The Man He Never Was: A Modern Reimaging of Jekyll and Hyde by James L. Rubart Review and GIVEAWAY (TLC Book Tours)

Toren Daniels awakens one morning in a strange hotel, even though he remembers falling asleep beside his wife at home the day before.  Getting up and venturing into life, he realizes he has been missing for eight months and was presumed dead.  Where has he been this entire time and what has happened to his fierce anger that was driving a wedge between him and his family?

Toren was a NFL player who had troubles managing his anger on the field.  So much so that he lost his spot on the team and in the NFL overall with no team wanting him.  Instead of having that outlet for his anger, he instead starts taking it out on his family until the day he disappears.

Toren spends this story trying to figure out what exactly happened to him during this time.  He feels like he can control his better anger now – where was he?  How can he use this control to get his family back?  As he explores he starts to realize it is related to the classic Robert Louis Stevenson novella of Jekyll and Hyde.  Every person has a dark version of themselves that sometimes during hardships is unleased.  Jekyll was trying to figure out how to control and destroy that version of himself, has someone managed to figure out how to do this in the modern age?

I was intrigued by the entire premise and I really enjoyed the bringing in of the Jekyll and Hyde story as well as discussion of how that was used in the modern age for Hulk.  I also wanted to know along with Toren -where was he and I enjoyed his journey.  His journey took a deep look into his past and abuse at the ends of his father and how that led to his present.  Toren wants to be a good person for his family and to be able to regain his spot in the NFL, how can he get there?

Favorite Quotes:

“Because in Jekyll and Hyde, Robert Louis Stevenson portrays one distinctly good personality and one distinctly evil personality.  Henry Jekyll ends up in an all-out war with his dark half, Edward Hyde.  Jekyll says that he and every other man and woman is ‘not truly one, but truly two,’ and he sees the human soul as the ultimate battleground of our lives – one part of us an angel, the other a demon, both struggling for mastery and destruction of the other.”

 

“Only love matters in the end.  So only love matters in the present.”

Overall, The Man He Never Was is a very interesting and original story of a man’s self-discovery.  It’s a mystery/thriller as he tries to figure out what mysterious forces have been at work in his life.

Book Source:  E-book Review Copy for being a part of TLC Book Tours.  For more stop on the tour check out this link.

Giveaway

One lucky winner will receive a copy of The Man He Never Was by James L. Rubart. If you would like to win this book, please leave a comment on what interests you about this book. Have you ever read The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr Hyde or watched a film/play version?  If so, what are your thoughts on the story?

As part of your comment, you must include an email address. If I can't find a way to contact you I will draw another winner.

For an additional entry, blog about this giveaway or post it on your sidebar. Provide a link to this post in your comment.

I will be using random.org (or a Monte Carlo simulation in excel) to pick the winners from the comments.

This contest is only open to addresses in the United States and Canada.

The deadline for entry is midnight on Friday April 6th!

Please make sure to check the week of April 9th to see if you are a winner. I send emails to the winner, but lately I've been put in their "junk mail" folder instead of their inbox.

Good luck!

Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson (audiobook)

Title: Treasure Island
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
Read by: Frederick Davidson
Publisher: Blackstone Audio, Inc.
Length: 7 CDs, approximately 8 hours
Source: Wisconsin Public Library Consortium from the Kewaunee Public Library Website (Digital Download in Overdrive Media Console

Somehow in my youth, I managed to miss Treasure Island.  I had heard of the novel, but I never read it nor watched a movie version of it.  As the month of March focused on Robert Louis Stevenson, I vowed to rectify this omission.

Treasure Island was a rollicking adventure novel that was a perfect audiobook adventure.  I listened to the Blackstone Audio version on my Droid while doing household tasks and I really enjoyed it.  Frederick Davidson was a wonderful narrator that was able to bring the pirate crew and cast of characters brilliantly to life.  I especially loved his interpretation of Long John Silver.

For those like me that somehow missed this novel, Treasure Island tells the tale of a young lad, Jim Hawkins.  He lives in an inn with his mother and father and their lodger, Billy Bones.  Billy Bones is an old seaman and likes to drink and tell swashbuckling tales.  He has Jim on the look-out for the “one-legged man” and lives in mortal fear of him.  Jim’s father dies and soon afterwards an old blind seaman stops to see Billy Bones and give him a “black spot.”  Bones dies of “apoplexy” at this pirate summons.  Young Jim and his mother search Bones belongings for the money owed to them and Jim finds a mysterious oilskin packet during the search.  While they are searching, they hear a tap, tap, tap as the blind pirate approaches with his cane.  As pirates overtake the inn and Jim and his mother try to escape, the book has one of the best suspense sequences that I have ever read (or listened too).  I was in mortal fear myself!

The adventure continues on as Young Jim shows the magistrate, Dr. Livesey, and the local Squire, Squire Trelawney the packet and they are excited to find a treasure map within.  The three decide to search for the treasure together.  Squire Trelawney obtains the ship the Hispaniola, hires Captain Smollett, and a cook Long John Silver who requisitions the rest of the crew.  As the voyagers near their destination, it is soon discovered that treachery is at hand.  Will young Jim be able to navigate his way through this treachery of the crew to find the treasure?

I really enjoyed this novel.  It was a fantastic adventure story and I couldn’t wait to hear what would come next.  As I said before, some scenes, such as when the pirates come to the inn, have the reader at the edge of their seats with suspense.  What elevate this story above “just” an adventure story are the great characters, particularly Long John Silver.  Is he a bad guy or a good guy?  He is wonderful character and I think I could read an entire novel just about him. 

I loved all of the pirate lore in Treasure Island that has become common place in the movies, music, and novels of today.  The “black spot” was in both Pirates of the Caribbean as well as on Doctor Who.  According to the expert (Wikipedia),   this is the first story in which “x marks the spot appeared. A lot of the pirate tunes we think of today were in the novel and I wonder what Stevenson used for a source.  The entire language of the pirates, their dress, wooden legs, and parrots or in other words, everything we use to describe pirates was included in this novel.  I want to read a book that delves deeper into the history of pirates and Robert Louis Stevenson.  Does anyone know of a good book?  Treasure Island takes place in the mid-18^th century, which is at the height of piracy.

Overall, Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson is a great story with fantastic characters and adventure with suspense that is not to be missed. 

Muppet Treasure Island (1996)

I was a great fan of the Muppets as a child, but this movie came out just when I was graduating from high school so I wasn’t at the right age to go and see it.  My sons love pirates and my husband and I wanted to introduce them to the Muppets so we watched this movie last month.

Muppet Treasure Island tells the class tall of Treasure Island by Robert Louis Stevenson if Treasure Island was a musical and the supporting roles were taken by Muppets.  Kermit is Captain Smollett and Miss Piggy is “Benjamina” Gunn.  Humans play the characters of Jim Hawkins and Long John Silver.  The plot line follows similar to the book, but with key differences (such as young Jim being an orphan and the ending). 

My sons LOVED this movie and really want to watch it again.  They particularly liked the music and thought the Muppets were pretty funny.  I enjoyed the music too except for the occasional “off” piece such as young Jim’s solo at the beginning and the rendition of “cabin fever” in the middle.  I thought Tim Curry’s performance as Long John Silver was a bit over the top in a mustache twirling type way. In the book I thought he was more of a mystery on his motives.

Overall though, Muppet Treasure Island is a good family movie to watch together with the basic plot of Treasure Island.

Movie Source:  The Kewaunee Public Library

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde by Robert Louis Stevenson (audiobook)

Title: The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde
Author: Robert Louis Stevenson
Read by: Sir Ian Holm
Publisher: CSA Word
Length: 2 hours, 33 minutes
Source: Wisconsin Public Library Consortium from the Kewaunee Public Library Website (Digital Download in Overdrive Media Console

I read The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde back in high school sadly on my own and not part of a class reading assignment.  It’s been a few years since then, so I thought I’d listen to an audiobook version to refresh my memory.

The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde is told through the narrative of a lawyer, John Utterson that hears a tale from a friend of a mysterious Mr. Hyde that tramples a girl.  To Mr. Utterson, the most disturbing part of the story is that the girl is paid off through a cheque signed by Dr. Jekyll, a friend of Mr. Utterson.  Mr. Utterson seeks to understand the strange connection between Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde.  The later part of the story is narrated through letters by Dr.  Lanyon and Dr. Jekyll explaining the mystery.

SPOILER ALERT. I had forgotten a lot of the details of the story so it was very interesting to listen to it again.  I like how Dr. Jekyll reveled in being able to separate his dark side and to enjoy living without moral obligations as Mr. Hyde.  But he soon finds his Hyde self was out of control in his way of living, and in control of Dr. Jekyll.  At first he had to take a potion to become Hyde, but soon he had to take a potion to not become Hyde.  It was very interesting how the dark side ultimately took him over.  SPOILER END.

Sadly I think Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde have become so commonplace in our society that it really takes away from the story to read or listen to it now.  It must have been quite shocking to read it for the first time, not knowing the truth. Now it takes away from the entire climax of the story to already know the ending.  I didn’t particularly like the narrative structure of the story either, having it narrated by Mr. Utterson and then concluded by a couple of longish letters.

The version I listened to by CSA Word was very hard to listen too.  It was recorded so low that even when turned up all of the way, I could hardly hear what was going on.  This was very distracting and made it hard to focus on the story.

Overall, Robert Louis Stevenson wrote a very inventive and compelling story.  The only flaw is that it is so compelling that everyone knows what Jekyll and Hyde are and it ruins the climax of the story.

March Posts for the Victorian Challenge 2012 – Robert Louis Stevenson Month!

I hope everyone is enjoying the final weeks of winter and is looking forward to the start of spring in just a few short weeks. We are closing the reviews on the month of February – Charles Dickens month. We had a total of 13 reviews in addition to a guest blog from Dickensblog and an author interview with Deborah Hopkinson, author of A Boy Called Dickens. Reviews were down from the month of January, but many of you still may be trying to finish up Dickens novels. It took me most of the month to read the massive (and excellent) Drood by Dan Simmons and I was sadly unable to read Oliver Twist. I’m hoping to be able to still read it sometime this year during the Victorian Challenge.

March is Robert Louis Stevenson month for the Victorian Challenge 2012. You can post any Victorian related item you like this month, but I am going to focus on Robert Louis Stevenson and you are allowed to focus with me! We will hopefully have a guest blog post on the Robert Louis Stevenson through the month also to celebrate. Please post your March reviews below in Mr. Linky (and not on the January or February link-up). If you haven’t signed up for the challenge yet, go to this sign-up link.

Robert Louis Stevenson was a Scottish writer born in 1850. He became a Victorian celebrity for publishing such works as The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde, Treasure Island, and Kidnapped. Stevenson grew up a sickly child that used his imagination to compose adventures stories even at a young age. As an adult, although his constitution was weak, Stevenson traveled around the world and used these travels as inspiration for his works. He died at the age of 44 in Samoa.

The only Robert Louis Stevenson work I’ve read is The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde and it has been some time since I’ve read it. I’ve already listened to an audiobook version and need to type of the review. I’m currently listening to Treasure Island and greatly enjoying it. I’ve got Kidnapped on my pile of books and hopefully I’m able to get to it this month. Do you plan on reading any Stevenson this month? If so, what works of Robert Louis Stevenson interest you?

I look forward to reading your reviews this month!

Please post the name of your blog followed by the item you reviewed. For example, Laura's Reviews (The Strange Case of Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde).