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eli2k's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Racism, Animal death, Slavery, and Religious bigotry
franksreads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
Graphic: Slavery, Racial slurs, Death, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Cannibalism, Violence, Torture, Racism, Murder, Gun violence, and Colonisation
stindex's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.5
Graphic: Slavery, Religious bigotry, Racism, Racial slurs, Xenophobia, Toxic friendship, and Colonisation
negativesex's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
Graphic: Slavery, Murder, Blood, Xenophobia, Religious bigotry, Animal death, Animal cruelty, and Cannibalism
Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Murder, Racism, Torture, Classism, Hate crime, and Kidnapping
Minor: Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Alcohol
alphawolfe13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Minor: Classism, Racial slurs, Racism, and Religious bigotry
night3aven's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
- Robinson Crusoe - review
"Robinson Crusoe" is, according to the opinion of many academics and experts, the 1st English novel and an important archetype for both travel and adventure literature. This is certainly true; however, the novel results completely ineffective in entertaining the modern reader and is a classic that has aged incredibly poorly.
Nevertheless, it is still a little bit interesting to see how the book embodies, as the founding father of the genre, the typical structure that adventure/travel novels used during the centuries and that is still often used nowadays within the genre. Everything does also look completely realistic and the writing still is at least effective under this aspect (even if it is maybe too realistic for a novel).
Apart from that though, Defoe does not seem to ever write anything else really notable.
And again, all in all there is really too much (too much) repetition.
There's not much to say about them, Defoe does make a few attempts to expose some moral reflections on God and on colonialism and imperialism, yet he never gives satisfying arguments and everything ends up being pretty bland.
He always behaves like a narcissist, egocentric, racist, utilitarian man, acting like a colonialist, an imperialist (and displaying many times cultural appropriation, racism and religious bigotry) just because he is the one lucky enough to carry some weapons. Apart from that, however, not any reason is given to enforce his terrible personality.
You can make a protagonist with evil traits (even if probably DeFoe didn't think at all of Crusoe as "evil"), but please give him at least some reasons to behave in that way or at least don't make the fact that he thinks he's better than everyone else the only trait of his personality.
If it is true that other books from centuries ago contain offensive or retrograde elements, it is equally true that in Robinson Crusoe these are an integral part of the plot and the only characterizing cornerstone of the protagonist (whose only traits are literally colonialism, imperialism, racism and the belief that he is superior to others just because he is a Christian); this makes the protagonist utterly disgusting and unbearable and it seems impossible for the reader to emphatise with him.
It is certainly hard to write a book like this, but it is likewise a terrible fatigue going through it and reading it.
Thus we never see the true state of our condition till it is illustrated to us by its contraries, nor know how to value what we enjoy, but by the want of it.
Graphic: Animal death, Cultural appropriation, Racial slurs, Racism, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Colonisation, and Death
Minor: Alcohol, Cannibalism, and Misogyny
Boringtaylorlanxon's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? N/A
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
0.5
Graphic: Colonisation, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, and Slavery
caseymac's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
Graphic: Slavery, Racism, Racial slurs, Colonisation, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Cannibalism, Animal death, Islamophobia, and Misogyny
arobotunicorn's review against another edition
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Graphic: Slavery, Cannibalism, Colonisation, Racism, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Animal death
ioannaanastpl's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Slavery, Cannibalism, Religious bigotry, and Colonisation