KID NAPPED - FOR 54 YEARS...

But Finally Awoke And Got Around To Reading A Classic!

For around 54 years I've deprived myself of an immense pleasure without being aware of it until the last couple of days.  Back in the latter days of 1966 or the early part of 1967, my brother and myself were each gifted a book as a Christmas present by an aunt and uncle.  (I no longer recall with certainty, but if we didn't receive the books before or on Christmas, they passed into our possession belatedly sometime in the New Year.)

The books were Kidnapped and Treasure Island, both authored by Robert Louis Stevenson, the same writer who penned the tale of Strange Case Of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  (Yup, that's right - no article before 'Strange'.)  As recounted here, my brother was given Kidnapped, while Treasure Island was my half of the gift.  It wasn't 'til around 10 years later that I finally read a replacement copy of the book I'd acquired, and I very much enjoyed it.

I say replacement, as I don't quite know what happened to my original copy, but somehow my brother's book survived and had passed into my hands.  Yesterday I decided to start reading it, having just finished half an hour ago as I type, and it truly was an excellent, gripping, and enthralling read.  To think that this treasure (allusion intended) has sat in a cupboard for lo those many years, patiently waiting to be read simply astounds me.  What could I have been thinking in not embarking in this most pleasant undertaking before now?

Stevenson is indeed a masterful storyteller, and I'd be doing you a disservice if I neglected to commend this novel to your attention if you've not already read it.  And even if you have, if it was many years ago when you were younger, I'm sure you'd certainly enjoy reading it again.  And if you haven't read it before, don't be caught napping - do it soon, as a real treat awaits you!

Posted in: Cartoons