Reviews with content warning for Cannibalism - Robinson Crusoe

sadly just nothing about this interested me at all. which is disappointing for one of the first english novels ever. i wanted to give it more credit for the fact that class discussions have at least been interesting, but i think should give that to my professor and peers and not the book. just so… eh whatever.

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shaanzeh1_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

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franksreads's review against another edition

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adventurous sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

Boring and racist, not worth anyone's time

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merakiforest's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging hopeful informative inspiring medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

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franchenstein's review against another edition

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adventurous lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

It's interesting rereading a book after somewhat 20 years, noticing that I have forgotten most of it. I had no recollection of Crusoe falling into slavery in Morocco, or of the last adventure by land in the Pyrenees. Most surprisingly, as a Brazilian, I forgot that the main character had land and slaves in my country, when he still called it the Brazils. I read it in Portuguese as a child and now I got the chance to read it in the original.
Frankly, it can be as exciting as it can be boring. Knowing that it's fictional and not a real journal, makes the ending kind of jarring. He keeps on adding adventures, way past their welcome. I could not care about his battle against wolves, or about Friday playing with a bear for five pages. It all sounded like too much of a tall tale after a very long tall tale. Also, the early modern obsession with listing and inventory often become a slog. Defoe's prose is not very elegant nor elaborate, but its simplicity is not that impactful either. He's often repetitive in a way that just makes the text drag.
It is an interesting window to the beliefs of Defoe's times. How unchallenged the notion of slavery goes, how women seem to be treated as merchandise, how one can go for 30 years on an island without a single sexual thought crossing his mind, how he reproduced unconfirmed claims about cannibalism as if they were the most obvious facts about the new world. How Crusoe is indeed, as Joyce says, the prototype of the English colonizer.
And still, there is a sense of wonder and tragedy in the unlucky story of someone who insists on his mistakes, in his unrelenting desire to explore frontiers even when his whole history shows that this is a bad idea. Boldness and curiosity beats security in forging a narrative.

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not_nosferatu's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.75

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language_loving_amateur's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging slow-paced

Loveable characters? No

1.5

I know that it is an important early novel, but man I didn't like it. The assumptions of Black and indigenous people's place in the world is awful. It is very religious and later in the book Robinson Crusoe becomes a messiah like figure, "If I save/redeem your life, you must obey me in all things and be my servant for all time" and the people he makes this coercive bargain with are all to happy with it. None of them take it in the moment, and later say, "hey, that wasn't fair to hold my life hostage until I agreed to your terms. Lets renegotiate something a bit more equal."
1.5 stars because I know it is "important literature."
Also, everything must be repeated three times at minimum. "I plan to do A. I am doing A. Now that I have done A, I realize that it could have been done more efficiently by doing B along with A. Now that everything is done, I will reflect on the spiritual meaning on A."

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