jeremyanderberg's review against another edition
4.0
I'll start by noting that Abissinia is an old name for Ethiopia. So this book falls into the somewhat popular "Oriental tale" genre of the time: an exotic locale, a marvelous adventure, and some life lessons learned. The Wizard of Oz, for instance, is a play on this theme.
Anyways, our protagonist, Rasselas, is a prince in a place called, simply enough, Happy Valley. It's a place that "supplied its inhabitants with the necessaries of life" and where "every desire was immediately granted." Rasselas' life was, in the immortal words of the Fresh Prince, all about "chilling out, maxing, relaxing all cool."
In some ways, our prince reminded me Holden Caulfield, The Catcher in the Rye's resident Millennial. Rasselas is young guy who's just a little bit bored of life and wants to see more. He's a bit ignorant of how the real world operates. So, all his luxury isn't fulfilling him in the least and he wants to choose a life of his own — one that brings true satisfaction.
So he sets out to escape his valley with a few tagalongs, including an older guide of sorts named Imlac. They travel, ask all kinds of people what the path to happiness is, and have a lot of conversation discussing those paths.
It's very much a philosophical, moralistic, and conversation-laden novel. Peppered throughout are Imlac's (really Johnson's) musings on what brings happiness in life. And it's just marvelous. As I noted above, nearly every page was marred by my fancy Blackwing pencil. The book has spurred questions that I seem to be constantly asking myself since finishing it.
One of just many things I wrote down into my journal: "It seems to me," warned Imlac to Rasselas, "that while you are making the choice of life, you neglect to live."
I hadn't heard of this slim novel before digging into Johnson's life. But I'm so excited that I found it. And I can't wait to read it again. (Of course its brevity helps!) I promise that you'll like Rasselas way better than Holden.
Anyways, our protagonist, Rasselas, is a prince in a place called, simply enough, Happy Valley. It's a place that "supplied its inhabitants with the necessaries of life" and where "every desire was immediately granted." Rasselas' life was, in the immortal words of the Fresh Prince, all about "chilling out, maxing, relaxing all cool."
In some ways, our prince reminded me Holden Caulfield, The Catcher in the Rye's resident Millennial. Rasselas is young guy who's just a little bit bored of life and wants to see more. He's a bit ignorant of how the real world operates. So, all his luxury isn't fulfilling him in the least and he wants to choose a life of his own — one that brings true satisfaction.
So he sets out to escape his valley with a few tagalongs, including an older guide of sorts named Imlac. They travel, ask all kinds of people what the path to happiness is, and have a lot of conversation discussing those paths.
It's very much a philosophical, moralistic, and conversation-laden novel. Peppered throughout are Imlac's (really Johnson's) musings on what brings happiness in life. And it's just marvelous. As I noted above, nearly every page was marred by my fancy Blackwing pencil. The book has spurred questions that I seem to be constantly asking myself since finishing it.
One of just many things I wrote down into my journal: "It seems to me," warned Imlac to Rasselas, "that while you are making the choice of life, you neglect to live."
I hadn't heard of this slim novel before digging into Johnson's life. But I'm so excited that I found it. And I can't wait to read it again. (Of course its brevity helps!) I promise that you'll like Rasselas way better than Holden.
beautifulminutiae's review against another edition
reflective
slow-paced
3.0
Some great nuggets of truth and quotable lines in here, as well as some subtle humor, but a lot of the philosophical discussions felt long winded to me. Perhaps this would’ve been better as an essay rather than a novel?
grubstlodger's review against another edition
5.0
Short, thought-provoking, smoothly and powerfully written.
kitkatmichelle's review against another edition
3.0
2.5 stars
Not bad. Sort of interesting. *shrug* Among several criticisms, there was a lot of wasted potential. :P
Not bad. Sort of interesting. *shrug* Among several criticisms, there was a lot of wasted potential. :P
alayna10's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
4.5
Excellent. A thought-provoking work that afforded many opportunities for reflection on the philosophical ideas on my own or with my partner. Other reviews seem to take issue with the setting and the characters, but it helps one’s enjoyment to know that these are simply devices for communicating Johnson’s views on “the choice of life.” This is not an adventure story, or an authority on the region, it’s a moral and philosophical exposition.