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3.29 AVERAGE
3.29 AVERAGE
...interesting satire. Written coarsely and with explicit description.
I liked this leaps and bounds better than Robinson Crusoe, which I thought was insufferable, but I feel Swift could have made his point in half the time. The most unbelievable part of this story is how quickly Gulliver became proficient in languages for which he had no previous foundational knowledge.
I appreciated the political commentary (a moderate understanding of 18th century British politics helps tremendously), the justice system, religion, education and morality, including colonialism. Still managed to be casually misogynist because it was written in 1726, but I am surprised by how ahead of its time this book was. I'm sure being Irish and dealing with Englishmen all day was an extremely inspiring experience.
I appreciated the political commentary (a moderate understanding of 18th century British politics helps tremendously), the justice system, religion, education and morality, including colonialism. Still managed to be casually misogynist because it was written in 1726, but I am surprised by how ahead of its time this book was. I'm sure being Irish and dealing with Englishmen all day was an extremely inspiring experience.
half of the book is an absolute bore, the other half mediocre at best. i really don’t care about the irony and originality that shapes the book because we could have read anything else for my 18th century english lit class and they chose this. absolutely not.
The book consists of 4 parts, I took a break after the 3rd part because it became dull and a hard read. The first part (about lilliputters) is the best known, the 2nd part is about giants, the 3rd about a flying island (UFO?) and the 4th about talking horses. Yes, talking horses. Still I enjoyed this last part, it gives an interesting insight into the 18th century, and the satire is pleasant. The stories he tells are imaginative, but it is often difficult to understand (after 300 years) what he actually means. 2½-3 stars.
What an absolutely dry and boring book... I haven't had to read a book for school with such a plain narration before. Maybe I would've gotten something out of it if I was living in the time and place that was being satirizing, but as it stands I am living in another time and place and so the satire is lost on me, even if I do read up on what he was satirizing. The way the plot moves itself doesn't make sense outside of its satire and is just really weird and the narration was so boring that I think I'm prepared to take on any other book next year because it'll always be more interesting than Gulliver's Travels.
adventurous
funny
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I was expecting an adventure, and there certainly was adventure. I wasn't expecting the critique of human nature, society, and our too-high view of ourselves. The exposure to different cultures is used as a way to compare and call into question how we do things in our own cultures. It made me smile, even if the wording was rather dry.
adventurous
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
relaxing
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
3.5 stars. The story was very well thought of and made me think of our society, like Swift intended to. The older English was sometimes too difficult for me to follow, it was on the other hand a good vocabulary practise!
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes