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3.17 AVERAGE
3.17 AVERAGE
Bogen (og i virkeligheden er det, vi kender som "Robinson Crusoe" jo kun tredje del af værket) er skrevet i 1719. Den er altså 300 år gammel, og det bærer den naturligvis præg af fx i måden Defoe lader Robinson beskrive fredag, men derfor kan den alligevel noget. Jeg elskede den som barn, jeg elskede den som ung og som voksen - og jeg elskede at læse den for mine unger. Der sker jo ikke meget, men ja - den fungerer!
I know we shouldn't judge the books of yore by today's standards but...I am being tested.
This doesn't just have the bigotry from days past, although yes oh man it has that. We're talking giving native people new names (colonizing even the idea of a first name!), acquiring slaves with the same ease and casualness as I place daily orders on food-delivery apps, racism in every other sentence. We're following a MISSIONARY here, for god's sake.
But not only that: this is the slowest plot of all time.
Imagining an era in which this would have been a guilty pleasure read makes me want to dedicate my life to discovering a time machine so we can bring 18th century people back with us and show them rom coms starring Meg Ryan.
Honestly, my conspiracy theory is that this book is only still around because the first edition said it was BY Robinson Crusoe, so everyone thought it was real. The only excuse for this book's popularity is people thinking it actually happened. Like reading the newspaper, or watching a documentary narrated by a celebrity with a soothing British accent.
But even more boring.
Bottom line: Not for me! Don't really know who it could be for.
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pre-review
i can't wait for two months from now when i can't remember anything about this book.
review to come / 2 stars
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currently-reading updates
well. it's time.
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tbr review
i have never in my life had any interest in reading this book, but i saw a perfect condition used copy of the penguin clothbound edition and bought it immediately.
two things can be true.
This doesn't just have the bigotry from days past, although yes oh man it has that. We're talking giving native people new names (colonizing even the idea of a first name!), acquiring slaves with the same ease and casualness as I place daily orders on food-delivery apps, racism in every other sentence. We're following a MISSIONARY here, for god's sake.
But not only that: this is the slowest plot of all time.
Imagining an era in which this would have been a guilty pleasure read makes me want to dedicate my life to discovering a time machine so we can bring 18th century people back with us and show them rom coms starring Meg Ryan.
Honestly, my conspiracy theory is that this book is only still around because the first edition said it was BY Robinson Crusoe, so everyone thought it was real. The only excuse for this book's popularity is people thinking it actually happened. Like reading the newspaper, or watching a documentary narrated by a celebrity with a soothing British accent.
But even more boring.
Bottom line: Not for me! Don't really know who it could be for.
--------------
pre-review
i can't wait for two months from now when i can't remember anything about this book.
review to come / 2 stars
--------------
currently-reading updates
well. it's time.
--------------
tbr review
i have never in my life had any interest in reading this book, but i saw a perfect condition used copy of the penguin clothbound edition and bought it immediately.
two things can be true.
They should have just called this The Bible In The Words Of Robinson Crusoe. I swear there must have been a competition running at the time to see who could mention God/Providence/Himself/etc the most.
Plus, Robinson was a massive dick for most of it wasn't he?
Plus, Robinson was a massive dick for most of it wasn't he?
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I didn't like the beginning and the end but the middle about the island was good fun.
Fun book but difficult listen. Had to slow the audio book down to standard speed as the writing style comes off a bit clunky.
Recommend getting an updated or friendly edition to enjoy rather than the original for reasons I will state now.
Robinson Crusoe was written in the early 18th century. Incredibly politically incorrect by today's standards and some passages are downright disturbing. The moral compass is all over the place and the original will shock modern readers. Again it was written more than 300 years ago!
Putting that aside and taking the book for what it is for the time it was written Robinson Crusoe is still an exceptional book. It has a place in literary history as one of the first fictional adventure novels ever that changed the written landscape forever.
Even as an adult listening, my imagination went wild with ideas of being alone on a bountiful tropical island surviving and thriving in a place all by myself. A place where I had to hide from hostile men, go on rewarding hunts, and craft ingenious solutions for comfort and survival.
Is this level of survival realistic for someone like me?... Absolutely not but it was fun for me to dream and that is what I adored from this book. The fantasy of survival. In real life you get "The Island of the Lost" or "The Wager". Just people holding on for dear life.
If you liked "The Martian" this is very similar.
Recommend getting an updated or friendly edition to enjoy rather than the original for reasons I will state now.
Robinson Crusoe was written in the early 18th century. Incredibly politically incorrect by today's standards and some passages are downright disturbing. The moral compass is all over the place and the original will shock modern readers. Again it was written more than 300 years ago!
Putting that aside and taking the book for what it is for the time it was written Robinson Crusoe is still an exceptional book. It has a place in literary history as one of the first fictional adventure novels ever that changed the written landscape forever.
Even as an adult listening, my imagination went wild with ideas of being alone on a bountiful tropical island surviving and thriving in a place all by myself. A place where I had to hide from hostile men, go on rewarding hunts, and craft ingenious solutions for comfort and survival.
Is this level of survival realistic for someone like me?... Absolutely not but it was fun for me to dream and that is what I adored from this book. The fantasy of survival. In real life you get "The Island of the Lost" or "The Wager". Just people holding on for dear life.
If you liked "The Martian" this is very similar.
I read the children's abridged version which I enjoyed the pace of the book more. This book is the ramblings of a man left alone on an island. I wish I would have read this as a child as I may have been more inclined to enjoy it. But as an adult it starts with a rich kid who leaves his father. He gets captured and made a slave. Escapes with the help of another slave boy, he decides to immediately sell the slave that helped him. He becomes a successful business man for some time,and then again decides to go to sea. This time his ship crashes and he winds up on an island. This is where the majority of the book takes place and in excruciating detail every minutiae of his life and preponderance is shared. Basically, he claims the island and domesticates the animals. Twenty some years later, cannibals happen upon the island. He saves one of the intended food source, and instantly makes him into one of his personal slaves. Lots more encounters, and ruminations, and eventually with the help of a mutinied captain he makes his way back to England slave in tow. He wanders about aimless for like 15o pages with no rhyme or reason, then toward the end of the book, it says he has a wife and three kids. You know, his wife is dying, so he abandons the family and takes off again.
I disliked the main character immensely. It was the mindset of the time period, but I just disliked him. If you have to read it, read the abridged children's version. You won't be missing much.
I disliked the main character immensely. It was the mindset of the time period, but I just disliked him. If you have to read it, read the abridged children's version. You won't be missing much.
To be honest, I read this abridged version because I'm reading the original and three chapters in I massively dislike the main character and find the book inanely boring. In this version, the main character is much easier to like.
I had far more fun with this than I anticipated! It's like a Dorian Grey-esque character study with the backdrop of a survivalist adventure. Definitely worth the read even if you know the story.
It was enjoyable; it did tend to get boring in multiple places, and the MC would rave about random things for pages. Other than that, it was interesting.
I loved the detailed descriptions of everything. I would like to do a more in-depth reading on race and colonialism. What was Friday's real name, I wonder? Robinson Crusoe surely never thought to ask.