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3.17 AVERAGE
3.17 AVERAGE
i can recognize and appreciate it as being one of the first instances of a novel in the english language, however it is very much a product of its time and the extreme racism and colonial-saviourism is incredibly uncomfortable and hard to look past. theres like an entire page dedicated to calling different ethnicities ugly for xyz reasons. the character of friday IS the worst character i have ever read. absolutely disgusting depiction of indigenous people, and anytime friday was present i wanted to throw up. so gross and uncomfortable to the professor who assigned this book for class...
The middle of this book was really boring and I found myself skimming through those parts. But the beginning and the end of the book were fun to read.
adventurous
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Big colonizer vibes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racism, Slavery, Cannibalism
Moderate: Violence
I only read this because I’m on a quest to read all the unread books in my house. This is one from high school that I never read. I kept feeling like I had read the book and upon some Wikipedia searching discovered some interesting facts: 1) Robinson Crusoe is considered the first English novel and 2) lots of novels were published after that followed the same castaway plot and are now called Robinsonian novels, the most famous one of which is Swiss Family Robinson. Then I remembered that we watched the movie Swiss Family Robinson instead of reading Robinson Crusoe in high school- ha!
I do enjoy a castaway, survival story (love Hatchet) but this was kinda meh to me. My version included reviews from Poe, Woolf, and Thoreau at the end that all basically said that the writing is subpar but people loved it so thank you Defoe for launching the novel. I agree and would recommend skipping unless you’re a nerd and want to have read the first English novel.
A final note, I saw a lot of reviews bashing the book for having racist content and saying that we shouldn’t be reading this anymore. I kinda disagree. It was published in 1719 and I think it’s important to understand the viewpoints of the general public from different times.
Thus ends my longest review ever and for a 3 star book I’d recommend skipping.
I do enjoy a castaway, survival story (love Hatchet) but this was kinda meh to me. My version included reviews from Poe, Woolf, and Thoreau at the end that all basically said that the writing is subpar but people loved it so thank you Defoe for launching the novel. I agree and would recommend skipping unless you’re a nerd and want to have read the first English novel.
A final note, I saw a lot of reviews bashing the book for having racist content and saying that we shouldn’t be reading this anymore. I kinda disagree. It was published in 1719 and I think it’s important to understand the viewpoints of the general public from different times.
Thus ends my longest review ever and for a 3 star book I’d recommend skipping.
A bit preachy at times. Shows Europeans horrible view of indigenous peoples.
adventurous
challenging
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
First of all, it was an interesting idea for a book. Stranded on tropical island with only what you can scavenge from his destroyed ship. However, the parts that dragged this down for me was the repetition. At one point he describes what he did for the first 4 years stranded on the island. He then proceeds to show his journal... which just describes what he did the first 4 years on the island again. Repeatedly get his mental thoughts on religion, which is fine the first time, but it goes on and on.
The book is not sensitive to current ideas about slavery and race, but it was written in the 1700's so can't fault it for it's time.
Overall, wasn't my favorite book. If you want a more modern take on the 'Man trapped on Island' story, I suggest The Martian.
The book is not sensitive to current ideas about slavery and race, but it was written in the 1700's so can't fault it for it's time.
Overall, wasn't my favorite book. If you want a more modern take on the 'Man trapped on Island' story, I suggest The Martian.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No