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3.29 AVERAGE
3.29 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
medium-paced
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Read this for a British Literature class. Swift is really committed to skewering everyone, ever. I don't think anyone in England at that time could get through this book without catching a stray, and I respect that about it. The politics were very 1700s, but it was at least anti-colonialist and anti-war, and seemed to respect the importance of girls' education. It also made me laugh out loud several times, usually because of Swift skewering someone
informative
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
challenging
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Gulliver's Travels was an absolutely fantastic read. I was expecting something dry and overwritten, but instead encountered a story that was funny, witty, and even moved at a decent pace. It's no secret that Swift was a satirist, and every single race he encountered - from the diminutive Lilliputians to the talking horses ruled entirely by reason, to the horrifying feral relations to humans called Yahoos - was used as a mirror to attack and lampoon Europe, England, and humanity as a whole. I found myself laughing more than once as he would compare the habits of the peoples he encountered with those back home, and find himself defending his homeland without a clear argument as to why he could be right.
I highly recommend Gulliver's Travels. If you let yourself get past the writing style of an early 18th century Englishman, you will be glad you picked this story up.
I highly recommend Gulliver's Travels. If you let yourself get past the writing style of an early 18th century Englishman, you will be glad you picked this story up.
This book was very slow. I couldn’t get through it because I kept falling asleep. I get that it was a monumental book in its time, but much of the political satire was lost on me, the modern reader. However, I will say that the book provided an awesome discussion at my book club when we talked about some of its symbolic themes.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
For a book written in the early 18th Century, it holds up pretty well. It's not a novel so much as a travelogue or long essay about the human condition. Sad to say, most of the criticisms are as valid today as when this book was published. I probably would have gotten more out of the book if it had been annotated; I'm sure I missed a lot of references to then current events.
I found it interesting that Swift didn't hesitate to describe bodily functions. Perhaps the funniest scene was when Gulliver urinated on a fire to put it out. You won't see that in any of the movie adaptations!
I found it interesting that Swift didn't hesitate to describe bodily functions. Perhaps the funniest scene was when Gulliver urinated on a fire to put it out. You won't see that in any of the movie adaptations!
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No