Daniel Defoe: Robinson Crusoe (EBook, 2009, The Floating Press)
eBook
English language
Published April 4, 2009 by The Floating Press.
Robinson Crusoe is the fictional autobiography of the title character. As a young man, Crusoe sets out from England on a disastrous sea voyage. His passion for seafaring remains undiminished and so he sets out again, only to be shipwrecked a third time. His journey takes him to Brazil where he becomes a plantation owner. A third and final shipwrecking, however, leaves him stranded for 28 years on a remote island. There he becomes a devout Christian and believes his life lacks nothing but society.The work is sometimes credited with being the first English novel.
I really liked this. It tried to do a lot, and some parts were more successful than others, but I really cared about the characters and want to see where they go next!
And to think Hardy was accused of exploiting coincidences in his novels.......
I mostly enjoyed the book. The characters are well-drawn, if sometimes a little too sketchy. But what really distracted from my reading pleasure is the very conventional gender roles that permeate all relationships. In contrast to the rather radical, edgy stuff he describes, this is really ... strangely distracting.
I give up. I don't care about Crusoe or his misfortunes. His castaway life is just one boring thing after another without any wit or insight added by the author, and the character himself isn't interesting or sympathetic enough to make me wonder what happens next. I can't figure out why this one remains in print.
