3.17 AVERAGE


Actual rating: 2.5/5
Read my review on my website below! www.dahliaexitium.weebly.com ♡

I did not like this one bit. And even if I ignored all the racism and sexism and religious stuff and absolutely everything (I am well aware a book from 1719 can’t keep up with today’s standards), it was still really bad. I don’t think I liked even a single thing about this story. And yes, the racism and everything absolutely played a roll in that, but even if I ignore that, the story was also just really boring? A lot of stuff happened, but for some reason Crusoe never struggled? Everything just came to him very easily? He was the smartest person this book had, but wasn’t actually that smart just everyone else was more stupid? I don’t know, maybe I got a shortened copy or something, I don’t care enough, but I just think, that even if all the problematic stuff had been cut, I still wouldn’t have enjoyed the story, because there just were no real problems ever and Crusoe wasn’t really likable and just … I didn’t like anything. I think I didn’t hate everything either, but I hated a lot and I could not tell you a single thing right now that I didn’t mind. So bad story + all the problematic stuff made me hate this whole thing and I was really happy once it was over.

Defoe's novel is definitely of its time, both in its colonial content and its sometimes unfortunate structure.

Not only does Crusoe see native people as inherently inferior, he also has strong opinions about the worthlessness of the French and.the praiseworthy spirit of the Spanish, despite the atrocities he knows they've committed.

While some describe this as an epistolary novel, I don't think the inclusion of some of the journal he was able to keep before running out of ink justifies that label.

The book has action, but the action is weighted down with overly detailed description and philosophical interjections.

Overall, I found the book didactic in tone, archaic in attitude, and numbingly written. As someone who enjoys a good adventure story that pits man against nature, I did not enoy this one.

The first time I considered reading Robinson Crusoe was while reading another book, [b:The Moonstone|6138|The Moonstone|Wilkie Collins|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1403192382s/6138.jpg|1044477] by Wilkie Collins. One of the characters from that book loved Robinson Crusoe because he found answers there for his own problems and difficulties. Of course, I also wanted a book in which my questions to be answered and so I met Daniel Defoe's most known character.

I loved the story! I felt like there were so many similarities with my own life, metaphorically speaking, that I needed to read really careful. His thoughts, decisions and worries made the story appear real. God is mentioned a few times throughout the story, but I had the feeling of a deus ex machina in some situations (or Crusoe is just a really, really lucky man). That's not so far fetched, if I come to think about it. I like how there is a general equilibrium all over the novel while keeping the reader engaged.

Sometimes it's hard to grasp on some notions which are unfamiliar to you, such as decades of utter loneliness and a life focused only on survival. I'm not saying it's difficult to imagine that, but can we really, truly understand that? I don't think we know ourselves completely. Although we might have some expectations from within, life is what actually makes us know ourselves for who we really are.

Probably the most encountered feeling people have while reading this book is a sudden appreciation of their current situation. The gratefulness for all the things we have and don't really see or notice, the problems we encounter which have nothing to do with staying alive. I'm just guessing here.

A book worth reading more than once!

Engaging story but somewhat dense and very old English which made it a little hard to focus. 3.3/5

it was an interesting book, just not my type of book. I thought the writing style was pretty detached from emotion and told more like a story that someone experience but they have told the story so many times that it lacks any feeling or emotion now.

The writing in this book is dated to say the least, written more like a diary than a book but it is a classic concept and done very well. I really enjoyed it.

Not worth the read. Super dense for no reason and promotes a racist, colonialist view of the world.

Excellent piece of literature allowing me to immerse myself in an 18th century mindset. The English language itself is an experience with the long seemingly everlasting sentences. The long journey of Robinson's life is truly a classic and especially so if one allows oneself to pick up an unedited version with the original language. It makes me want to explore the 18th century further.

2,5⭐️