ayavandenbussche's review against another edition
1.0
Where do I begin?
I have had to read this book for university and I have come to resent it.
It is hard for me to agree with the sentiment that this book is 'of its time' especially since in this book's time there were authors like Cervantes, who was politically miles ahead, funnier and far more intelligent, as well as Shakespeare, who even if I may not always agree with his world views, still offered brilliant prose and poetic and incredible insight into the human condition that still rings true. Moreover, why should I make do with an author 'of its time' when Cervantes and Shakespeare were ahead of theirs? I have noticed that people who use this 'of its time' nonsense are quick to get furious at the woman in the attic, or a slave trade profits hinted at in Charlotte Bronte, who was also, if you ask me, ahead of her time.
Now for the book. What pisses me off about this idea of British Christian colonialist tale, is that it's all so polite and civil, a gentlemen fighting to survive in the wilderness and maintain his gentlemanly ideals. This is so abhorrent to me and continues in the form of white washing, holocaust denial and 0ther forms of civilised racism, which can be worse because it is harder to find beneath all that politeness and harder to fight. I won't bore with how Robinson Crusoe dismisses the native guy's beliefs and 'shows him the light' or with his raving mad assertion that it is his island and he's the king, I am sure enough people have written about that. I will only say that pretending the man has been alone on the island for so long that he has become a lunatic and all of this story actually happens in his head, has helped deal with a lot of that.
But say I am willing to accept racism and colonialism as 'of its time' which I don't, and make some concessions for this book, I cannot. I do not see it's prose, its insight, or any literary value to this book. I cannot of the top of my head remember a main character in a book I disliked as much as I despised Robinson Crusoe. This book could have done with a bit of self-awareness and maybe dare I say, a sense of humour. Instead it suffer from the worst thing a book can suffer from, it is boring.
I read this book because I had to for my MA in English literature, I do not feel that I have learned anything about English or literature from this book. at least not anything good. I have if anything, lost a lot of valuable time in which I could have read some good books.
Finally, I decided to give this book one star after contemplating not giving it any, simply because I did, to begin with, enjoy how useless Crusoe is, how is not really good at anything in particular, until he becomes good at colonialism, and how much hard work it is for him to just survive. It is slightly undermined when he start attributing all his successes to god and not his hard work, but as I said, he's clearly insane. I would have also liked to have known how a British gentlemen like him went to the loo and cleaned his bum. But that would suggest a sense of humour this book lacks.
I have had to read this book for university and I have come to resent it.
It is hard for me to agree with the sentiment that this book is 'of its time' especially since in this book's time there were authors like Cervantes, who was politically miles ahead, funnier and far more intelligent, as well as Shakespeare, who even if I may not always agree with his world views, still offered brilliant prose and poetic and incredible insight into the human condition that still rings true. Moreover, why should I make do with an author 'of its time' when Cervantes and Shakespeare were ahead of theirs? I have noticed that people who use this 'of its time' nonsense are quick to get furious at the woman in the attic, or a slave trade profits hinted at in Charlotte Bronte, who was also, if you ask me, ahead of her time.
Now for the book. What pisses me off about this idea of British Christian colonialist tale, is that it's all so polite and civil, a gentlemen fighting to survive in the wilderness and maintain his gentlemanly ideals. This is so abhorrent to me and continues in the form of white washing, holocaust denial and 0ther forms of civilised racism, which can be worse because it is harder to find beneath all that politeness and harder to fight. I won't bore with how Robinson Crusoe dismisses the native guy's beliefs and 'shows him the light' or with his raving mad assertion that it is his island and he's the king, I am sure enough people have written about that. I will only say that pretending the man has been alone on the island for so long that he has become a lunatic and all of this story actually happens in his head, has helped deal with a lot of that.
But say I am willing to accept racism and colonialism as 'of its time' which I don't, and make some concessions for this book, I cannot. I do not see it's prose, its insight, or any literary value to this book. I cannot of the top of my head remember a main character in a book I disliked as much as I despised Robinson Crusoe. This book could have done with a bit of self-awareness and maybe dare I say, a sense of humour. Instead it suffer from the worst thing a book can suffer from, it is boring.
I read this book because I had to for my MA in English literature, I do not feel that I have learned anything about English or literature from this book. at least not anything good. I have if anything, lost a lot of valuable time in which I could have read some good books.
Finally, I decided to give this book one star after contemplating not giving it any, simply because I did, to begin with, enjoy how useless Crusoe is, how is not really good at anything in particular, until he becomes good at colonialism, and how much hard work it is for him to just survive. It is slightly undermined when he start attributing all his successes to god and not his hard work, but as I said, he's clearly insane. I would have also liked to have known how a British gentlemen like him went to the loo and cleaned his bum. But that would suggest a sense of humour this book lacks.
flowerowl's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
It's very mixed, there are poits I like/love about it like; the quest aspects of it, the almost cozy farm game vibs, the character going trough a character ark, and the well brought over fright felt at the seeing of the feet. But there ar also a lot of things that are unrealistic, wrong, and that did not age well. And so things I did not like. I whould have liked it more if he whould of had died on the island, and if he whould have stayed in the humble state that he grew in halfway in the book and not become this (self seen) hero could do noting wrong and every one adored and followed. And then we have not even touch on the hypocrisy of the slave business, and the wrong doing and portraying of the other coloured skin people expect from white Christians.
There is more but that is what comes to mind. This was a good book in the time it came out no doubt, but its not again well, even though there is potential!
There is more but that is what comes to mind. This was a good book in the time it came out no doubt, but its not again well, even though there is potential!
furicle's review against another edition
1.0
I'm actually sorry I read this book. I always had good impressions of it, without ever having read it. Now I have, and there's no going back.
I'm not sure just how much the views of Robinson Crusoe reflect those of the general public at the time it was written, but I suspect they match fairly well. And Robinson Crusoe is a arrogant, racist, misogynist idiot.
Think I'm exaggerating? He makes it off the island, but leaves some 'Spaniards' stranded there. On the very last page of the book he sends 'five cows, three of them being big with calf, some sheep, and some hogs' back to the island for the inhabitants, along with 'seven women, being such as I found proper for service, or for wives to such as would take them.'
Early on in the book, he is taken by 'Moors' that force him into slavery. When he makes his mistake, he is careful to make sure he takes a fellow captive along to serve as his own slave boy.
The book is rife with stuff like that. When Crusoe rescues a Spanish castaway from cannibals he introduces himself, but when he rescues a native from the same fate, he tells the native his name will be Friday, and Friday is to call him 'Master.' Apparently Friday thinks that's perfect, and goes out of his way to become a perfect slave.
Hell, he ends up on the island as part of a failed attempt to become a Brazillian slave trader!
There's only two beings in the book who have a name - Robinson Crusoe, and Pol, the parrot. His wife and children get a lot less prose than the parrot, and no, you never learn their names either. Everyone else is described and never named, and they all think Crusoe can do no wrong. Apparently only Robinson Crusoe ever saw fit to criticize Robinson Crusoe.
The parts of the book I actually enjoyed were descriptions of how he performed all the tasks required to stay alive, and yet they were always ridiculously easy. Never once does he not find fresh water within minutes of looking for it, and although many things supposedly take months and months to complete, he only ever mentions the first couple of days of his labour at most. He never gets hurt, gets sick only once and shoots all sorts of people without ever getting so much as a scratch.
All of this mess is apparently because he wouldn't listen to his father and ran away. It's appropriate for God to kick him in the teeth repeatedly and kill off everyone around him over and over again until he gets the message. And even then the good Christian's morals wander around like a lifeboat in one of the many storms. About the only decision taken for Christian reasons that stuck was not moving back to Brazil because he wasn't sure about being Roman Catholic!
The best part of this book? The binding fell apart as I read it so it's not worth keeping or selling now I'm done with it.
Maybe I'm missing the point. If it's there, it's not worth digging for. If you haven't read this one, skip it and watch an episode of Gilligan's Island instead.
I'm not sure just how much the views of Robinson Crusoe reflect those of the general public at the time it was written, but I suspect they match fairly well. And Robinson Crusoe is a arrogant, racist, misogynist idiot.
Think I'm exaggerating? He makes it off the island, but leaves some 'Spaniards' stranded there. On the very last page of the book he sends 'five cows, three of them being big with calf, some sheep, and some hogs' back to the island for the inhabitants, along with 'seven women, being such as I found proper for service, or for wives to such as would take them.'
Early on in the book, he is taken by 'Moors' that force him into slavery. When he makes his mistake, he is careful to make sure he takes a fellow captive along to serve as his own slave boy.
The book is rife with stuff like that. When Crusoe rescues a Spanish castaway from cannibals he introduces himself, but when he rescues a native from the same fate, he tells the native his name will be Friday, and Friday is to call him 'Master.' Apparently Friday thinks that's perfect, and goes out of his way to become a perfect slave.
Hell, he ends up on the island as part of a failed attempt to become a Brazillian slave trader!
There's only two beings in the book who have a name - Robinson Crusoe, and Pol, the parrot. His wife and children get a lot less prose than the parrot, and no, you never learn their names either. Everyone else is described and never named, and they all think Crusoe can do no wrong. Apparently only Robinson Crusoe ever saw fit to criticize Robinson Crusoe.
The parts of the book I actually enjoyed were descriptions of how he performed all the tasks required to stay alive, and yet they were always ridiculously easy. Never once does he not find fresh water within minutes of looking for it, and although many things supposedly take months and months to complete, he only ever mentions the first couple of days of his labour at most. He never gets hurt, gets sick only once and shoots all sorts of people without ever getting so much as a scratch.
All of this mess is apparently because he wouldn't listen to his father and ran away. It's appropriate for God to kick him in the teeth repeatedly and kill off everyone around him over and over again until he gets the message. And even then the good Christian's morals wander around like a lifeboat in one of the many storms. About the only decision taken for Christian reasons that stuck was not moving back to Brazil because he wasn't sure about being Roman Catholic!
The best part of this book? The binding fell apart as I read it so it's not worth keeping or selling now I'm done with it.
Maybe I'm missing the point. If it's there, it's not worth digging for. If you haven't read this one, skip it and watch an episode of Gilligan's Island instead.
robin_jong's review against another edition
adventurous
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
blanka94's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
This classic unfortunately did not stand the test of time. Based on the movie I also exptected something else. The beggining is good till he gets to the Island but afterwards it is slow & éven boring at times. As an atheist I found the religious parts especially useless/boring. When he gets off the Island the events get too hasty for my tastes. Nor did I find ut believable that after 25+ years of solitude he could go back into society soo efortlessly. I listened to it in audiobook... I don't If it were better or worse on paper. But these are my first impressions after finishing it.
helenskaa's review against another edition
1.0
dnf’d it after like 60 pages. i don’t like that. at all. never touching any dafoe again. no thanks.
caroltb's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.5
It was way more enjoyable than I expected. Robinson Crusoe is a compelling character and there are some very interesting themes to dig into on the novel, particularly touching on colonialism and religion.