Kidnapped

 

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A good, easy, adventure read is by no means hard to find these days. But despite all the modern narrative escapades we can go on within an afternoon, I myself find that the older works still prove to be goodies. Case in point, I just closed the cover on Robert Louis Stevenson’s Kidnapped, a truly exciting young reader’s tale of mishap and adventure that holds everything from violence, to fugitives, to starvation, and even a comical climax. 

When David Balfour's father dies, he is sent to stay with his estranged uncle Ebenezer. His time at his uncle’s house raises questions about his family and then turns disastrous when David is kidnapped and put onto a boat to be sold into slavery in the Carolinas. After a daring escape David finds his troubles are only beginning as he becomes shipwrecked, forced to traverse the wild Scottish moors with a Highland warrior, blamed for a murder he did not commit, and spends several months as a fugitive. 

The more I read of Robert Louis Stevenson, the more I am impressed by his versatility. Treasure Island and The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde are chalk and cheese, and now nestled in between the two is Kidnapped. With the high-stakes adventure vibes of Treasure Island and set against a dramatic and mournful landscape that reminds us of Jamaica Inn, Wuthering Heights, and The Hound of the Baskervilles, this book is an exciting piece of young-adult fiction that covers all the bases for a captivating and enlightening read. Sprinkled amongst the bouts of action, shipwreck, battles, and flights are geographical and historical lessons about the period, communicated in a way that is both interesting and insightful. 

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The prose itself, while posing a little bit of a challenge with the dialogue being written phonetically, is really easy to read with no points of boring exposition or droning description. The emotional journey of the protagonist is just as interesting as his physical one, with Stevenson very cleverly exploring the emotional and sometimes psychological shifts in relationships between two people travelling together at length in adverse conditions. This makes the reading experience richer and deeper and more that mere adventure. 

A seasoned reader could honestly make an afternoon adventure out of these 300 hundred pages, it’s that intriguing right from the off. Would recommend! 

Author: Robert Louis Stevenson, 1886

Published: Vintage (2009) Random House, London