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littletaiko's review against another edition
2.0
I don't think that Dafoe and I were meant to get on. I bailed on Robinson Crusoe and found Moll Flanders to be okay. At least this was more engaging than RC. I probably would have enjoyed the story more if it wasn't told in such a run on style with absolutely no chapter breaks. It just goes and goes through all of her misadventure and dubious choices. I could sympathize with her a bit since the options for women at that time were slim. Yet there was something about here that just made you shake your head - especially her relationship or lack there of with her numerous children who seemed to just disappear into thin air.
libbytx's review
4.0
Not something I normally would have picked up outside of a class, but I'm glad I got the chance to read it. Slow to start, but picks up fairly quickly.
lindseysparks's review
2.0
This has the best subtitle ever and I was excited to finally read this, but man this didn't turn out to be an enjoyable experience. Part of the problem is that it's so plot driven, but the whole plot is in the subtitle. You can see the beginning of a more character driven novel here, but it's not quite there so knowing the plot took away much of the pleasure of reading it. I also had a hard time staying focused. I'd read a few pages and then realize I wasn't paying attention, mainly because I didn't care. Oddly, at times I would picture Moll as Polly from Peaky Blinders and then did care because I love Polly but that didn't save the book. I can appreciate how this is a stepping stone in the development of the novel, but didn't enjoy it. It is also a nice souvenir from one of the oldest bookstores in America, Brattle Books in Boston, so I'll be keeping my copy even though I didn't love it.
jennthelibrarian's review
3.0
A very promising beginning to this book, but lost me about 2/3 in and I started not to care. Surprisingly readable for a book written in the 1700's and surprisingly close to Defoe's own personal life. Excellent example that sin, especially prostitution, and sex before marriage were extremely common even "back in the day". Things really don't change that much.
paragraphsandpages's review
3.0
I always feel like classics are hard books to judge and critique, since my own experience of the book is more modernized than the intended audience of them. Additionally, I generally read these books for academic purposes, leaving my intentions behind it more critical than enjoyable.
However, I do have some opinions regarding the general enjoyability of Moll Flanders, and while this review is much shorter than my others due to everything I said above, I hope the review still carries some benefit.
This book only clocks in at 332 pages, with the last 15-20 being filled with notes and footnotes, but it reads as long as one of 500+ pages that I'm used to. It is so insanely wordy and length, with paragraphs spanning pages, that I had to turn to an audiobook to even get through it. I simply couldn't stay awake otherwise (which is probably due to having 9am classes for the first time in a while if I'm being honest).
Additionally, this story contains the plot and events of a whole trilogy almost. It spans Moll Flanders entire life and all her many anecdotes, of which there are many. There were times when this was fresh and entertaining, like, but many other moments where it was just waaay too much and way too repetitive
All in all, it's an interesting book to discuss for class due to it's implications (in terms of being one of the first novels, it being published as a true story, and it being one of the first female driven narratives in mainstream culture), but it's definitely not something I would have read on my own time, or would have dropped if I had ever tried to start it.
However, I do have some opinions regarding the general enjoyability of Moll Flanders, and while this review is much shorter than my others due to everything I said above, I hope the review still carries some benefit.
This book only clocks in at 332 pages, with the last 15-20 being filled with notes and footnotes, but it reads as long as one of 500+ pages that I'm used to. It is so insanely wordy and length, with paragraphs spanning pages, that I had to turn to an audiobook to even get through it. I simply couldn't stay awake otherwise (which is probably due to having 9am classes for the first time in a while if I'm being honest).
Additionally, this story contains the plot and events of a whole trilogy almost. It spans Moll Flanders entire life and all her many anecdotes, of which there are many. There were times when this was fresh and entertaining, like
Spoiler
when she turned out to have married her brother and had 3 kids with himSpoiler
specifically the 8 years of her thievery. The stories were intriguing and sometimes even funny, but I didn't need to hear her happen upon the perfect heist 700 times in a row, thanks.All in all, it's an interesting book to discuss for class due to it's implications (in terms of being one of the first novels, it being published as a true story, and it being one of the first female driven narratives in mainstream culture), but it's definitely not something I would have read on my own time, or would have dropped if I had ever tried to start it.
jklbookdragon's review against another edition
4.0
I can't help read about this 17th century woman from a 21st century perspective, and as much as she berates herself for her wickedness, I think she'd be a pretty successful woman in our century. She has what today would be considered a healthy sex life, which of course got her condemned as a whore in those days. It's not like she's got 6 boyfriends at once and is sleeping with all of them, or is living in a brothel - she just has a succession of partners, and marries (and has children with) most of them, including a bit of unknowing incest, through no fault of her own. And only when she is driven by starvation and is in a society with no safety net and very few business opportunities for women (ok, she eventually sews a bit) does she turn to theft. She becomes somewhat addicted to that life or the excitement, and carries on way longer than she should, and I can agree with her condeming herself for that part of it - but she never would have become a thief in the first place if she hadn't been forced to by extremity.
At times she seems and professes to be a good Mother, and yet her numerous children are never named, never have real characters, and with one exception just kind of disappear. Yes, it's a story about Moll Flanders, but I find it odd that the men (and one or two women) in her life are well developed characters while her children are complete nonentities.
Moll as narrater is such a strong character that I tended to forget that it was Daniel Defoe writing the book - and apparently contributing to the invention of the novel at the same time (truly, indeed, a novel idea). It does provide an interesting look at various layers of society (averaging around upper middle class, perhaps?) in both England and the American colonies in the 17th century. This is not a quick read, but it is definitely enjoyable. 3.5 stars, rounded up.
At times she seems and professes to be a good Mother, and yet her numerous children are never named, never have real characters, and with one exception just kind of disappear. Yes, it's a story about Moll Flanders, but I find it odd that the men (and one or two women) in her life are well developed characters while her children are complete nonentities.
Moll as narrater is such a strong character that I tended to forget that it was Daniel Defoe writing the book - and apparently contributing to the invention of the novel at the same time (truly, indeed, a novel idea). It does provide an interesting look at various layers of society (averaging around upper middle class, perhaps?) in both England and the American colonies in the 17th century. This is not a quick read, but it is definitely enjoyable. 3.5 stars, rounded up.
lu2cy_i's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
zamzamnur's review against another edition
2.0
2nd half of the book is where it picked up and I could enjoy it, but this was still slightly boring. I had to listen to the audiobook to get through it
colorfulleo92's review against another edition
3.0
Published in 1721 this book follow Moll Flanders life through better and worse, and pretty much worse. I didn't have high hopes for this at all. Pretty low to be honest as I haven't heard people enjoying it but for me it's a 3.5 which isn't bad at all, especially not when I thought it would be a 2 or less. It wasn't the easiest book to read in English but I think I got the jist of it. Daniel Dafoe does like to flesh thing out, rather then being short and sweet but other then that it was pretty interesting.