction and no relation to the start. I am still confused about what this story was about.
But looking at its component parts, Zero’s Tale of the Exploding Bomb and the Story of the Fair Cuban were truly wonderful pieces to read that thoroughly showed off Stevenson’s writing style.
February 15, 2021
An interesting story about 3 men whose fortunes become entangled after a chance meeting in a tobacco shop. It's important to know that several characters from this story first appeared in Stevenson's New Arabian Nights. It's better if you read New Arabian Nights before the Dynamiter.
I enjoyed reading this. Though not as triumphant or epic of a story as Treasure Island or Kidnapped, The Dynamiter still tells an interesting story and weaves the characters together nicely. It spends a lot of time telling the backstories of several minor characters, one of which is very lengthy and turns out not to be true. Although the whole novel is fundamentally not true as it is a work of fiction, it was still frustrating to know I spent so much time reading a throwaway backstory.
I enjoyed reading this. Though not as triumphant or epic of a story as Treasure Island or Kidnapped, The Dynamiter still tells an interesting story and weaves the characters together nicely. It spends a lot of time telling the backstories of several minor characters, one of which is very lengthy and turns out not to be true. Although the whole novel is fundamentally not true as it is a work of fiction, it was still frustrating to know I spent so much time reading a throwaway backstory.
September 4, 2017
I can honestly say, I have absolutely no clue what went on in this book. I can't even write a review on it. It was so boring. I don't even know what the short stories were about - all I do know is it's something to do with bombing/terrorism, and the only reason I know that is because I'm studying it for my terrorism module. Honestly, what a waste of my time. I can't even find summaries online, so I wasted my time with this one. Hopefully my lecture and seminar will clear everything up - also hope the tutor doesn't ask me questions on it because .....I just don't know?
It doesn't even deserve one stars, but had to rate it something and that's the lowest. Don't recommend.
It doesn't even deserve one stars, but had to rate it something and that's the lowest. Don't recommend.
July 21, 2025
It feels like an act of impiety to rate anything by Stevenson at 3 stars but this is not his greatest work. I had a very old edition sitting on my shelves for maybe 40 years and only took it down because I was going on a long train journey to Scotland (it meant nothing to the two graduate students with whom I completed the final leg from Edinburgh to Leuchars when we passed South Queensferry and I commented on its importance in Kidnapped). What is most interesting here is the overlap with Conrad's The Secret Agent, something that I had also noted when reading the much more striking The Ebb-Tide.
April 27, 2019
Ninguém nunca soube contar tão bem uma história como Robert Louis Stevenson. Este "El dinamitero" parece apenas um esboço de uma história que ainda havia de ser contada.
October 5, 2021
A fascinating story with good characters. It is not one of the better Stevenson novels in my opinion, but the characters were real and the story seemed realistic as well.
September 7, 2022
The story telling was done very well. I was engaged at every twist and turn. I liked how everything was interlinked. It was like figuring out a puzzle sometimes.
June 21, 2023
What a mess of a book! Don't bother. I really have no idea what this was about.
September 2, 2023
It was a little difficult to get through this, it was kind of confusing. The tales were hooking but still, I don't understand how they are tied together in the end.
January 11, 2024
A weird one. So unexpected.
January 24, 2025
Boring and very unsatisfactory
February 1, 2025
Stevenson is on a bit of a run on story with his short stories collection.
July 11, 2024
I'll be re-reading this, so might adjust my rating accordingly. First glance is it's interesting but also hard to follow and (on a first reading) slightly unsatisfying.
Update: still 3/5. It makes marginally more sense on a second read but otherwise the review mainly stands. It might figure in a possible academic project so I'm sure I'll re-read it again.
Update: still 3/5. It makes marginally more sense on a second read but otherwise the review mainly stands. It might figure in a possible academic project so I'm sure I'll re-read it again.
August 19, 2014
Un libro lleno de matices y estilos: aventuras, intriga, fantasía, surrealismo, absurda, humor y amor. Ante todo es entretenida (aunque chirria tanta ingenuidad masculina disfrazada de caballerosidad), pues el tema del anarquismo (aquí con afinidades independistas irlandesas) o las sociedades secretas han dando buenas historias. Parece “evidente” que el surrealismo, el absurdo y el humor, en varios fragmentos, debe haber influido en Chesterton, ya que posee muchos elementos en común con “El hombre que fue Jueves”.
La fluidez, la parte menos lograda, no es tan expresiva y homogénea en todo el texto. En una pequeña nota de mi edición que acompaña al relato, explica que “El dinamitero” fue escrito junto con la esposa de Stevenson, Fanny, siendo responsable de los cuentos “El Ángel de la Destrucción” y “La bella cubana”. Y justamente estos 2 relatos “incrustados” en la trama principal, donde la intensidad narrativa falla varias veces; se hace demasiado largo las descripciones y los detalles restando emoción e intensidad al argumento narrado. Por cierto, en la historia de los mormones (además de una “premonición” sobre la poción mágica de “El Dr. Jeckyll y Mr. Hyde”, escrita posteriormente) hay semejanzas con la 2ª parte de “Estudio en escarlata” de Conan Doyle, que fue publicada 2 años después. ¡Qué curioso, y los dos son escoceses! Estoy seguro que el conocimiento de la autoría de Fanny sobre esos 2 cuentos no ha influenciado en mi opinión. Sin ser del todo mediocres, sí que me parecen “cortes” en el estilo y el efecto global.
Como curiosidad, en la nota referida anteriormente, se comenta que Stevenson escribió a un amigo contándole que el relato “El baúl oscuro” es cierta en casi todos sus detalles. Y, por último, me parece extraordinario la habilidad e ingenio del escritor en componer novelas mágicas, maravillosas y fantásticas, sin poseer ingredientes fantásticos o sobrenaturales. Para mi gusto personal, es una de los aspectos que más valoro en este género narrativo. Dos elementos opuestos coinciden: es una fantasía realista o una realidad fantástica; sin perder las cualidades de ambas sensaciones y sin repelerse.
Mi nota: 6.
La fluidez, la parte menos lograda, no es tan expresiva y homogénea en todo el texto. En una pequeña nota de mi edición que acompaña al relato, explica que “El dinamitero” fue escrito junto con la esposa de Stevenson, Fanny, siendo responsable de los cuentos “El Ángel de la Destrucción” y “La bella cubana”. Y justamente estos 2 relatos “incrustados” en la trama principal, donde la intensidad narrativa falla varias veces; se hace demasiado largo las descripciones y los detalles restando emoción e intensidad al argumento narrado. Por cierto, en la historia de los mormones (además de una “premonición” sobre la poción mágica de “El Dr. Jeckyll y Mr. Hyde”, escrita posteriormente) hay semejanzas con la 2ª parte de “Estudio en escarlata” de Conan Doyle, que fue publicada 2 años después. ¡Qué curioso, y los dos son escoceses! Estoy seguro que el conocimiento de la autoría de Fanny sobre esos 2 cuentos no ha influenciado en mi opinión. Sin ser del todo mediocres, sí que me parecen “cortes” en el estilo y el efecto global.
Como curiosidad, en la nota referida anteriormente, se comenta que Stevenson escribió a un amigo contándole que el relato “El baúl oscuro” es cierta en casi todos sus detalles. Y, por último, me parece extraordinario la habilidad e ingenio del escritor en componer novelas mágicas, maravillosas y fantásticas, sin poseer ingredientes fantásticos o sobrenaturales. Para mi gusto personal, es una de los aspectos que más valoro en este género narrativo. Dos elementos opuestos coinciden: es una fantasía realista o una realidad fantástica; sin perder las cualidades de ambas sensaciones y sin repelerse.
Mi nota: 6.
February 1, 2022
"Tengo la costumbre, respondió el Príncipe, de mirar no tanto a la naturaleza de un regalo como al espíritu en el que se ofrece". Segunda parte de la Nuevas noches árabes. En este caso Stevenson, en colaboración con su esposa Fanny Van de Grift, nos propiciará una historia desopilante, llena de aventuras por las calles de Londres convertida en la Bagdad de Occidente. Todo comienza cuando tres jóvenes con poca fortuna y vidas aburridas se encuentran en un salón de fumar regenteado por el Príncipe Florizel. Luego de lamentar sus penas deciden hacer una apuesta. Saldrán a buscar aventuras, se dejarán influir por éstas y, después de un tiempo, volverán a reunirse para compartir sus experiencias. A partir de aquí comienzan las historias de cada uno, donde no faltarán personajes extraños, damas sospechosas, y el dinamitero del título en cuestión. La sorpresa mayor llega al final del cuento, donde los relatos de los tres hombres confluyen en un final maravillosamente bien logrado. La prosa de Stevenson, como de costumbre, fluida y a la vez profunda. Te hipnotiza y te hace viajar por diferentes escenarios, desde Utah, pasando por Londres y llegando a Cuba, con una velocidad que marea. Gran libro de aventuras pero que encierra más de una reflexión. Sin duda Stevenson es el gran maestro para contar historias.
October 23, 2015
This has been the hardest read of R.L. Stevenson. Trying to add to the Arabian Nights of Sir Richard Burton, the story is so convoluted, and drawn out it is just horribly executed for the modern reader.
As I read on, I tried to do research on the book as well, being co-authored by his new found wife, which he seems to have achieved scandalously from her previous husband. Being enraptured by this young author's success and poetry, for which Robert was known for as well.
However, I think this partnership both in relations and writing style is what completely destroyed the basis of the story, not coming close to the excitement of the Arabian Night tales in the modern European version. The characters pale in development and are all over the place, with the most simple connection to keep all of these short stories together. A real disappointment in my opinion.
Hopefully, his other novels bring back what amazed me in Treasure Island.
As I read on, I tried to do research on the book as well, being co-authored by his new found wife, which he seems to have achieved scandalously from her previous husband. Being enraptured by this young author's success and poetry, for which Robert was known for as well.
However, I think this partnership both in relations and writing style is what completely destroyed the basis of the story, not coming close to the excitement of the Arabian Night tales in the modern European version. The characters pale in development and are all over the place, with the most simple connection to keep all of these short stories together. A real disappointment in my opinion.
Hopefully, his other novels bring back what amazed me in Treasure Island.
January 30, 2014
Lots of good plots but no characters of any consequence . Ok for a kid perhaps. |Should have read when I was 12.
October 6, 2015
Lots of jabs at the Mormons. Cool plot. Tarantino should adapt it to film.
July 26, 2024
The book that began my love of Robert Louis Stevenson novels
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