Written 100 years before The Lord of the Flies, The Coral Island couldn't be more different than its literary descendant. I don't really know how to rate this 'classic' children's book (given its built-in racism, pro-colonialism, and missionizing agenda) but it certainly deepens my appreciation of Golding's masterpiece.

It's necessary to remember this book was published in 1858: _24 years before_ "Treasure Island." Public executions were still carried out in England and slavery was still legal in the US. Calling out issues of racism and imperialism here are a factor of presentism in the mind of the reader, even if the cannibalism and missionary zeal are exaggerated for dramatic effect. So, then.

So much of Ballantyne's narrative concerns the three central characters' observations, rationalizations, and accommodations of their new surroundings and circumstances that I could not help but make an intuitive leap; this book is not only the first major "boy's adventure" for Victorian literature, but is THE archetype of YA SFF published today. The bulk of this book reads like a standard YA portal fantasy or SF crashlanded-on-a-strange-planet novel the likes of which Andre Norton or (gasp) Robert Heinlein might have written, only in decidedly florid nineteenth-century prose. It's worth reading if only to see that, but then the 3 teens are likeable, the story breezy and exciting, and it's really neat to see how Pacific Islands were such an alien world to English readers at the time that such details were dazzling.

On the downside, there is a projected optimism that strains belief: things work out too well too often. I can see how & why Golding spun this same story into "The Lord of the Flies" a century later (whoopee, Cold War cynicism). Also, the Christian proselytizing is too thick in the last act to be carried by the narrative, and the narrative itself fizzles at the end rather than arrives anywhere. I wonder if he anticipated writing a sequel? ( )

Very early teen adventure book. Three boys are ship wrecked on a desert island. Its not bad but probably doesn't stand up well to more modern books of its kind. ( )

Not really sure what I think. Picked up from a shelf of second hand books in a Pembrokeshire cafe. Last read from the library when I was 10 or 11. I loved the first half - almost a manual on how to survive on a coral island in the South Seas. Enjoyed the pirate interlude as a bit of a change. Loathed the last bit of cannibals and christians. However the language is delicious throughout. ( )

Tried to read this one because I've always wanted to see what inspired Golding to write "Lord of the Flies." Just couldn't get into it. Maybe some other time...