Paperback, 304 pages
English language
Published March 3, 2005 by Barnes & Noble Classics.
The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, Of York, Mariner: Who lived Eight and Twenty Years, all alone in an un-inhabited Island on the Coast of America, near the Mouth of the Great River of Oroonoque; Having been cast on Shore by Shipwreck, wherein all the Men perished but himself. With An Account how he was at last as strangely deliver'd by Pyrates.
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.
