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3.17 AVERAGE
3.17 AVERAGE
daniel defoe more like daniel MY foe
how was this book conceived and written? like, genuinely?
did people plan what they were going to write back when this book was written? bc i think bro just sat down, put pen to paper, wrote for like ten hours, and then went 'yup'.
maybe if i was religious i would have gotten something out of this, but the concept of religion is so far out of my realm of possibility that the religious parts of this book just made me think that protagonist was dumb :/
the lost, hatchet, lord of the flies, etc, lover in me found this kinda entertaining sometimes, but whatever.
for how old it is, i didnt find it to be particularly racist or sexist or whatever. ive read things written in the past 100 years that were far worse than this in that regard.
how was this book conceived and written? like, genuinely?
did people plan what they were going to write back when this book was written? bc i think bro just sat down, put pen to paper, wrote for like ten hours, and then went 'yup'.
maybe if i was religious i would have gotten something out of this, but the concept of religion is so far out of my realm of possibility that the religious parts of this book just made me think that protagonist was dumb :/
the lost, hatchet, lord of the flies, etc, lover in me found this kinda entertaining sometimes, but whatever.
for how old it is, i didnt find it to be particularly racist or sexist or whatever. ive read things written in the past 100 years that were far worse than this in that regard.
adventurous
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
Another book in my 30 classics before 30 Challenge. Listened via Scribd.
3.5 stars
Robinson Crusoe is one of those iconic books that just sticks in your brain even if, like me, you had never read it before. I had an expectation of what this book would be going in, felt like I knew the story quite well and was ready to just see if it lived up to that. I expected it to have some cultural problems due to the length of time since it was written but it was a strange experience.
The story is told from the perspective of Crusoe and is written like a memoir, we follow his life from deciding to leave England at 18 and through all the chaos that comes from choosing a life at sea (whilst spending very little time actually at sea). A one point he becomes a slave, ends up trapped on an island, gets free – becomes a slave owner and subsequently get’s shipwrecked and trapped on a different island where he saves a young man (he calls Friday) and they form a sort of strange co-dependency and eventually they get back to England.
A lot happens in this novel, which I was glad for as I had anticipated hours of one man on an island. I hadn’t realised that it followed more than just one shipwreck. I like Defoe’s style of writing, it was engaging and if you ignore the subject matter, didn’t feel as clunky and stilted as some classical writing.
My issues lie with two things –
- White saviour trope. This is where the age of the novel comes into it. I don’t feel like I can shut my brain off from this part of classic literature. I find it incredible uncomfortable how Defoe writes non-white characters. I can’t separate my discomfort in this from my reading experience. Crusoe is viewed as a virtuous Christian man, saving ‘savages’ in his experiences. This is so over done; it would be almost satirical if this was written with a modern perspective. This also links with my second issue.
- Crusoe is an awful person. I found his perspective so irritating. He is self-righteous, pompous and it seems like he has no character growth. Maybe this was partly the audiobooks fault, but I just couldn’t get on board his world view. As main characters go, he irritated me more than most.
I would consider re-reading this another time, maybe give it more time and read the physical copy but in terms of classics, I have read much better.
Another book in my 30 classics before 30 Challenge. Listened via Scribd.
3.5 stars
Robinson Crusoe is one of those iconic books that just sticks in your brain even if, like me, you had never read it before. I had an expectation of what this book would be going in, felt like I knew the story quite well and was ready to just see if it lived up to that. I expected it to have some cultural problems due to the length of time since it was written but it was a strange experience.
The story is told from the perspective of Crusoe and is written like a memoir, we follow his life from deciding to leave England at 18 and through all the chaos that comes from choosing a life at sea (whilst spending very little time actually at sea). A one point he becomes a slave, ends up trapped on an island, gets free – becomes a slave owner and subsequently get’s shipwrecked and trapped on a different island where he saves a young man (he calls Friday) and they form a sort of strange co-dependency and eventually they get back to England.
A lot happens in this novel, which I was glad for as I had anticipated hours of one man on an island. I hadn’t realised that it followed more than just one shipwreck. I like Defoe’s style of writing, it was engaging and if you ignore the subject matter, didn’t feel as clunky and stilted as some classical writing.
My issues lie with two things –
- White saviour trope. This is where the age of the novel comes into it. I don’t feel like I can shut my brain off from this part of classic literature. I find it incredible uncomfortable how Defoe writes non-white characters. I can’t separate my discomfort in this from my reading experience. Crusoe is viewed as a virtuous Christian man, saving ‘savages’ in his experiences. This is so over done; it would be almost satirical if this was written with a modern perspective. This also links with my second issue.
- Crusoe is an awful person. I found his perspective so irritating. He is self-righteous, pompous and it seems like he has no character growth. Maybe this was partly the audiobooks fault, but I just couldn’t get on board his world view. As main characters go, he irritated me more than most.
I would consider re-reading this another time, maybe give it more time and read the physical copy but in terms of classics, I have read much better.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
It's a great plot, but I struggled to finish it.
What can I say. It's a classic, and there are some exciting moments. It's pretty cool to see the beginning of the cast away trend, and honestly it's done pretty well. Only problem is that Robinson Crusoe himself is super annoying, so you don't really root for him.
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
It’s Castaway in literary form with a main character much less likeable than Tom Hanks.
Compared to the modern novel, this book is structured in such a way that makes it more difficult to read. The edition I read has no page breaks or chapters, with the exception of "The Journal". While it is an interesting classic with plenty of adventure, there are several times when information is repeated unnecessarily.