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3.17 AVERAGE
3.17 AVERAGE
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.
Your mileage may vary, but I thought Defoe's writing and knack for descriptions were excellent, overshadowing whatever flaws Crusoe has as a protagonist. And no, I'm not shocked about an eighteenth-century novel not having the best representation of indigenous people, but even then the red flags this book draws seem a bit overwrought compared even to stuff you see on 20th century television.
Hmm... 1001-bok eller ei, denne var rett og slett kjedelig å lytte til. Langdryg, samme hendelser blir fortalt to ganger - igjen og igjen, og innleser denne gang (storytel-versjonen) var temmelig flat i stemmen. Jeg gav opp litt over halvveis...
DNF @ 50%
I couldn't read more than half the book because it's so freaking slow and boring. There's only an external plot and nothing internal to really drive the character or something that would interest us. It's also pretty racist which I've been told is only going to increase once Friday appears and I'm in no mood to read that.
I couldn't read more than half the book because it's so freaking slow and boring. There's only an external plot and nothing internal to really drive the character or something that would interest us. It's also pretty racist which I've been told is only going to increase once Friday appears and I'm in no mood to read that.
literally fucking play minecraft. i'm serious. if you want to know what reading this book is like, build yourself a nice little house and grow some wheat and figure out how to tame a dog and—well, actually, you should play on peaceful mode, because crusoe never once has to deal with a natural predator. but you’ll get the idea of it pretty quick without having to experience the bludgeoningly tedious prose, the absolutely insufferable narrator, or defoe's obsession with repeating the same religious and spiritual realizations nearly word-for-word every five pages until shit like "it can always get worse" and "we live in a society" has been thoroughly pile-driven into your head.
barring minecraft, if you actually want to read a book, read hatchet—yes, the one for middle schoolers—because that book actually has the balls to put its hero in danger without placing every single item he needs for his survival directly into his hands. also, way less racist.
as someone who likes classic literature, as someone who read the shakespearean canon for fun: every single page of this book was like being on the rack. i am actually deeply staggered i was able to finish this book, and deeply staggered that it only took twelve days, because the constant unrelenting level of redundant and uninteresting detail made it feel like twelve centuries. i know i frequently rag on tolstoy for his redundancy, but at least his book was over a thousand pages so the boring shit kind of got spaced out. i'm sorry i said that about you mr. tolstoy i didn't know how good i had it please come back i'll even suck your [EXTREMELY LOUD GAME SHOW BEEP NOISE]
also, super super fucking racist! robinson's island is basically a colonizer's fantasy (no natives, no predators, nothing but a wealth of resources for him to strip-mine), and he proceeds to dehumanize and subject every person of color he meets. and look, i understand that we can (and in some cases should) use racist classical literature to understand the history of racism and colonialism, and i understand that the musings on society and religion and human nature in this book are all very studyable, as are the deep-running colonialist themes. but i also know that there are other books in the world that explore these ideas without making the experience of reading into an extended form of the sort of torture the geneva convention was intended to prevent. and yes, i understand that this is the first english-language novel ever written. but i also know that the english have written a couple other things since 1719. shh, england. shh. it’s okay. you’re okay. we can let this one go, okay? i know you liked robinson in the 1720s, but he’s getting very old and he’s honestly always been boring as hell and i think the only humane option is to put him down.
barring minecraft, if you actually want to read a book, read hatchet—yes, the one for middle schoolers—because that book actually has the balls to put its hero in danger without placing every single item he needs for his survival directly into his hands. also, way less racist.
as someone who likes classic literature, as someone who read the shakespearean canon for fun: every single page of this book was like being on the rack. i am actually deeply staggered i was able to finish this book, and deeply staggered that it only took twelve days, because the constant unrelenting level of redundant and uninteresting detail made it feel like twelve centuries. i know i frequently rag on tolstoy for his redundancy, but at least his book was over a thousand pages so the boring shit kind of got spaced out. i'm sorry i said that about you mr. tolstoy i didn't know how good i had it please come back i'll even suck your [EXTREMELY LOUD GAME SHOW BEEP NOISE]
also, super super fucking racist! robinson's island is basically a colonizer's fantasy (no natives, no predators, nothing but a wealth of resources for him to strip-mine), and he proceeds to dehumanize and subject every person of color he meets. and look, i understand that we can (and in some cases should) use racist classical literature to understand the history of racism and colonialism, and i understand that the musings on society and religion and human nature in this book are all very studyable, as are the deep-running colonialist themes. but i also know that there are other books in the world that explore these ideas without making the experience of reading into an extended form of the sort of torture the geneva convention was intended to prevent. and yes, i understand that this is the first english-language novel ever written. but i also know that the english have written a couple other things since 1719. shh, england. shh. it’s okay. you’re okay. we can let this one go, okay? i know you liked robinson in the 1720s, but he’s getting very old and he’s honestly always been boring as hell and i think the only humane option is to put him down.
God, this one is awful. It's tedious and boring and very poorly written. Defoe has essentially no ability for description. The story line should be interesting, but long, tedious patches are taken up with hideously awful maundering on Calvinist theology, theology which Crusoe apparently picked up merely by picking up a Bible at the age of 26 or so and reading it through a few times. It doesn't work that way.
I have a recollection that I read and enjoyed Robinson Crusoe back in elementary school. I'm thinking I must have read one of those "as told by" thingies. No way I'd have persevered through this rubbish when I was 10 or so.
My suggestion is that anyone wanting to know the story of Robinson Crusoe would be well served to look for a condensed version specifically aimed at children. That way, you'll likely manage to escape most of this book's awfulness, awfulness that consumes the major part of the work. All the "action" is basically subservient to the twisted theology Defoe purports to propound. Reading this book was not a pleasant experience.
I have a recollection that I read and enjoyed Robinson Crusoe back in elementary school. I'm thinking I must have read one of those "as told by" thingies. No way I'd have persevered through this rubbish when I was 10 or so.
My suggestion is that anyone wanting to know the story of Robinson Crusoe would be well served to look for a condensed version specifically aimed at children. That way, you'll likely manage to escape most of this book's awfulness, awfulness that consumes the major part of the work. All the "action" is basically subservient to the twisted theology Defoe purports to propound. Reading this book was not a pleasant experience.
This is one of the first non kids books I remember reading as a kid it started a lifelong love of all things involving adventure and exploration. The version I had was an Illustrated Classics version of the story which is an abridged and simplified version of the story. Now that I've read the original work I can understand the simplification as Defoe is the king and undisputed champion of run on sentences and paragraph length sentences. I realize this was written in a different time and that language was different then, but wow, can this guy go on and on. That said, it's widely considered a classic and it does stand the test of time as I find it just as captivating now as I think it probably was 300 years ago. Crusoe's plight is fascinating and though he's a bit too resourceful and creative to be believed at times, he's a character to which we can all relate. To be stranded and survive on an island for years, particularly in much less modern times is an engrossing adventure and it's clearly a tale that continues to inspire other writers to this day.
I read this as a child, and I can still remember my fascination. Back then, the story was very impressing, and hard not to play around with for a child, - and we did play the story out in "real life" whenever we went to a place that could fit; the beach, for example.
That being said, I think the book about Robinson Crusoe is most interesting when being read as a children's book. I know, originally it was written for adults, and there are many interesting adult subjects and themes to withdraw from the story, but it's so well-suited for children, especially because it so easily can be that spark they need to ignite their imagination, to create a new world of games and playing around, either alone or with others.
It's definitely one of those books from my childhood that has started the wildest games and play-sessions, and for that, it will always hold a special place in my heart, but as a book for adults it just doesn't really work out for me.
That being said, I think the book about Robinson Crusoe is most interesting when being read as a children's book. I know, originally it was written for adults, and there are many interesting adult subjects and themes to withdraw from the story, but it's so well-suited for children, especially because it so easily can be that spark they need to ignite their imagination, to create a new world of games and playing around, either alone or with others.
It's definitely one of those books from my childhood that has started the wildest games and play-sessions, and for that, it will always hold a special place in my heart, but as a book for adults it just doesn't really work out for me.
I did not love this book. In fact, I didn't like it at all, and I know it's mostly my taste's fault.
I can aknowledge it had its interesting parts here and there and the fact that it is still to this day an important piece of both English literature and literature in general, but I couldn't get along with it for the life of me.
Since I started university, however, it's come more easier to me to read books that I don't particularly enjoy. Probably because I really enjoy the act of analyzing them and putting them in a context.
All the rambling aside, the contribution this book had to literature is surely very great, being the start to a whole new writing era and establishing a whole new writing form: the novel.
It also set itself apart from all the other works before it by tackling subjects in a totally different manner, by not using the same ol' religious plots over and over again.
I'd recommend it both to someone interested in seeing the evolution of literature (particularly novels) over time and to someone simply interested in adventure stories. It reminded me quite a lot of the Jules Verne stuff I tried to read some years ago. I miserably failed, because I didn't like them at all.
I probably wouldn't have gotten through this book, were it not for the audiobook. Some people may really enjoy it, though.
I can aknowledge it had its interesting parts here and there and the fact that it is still to this day an important piece of both English literature and literature in general, but I couldn't get along with it for the life of me.
Since I started university, however, it's come more easier to me to read books that I don't particularly enjoy. Probably because I really enjoy the act of analyzing them and putting them in a context.
All the rambling aside, the contribution this book had to literature is surely very great, being the start to a whole new writing era and establishing a whole new writing form: the novel.
It also set itself apart from all the other works before it by tackling subjects in a totally different manner, by not using the same ol' religious plots over and over again.
I'd recommend it both to someone interested in seeing the evolution of literature (particularly novels) over time and to someone simply interested in adventure stories. It reminded me quite a lot of the Jules Verne stuff I tried to read some years ago. I miserably failed, because I didn't like them at all.
I probably wouldn't have gotten through this book, were it not for the audiobook. Some people may really enjoy it, though.
It was good to read this for the historic significance of being an early adventure novel.