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A review by badoit90
Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe
2.0
2.5 Stars // A badly aged classic
The story of a shipwrecked sailor stranding on a desert island is probably as old as time - and yet it's Daniel Defoes classic novel 'Robinson Crusoe' which first comes to mind when thinking of a piece of media with the same contextual premise. This book laid the groundwork for many more fictional works of the same vein to come - so from a cultural standpoint it becomes quite clear what kind of an impact Daniel Defoes work had therefor.
But reading it in 2023 was a rough feat at times.
First of all, any criticism a modern reader might have regarding the books language, or it's handling of sensitive topics such as religion, sexuality, race and slavery MUST be seen through a historical lens, there is just no way around it. We can't criticise the book for what was at the time the cultural norm. Heck, people in 300 years time might look back at the modern 'wokeness' movement and shake their heads in utter disbelief as to how barbaric our culture was, who knows. We just have to see this book in its context and by doing so, it almost paints a hopeful picture to me, as it's showing us how much closer together humanity came in the last 300 years. There are still huge and glaring issues nowadays, don't get me wrong, but we have came a long, long way from the back-then very normal and socially accepted mindset of God-given white supremacy and the appropriation of cultures and their goods of all kinds. It should still irk every modern reader how nonchalantly the protagonist talks about other cultures and religions, how engrained his religious and cultural supremacy is - but yet again, this was written in 1721 and we have to take it as the piece of history that it is.
Solely focusing the on the books story and its structure, I had a twofold feeling about it: On one hand I loved the detailed description of Crusoes everyday life on the deserted island - heck, I have been fascinated by these sort of stories from very early on in my life and always imagined what I would do and how I would react upon being stranded somewhere deserted. So hearing about how Crusoe slowly but steadily manages to tame the wildlife around him, how he got to know the islands topography better piece by piece and how he built tools and weapons out of the few resources he was given, was indeed entertaining.
Unfortunately, the author almost completely skims over the emotional side of the incident. Crusoe surprisingly quickly seems adapt to and to accept his new fate. Whereas most people would be absolutely terrified and anxious to the bone, maybe even contemplating suicide, he seems rather unshaken by the matter whatsoever. He will spend a total of 28 years on this island and yet the author almost completely foregoes the internal struggles the men might have had. I guess I expected more desperation, more hopelessness from someone who just lost everything he has had.
Whilst reading the book, it slowly crept up on me that Defoe probably just wasn't a good writer, as the books beginning and especially its ending drag on for way too long. We are all here for the juicy parts in the middle, the island life, and yet the author loses itself in some sort of uninteresting drivel that has no real impact on the story or its characters and is rather boring, to be frank. Especially the ending then overstays its welcome - once you think the book is over, it just continues to go on for way too long.
So all in all, I can finally tick this classic off of my bucket list, but I can't shake the feeling that there is a great story in here that - even for its time - was handled by a bad author. Luckily there are so many more modern adaptations of the same premise that we don't have to solely rely upon this book to scratch our itch for some remote island adventures.
The story of a shipwrecked sailor stranding on a desert island is probably as old as time - and yet it's Daniel Defoes classic novel 'Robinson Crusoe' which first comes to mind when thinking of a piece of media with the same contextual premise. This book laid the groundwork for many more fictional works of the same vein to come - so from a cultural standpoint it becomes quite clear what kind of an impact Daniel Defoes work had therefor.
But reading it in 2023 was a rough feat at times.
First of all, any criticism a modern reader might have regarding the books language, or it's handling of sensitive topics such as religion, sexuality, race and slavery MUST be seen through a historical lens, there is just no way around it. We can't criticise the book for what was at the time the cultural norm. Heck, people in 300 years time might look back at the modern 'wokeness' movement and shake their heads in utter disbelief as to how barbaric our culture was, who knows. We just have to see this book in its context and by doing so, it almost paints a hopeful picture to me, as it's showing us how much closer together humanity came in the last 300 years. There are still huge and glaring issues nowadays, don't get me wrong, but we have came a long, long way from the back-then very normal and socially accepted mindset of God-given white supremacy and the appropriation of cultures and their goods of all kinds. It should still irk every modern reader how nonchalantly the protagonist talks about other cultures and religions, how engrained his religious and cultural supremacy is - but yet again, this was written in 1721 and we have to take it as the piece of history that it is.
Solely focusing the on the books story and its structure, I had a twofold feeling about it: On one hand I loved the detailed description of Crusoes everyday life on the deserted island - heck, I have been fascinated by these sort of stories from very early on in my life and always imagined what I would do and how I would react upon being stranded somewhere deserted. So hearing about how Crusoe slowly but steadily manages to tame the wildlife around him, how he got to know the islands topography better piece by piece and how he built tools and weapons out of the few resources he was given, was indeed entertaining.
Unfortunately, the author almost completely skims over the emotional side of the incident. Crusoe surprisingly quickly seems adapt to and to accept his new fate. Whereas most people would be absolutely terrified and anxious to the bone, maybe even contemplating suicide, he seems rather unshaken by the matter whatsoever. He will spend a total of 28 years on this island and yet the author almost completely foregoes the internal struggles the men might have had. I guess I expected more desperation, more hopelessness from someone who just lost everything he has had.
Whilst reading the book, it slowly crept up on me that Defoe probably just wasn't a good writer, as the books beginning and especially its ending drag on for way too long. We are all here for the juicy parts in the middle, the island life, and yet the author loses itself in some sort of uninteresting drivel that has no real impact on the story or its characters and is rather boring, to be frank. Especially the ending then overstays its welcome - once you think the book is over, it just continues to go on for way too long.
So all in all, I can finally tick this classic off of my bucket list, but I can't shake the feeling that there is a great story in here that - even for its time - was handled by a bad author. Luckily there are so many more modern adaptations of the same premise that we don't have to solely rely upon this book to scratch our itch for some remote island adventures.