3.17 AVERAGE


Denne historie var en blandet fornøjelse. Jeg tror aldrig jeg har været så sløv til at komme igennem en bog - stærkt gik det i hvert fald ikke. Men når det så er sagt, så synes jeg selve historien var okay. Det første lange stykke tid var jeg lidt træt af den, men efterhånden som han er på øen, så bliver den mere og mere interessant, og det er beundringsværdigt, hvor godt han klarer sig.

Noget der irriterede mig lidt ved bogen er hans vekslen mellem at 'lege religiøs' og ikke skænke det en tanke. Jeg ved godt, at det er et meget vigtigt element i bogen, da der senere kan redegøres for, hvor vigtig religion er for ham eller ej, men passagerne fik mig til at hive mig selv i håret. Find dog ud af, om du tror på Gud eller ej kære Crusoe. Det positive ved bogen er helt klart beskrivelserne af omgivelserne på øen, samt beskrivelsen af skibbruddet og det forfærdelige uvejr.

"Well, you are in a desolate Condition 'tis true, but pray remember, Where are the rest of you? Did not you come Eleven of you into the Boat, where are the Ten? Why were not they sav'd and you lost? Why were you singled out? Is it better to be here or there, and then I pointed to the Sea? All Evils are to be consider'd with the Good that is in them, and with what worse attends them." - citat side 47.

Der er nogle tænksomme passager i bogen, som også er vældigt inspirerende, selvom der dog er et stykke imellem dem. Så alt i alt en okay klassiker, som jeg er glad for at have læst, men jeg kommer nok ikke til at genlæse den lige foreløbig. Det skulle da lige være for at stifte bekendtskab med personen 'Fredag' endnu en gang.

I read this so I could read J M Coetzee’s Foe. It was much more pacy than I expected, and a fascinating insight into the Protestant individual mind that justifies his capitalist and colonial exploitation of other humans, of nonhuman animals, and of the land, bursting with contradictions.

The adventure aspect, very interesting. The white savior aspect, less so. 
adventurous challenging dark slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Less of an adventure story, more a meditation on God, survival, redemption etc. The casual and graphic racism and animal cruelty are obviously products of the time, but they can make grim reading at times. 

Expand filter menu Content Warnings

De eerste roman in de ik-vorm is bedoeld als avonturenverhaal maar geeft nu vooral een kijk in het wereldbeeld van een kolonisator uit de 17e eeuw

Another classic I doubted the hype, then rather enjoyed reading. I think this is a default classic as it was one that falls under the general boom of literature becoming a typical leisure activity. I think going into this book was hard because of all the opinions I heard of it before reading.
I don't think this is a must read but I think it still earns a classic label.
adventurous challenging hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Read this for uni. Our professor told us that we can "skip the ending about the Pyrenees". I wanted to give it a try nonetheless and oh my gosh do I understand why we could've skipped it. Such a nonsensical ending. Had the book ended with Crusoe's arrival to Europe, I might have given 3.5, but I was truly fighting for my life in those last 40 pages...
slow-paced
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No

Very boring
adventurous dark hopeful medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated

Defoe's Robinson Crusoe has been called (by no less than James Joyce) the first English novel. I had the pleasure of reading the 300th Anniversary Edition from Restless Books. It opens with Jamaica Kincaid's "Introduction" which first quotes Joyce (who calls the character Robinson Crusoe the "true symbol of British conquest") and then continues as a satiric letter from Kincaid to Crusoe himself: "Dear Mr. Crusoe. Please stay home." The book lays bare 18th century British attitudes towards colonization; race; slavery; religion; and more, but there are also some subtleties and nuances one wouldn't expect. This edition also comes with a Chronology of Defoe's life, and wonderful black ink drawings (and an artist's statement) by Eko.

The story that Defoe tells is a remarkable tale that probably was unheard of in its day. Back then it was a best-seller, and I dread to think of the other books that were written during that time. Defoe uses very long sentences, a metric ton of commas and loves his capitalisation.

The book does have nice moments and the story told is very interesting, but the writing style is dated. It is one of those books that you should read, but I personally did not enjoy it most of the time.