Scan barcode
lolaroserobins's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
rosekk's review
4.0
I enjoyed this far more than I was expecting to, found the writing remarkably easy to read given the era it was written in, and found the imaginary islands fascinating.
gianouts's review
3.0
This is a classic I was well aware of but had not read. It is an introspective look at humanity that looks at it from a variety of angles. We usually adopt a narrow perspective of looking at the world and society and this book encourages the reader to step back and look from a different perspective. The book is written in a satirical first person point of view, is a bit long-winded in places, but a good read nonetheless.
mbondlamberty's review
3.0
I had to read this the summer before my junior year of high school.
It was a famous tale, but who knew that Gulliver went beyond the land of giants and midgets! Well he did.
I know it is a famous book, but I didn't enjoy reading it much.
I think I enjoyed studying it more than I did reading it and learning what the various peoples he visited were supposed to represent.
Depiction of women left something to be desired, but not overly egregious compared to the other authors of his day and age.
It was a famous tale, but who knew that Gulliver went beyond the land of giants and midgets! Well he did.
I know it is a famous book, but I didn't enjoy reading it much.
I think I enjoyed studying it more than I did reading it and learning what the various peoples he visited were supposed to represent.
Depiction of women left something to be desired, but not overly egregious compared to the other authors of his day and age.
wetdryvac's review
4.0
I always had a sort of disgust for Gulliver's travels, but this version somehow didn't turn my stomach - may even have changed my mind about some of the value of the story. Still an uncomfortable read in points, but the art helped lots.
rjvrtiska's review
5.0
A far-fetched adventure story for children, chock full of amazingly relevant political satire for the adult reader.
dorhastings's review
3.0
Ahh the last of a series of books I needed to review, and this one was at least more recent than some others.
I'd been meaning to read this book for some time and have it in at least two formats, but I finally got around to it via audio format. I actually quite enjoyed it as an audiobook, which is not always the case. The story is quite well-known: an Englishman takes several journeys by sea and ends up in multiple places: sometimes the people he encounter are very small; sometimes the people he encounters are very large, and sometimes the most civilized individuals he interacts with are horses. (I'll bet David Hyde Pierce had a good time with those names and the horse language.) In commenting on the similarities between these other cultures and his own, Gulliver's narration provides us with Swift's clear and less-than-rosy commentary on English society, justice, and practices. Gulliver's description of the history and politics of some of these other cultures can be a bit tedious when it comes to easy reading, but it's clever nonetheless.
I'd been meaning to read this book for some time and have it in at least two formats, but I finally got around to it via audio format. I actually quite enjoyed it as an audiobook, which is not always the case. The story is quite well-known: an Englishman takes several journeys by sea and ends up in multiple places: sometimes the people he encounter are very small; sometimes the people he encounters are very large, and sometimes the most civilized individuals he interacts with are horses. (I'll bet David Hyde Pierce had a good time with those names and the horse language.) In commenting on the similarities between these other cultures and his own, Gulliver's narration provides us with Swift's clear and less-than-rosy commentary on English society, justice, and practices. Gulliver's description of the history and politics of some of these other cultures can be a bit tedious when it comes to easy reading, but it's clever nonetheless.