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Silver: My Own Tale as Written by Me with a Goodly Amount of Murder
by Edward Chupack

Published: 2009-01-06
Paperback : 288 pages
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“This is a savage, heart-pounding novel 'by one of the Canon’s great villains and full, as Silver himself says “of treasure, as there is such pleasure in the telling of it, like nipping from a glass of brandy in the eventide, a long eventide made of odds and chances with a red dawn in the the ...
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Introduction

“This is a savage, heart-pounding novel 'by one of the Canon’s great villains and full, as Silver himself says “of treasure, as there is such pleasure in the telling of it, like nipping from a glass of brandy in the eventide, a long eventide made of odds and chances with a red dawn in the the reckoning. And, he should be sure not to leave out the blood.'” -- MacMillan Library, SMP Winter 2008   There is a strong belief by many that people are born good.  Are they?  Others believe that people come into this world with sin.  What drives us to perform acts of kindness and what propels us to do evil?  These are the questions that I raise in SILVER.    Long John Silver is funny, strong, charming and handsome. He rose from abject poverty to great power and wealth.  He finds the woman of his dreams.  But, does he ever truly rise above his humble beginnings?  Is he happy?  Mary is the love of his life, and yet he spends most of his life solving ciphers and clues, searching for the answer to a profound mystery that goes back hundreds of years.   Why do we like this villain so much?  Why are we attracted to him and his band of pirates, each one more nefarious than the next?   Silver tells the story of his life in my novel, but can we trust him?  We find him, when the novel begins, locked in his cabin by a captain that he knows but refuses to name.  Why?  What does this captain know about Mary, the love of Silver's life?  Is there really a treasure or is it just dust that falls through their hands?   These are the questions that I raise in SILVER, as we walk through Londontown of old, plunder, roam the high seas, find love and search for the answers to a great mystery.

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Excerpt

I am Silver, and there is no other pirate like me on these waters. No other. Not you and not Kwik, not Smith and not Gunn, not Bones nor Black John. Not damned Pew. Not Bloody Bill. Not Solomon. And not Jim Hawkins, that son of a slattern. ... view entire excerpt...

Discussion Questions

1. Why does the reader root for the villain.

2. Do you consider tthe ship, the Linda Maria, to be a character in the novel.

3. How does SILVER differ from the traditional view of pirates in the movies.

4. Why is Silver attracted to Mary.

Notes From the Author to the Bookclub

I am the child of a Holocaust survivor and as such have been preoccupied with the notion of good and evil in this world.  Why are people attracted to tyrants and malevolent individuals?  Is there such a thing as "negative charisma"?  How do we account for all of the evil in this world?  The more that I explored philosophy and religion to help me find answers to these questions, the more questions I had. SILVER is my attempt to resolve these questions by using fiction to help me--and you--discover the answers to these questions.  Long John Silver is charming, likeable, witty, funny, strong, good with a sword and a pistol.  He rises from low beginnings to great wealth and power.  He is a hero by our standard definitions of a hero, and yet...he is greedy, murderous, duplicitous, scheming and treacherous.  He finds the love of his life, Mary, but is tortured by the concept of a relationship.  He seeks a unique treasure, spending most of his life solving the riddles and ciphers that will bring him the ultimate prize.  What drives him to commit unspeakable acts?

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