Vive Le Roi! And Other Stories Book

Robert Louis Stevenson was one of the first genuine joys of my reading life. I remember picking up Treasure Island at the age of probably eight or nine, and just being captivated. Up until then, I probably didn't have much awareness that there existed a world outside Cork. And now, at forty, I still occasionally reach for his books, and the old magic still burns.
Island Nights' Entertainments has long been one of my favourites. I adore short stories, and I've always held dreams (fantasies?) of the South Pacific. Wonderfully constructed and rich in imagination, these stories are, most of all, thrilling in their sense of authenticity. Like Melville, Conrad, Jack London and Hemingway, this is writing fueled by living wild and hard.
In 'The Beach at Falesá', John Wiltshire, a British trader, arrives on a remote South Seas island to make his fortune. There are a few other white men on the island, the most charismatic of which is another trader, Case. Case appears friendly, and even arranges for Wiltshire to take a wife, a local beauty named Uma. But then the trouble begins. Uma, it seems, has a taboo attached to her, which keeps the natives away from Wiltshire's shop. All the strings are being pulled by the manipulative Case, who keeps the island's chiefs terrified by talk of devils.
This is a long story that, because of its striking realism, differs from the two fantasies that follow. It explores a number of important themes, including colonialism, religion and the power of love, is wonderfully paced, and turns into rip-roaring adventure as it charges towards its climax.
'The Bottle Imp' is just a brilliant "Monkey's Paw" type story, and one of Stevenson's best known. Keawe, a poor Hawaiian, buys, for fifty dollars, a bottle that'll make all his wishes come true. But there's a catch: if you die while in possession of the bottle, you are cursed to hell. And, in order to get rid of it, you must sell it for a lower price than you originally paid. Keawe uses the bottle to get the house of his dreams, then promptly passes it on. In time, he meets and falls in love with Kokua, but no sooner has he arranged to marry than he discovers himself inflicted with leprosy. Only the bottle can save him, but by this time it has passed through many hands, and the price has fallen to one cent.
Finally, 'The Isle of Voices' finds Keola, a lazy sort living on Molokai with his wife and her father, Kalamake, a strange and volatile man who seems to have an endless wealth and who is the subject of much rumour. When a trading ship approaches, Kalamake, in need of more cash, enlists the help of Keola. It's soon revealed that Kalamake is a wizard, and through a quick spell he and his son-in-law transport their spirits to a strange island, where the seashells can be turned into money.
Keola is amazed, but soon his greed is stirred, and he begins to make demands in exchange for his silence. Kalamake pretends to agree and they set off to fish, but Keola is soon adrift, and ends up marooned on a distant island, a place haunted by ghosts and inhabited for part of the year by a friendly tribe possessed of dark appetites. Probably the weakest of the three stories, it's still great fun, and a thoroughly captivating read.
Stevenson was a truly remarkable storyteller, a real master of plot and pacing, and his influence on 20th century fiction is immense. He lived out his final years in the tropical paradise of Samoa, and died at just forty-four, little over a year after this book had been published. That he managed, in that short life, to pen so many classics is both a wonder and a blessing. These stories are, for me, are not quite on a par with his very best books, but they are terrific examples of the form. It's at least a solid four, but as I've given lesser books than this a five star rating, I'll have to give in to the pull of my heart here.

El Diablo En La Botella y Otros Relatos De Los Mares Del Sur.- Robert L. Stevenson⁣
⁣
⁣
"Muchos dicen que estar solo intimida al hombre, pero no es así. Lo que intimida en la oscuridad o en el bosque es la inseguridad, ya que al lado suyo puede estar escondido un ejército. Lo más atemorizador es estar en medio de una multitud, sin saber lo que ésta se propone."⁣
⁣
⁣
Este pequeño libro que nos ofrece la editorial Terramar , incluye dos relatos del gran escritor escocés Robert L. Stevenson (1850-1894), El Diablo En La Botella y La Playa De Falesá. ⁣
⁣
⁣
En El Diablo En La Botella conocemos al hawaiano Keawe que encontrándose en San Francisco se cruza con una botella en la que habita un demonio rodeado de fuego que cumple todos los deseos que se le pida, excepto el de prolongar la vida.⁣
⁣
⁣
La Playa De Falesá cuenta las desventuras de un comerciante escocés que llega a la isla de Falesá a comerciar copra y se encuentra con más de una dificultad al casarse de forma ilegal con una local, incluso enfrentarse a demonios.⁣
⁣
⁣
Los dos relatos son muy buenos, aunque en lo particular me gustó más La Playa De Falesá. Tiene una construcción que se va armando de a poco, con tono realista, claras referencias al colonialismo británico y a la cruza de razas. Un cuento que empieza como una historia de aventuras y que al ir avanzando hojas se torna cada vez más oscura.⁣
⁣
⁣
Un libro muy recomendable para quien quiera leer algo más de este excelente narrador, fuera de Dr Jeckyll o de La Isla Del Tesoro.⁣
⁣
⁣
🤘🤘🤘🤘