Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

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Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Post by Philip Mannering »

I haven't read this book yet ..... but I am interested in the opinions of people for this. Some people have said it's terribly boring and some people have said it's tremendously good ... what do you forumites think of it? The full title is laughable - oh-so-big!! :lol: But what about the actual book?
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Re: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Robinson Crusoe is a stirring adventure story (and is one of the first novels ever to be written in the English language, I believe) but it's also a lot more. I love it and re-read it every few years, my last re-reading being in October. In Robinson Crusoe we see the capacity of a human being to survive and endure even when stripped of everything - including society - and forced to be self-reliant. It's interesting to read about how Robinson Crusoe survives as far as practical things are concerned (finding food and shelter, etc) but the philosophical and psychological elements are also fascinating, as we see how he deals with being so utterly alone on an island which is, paradoxically, both his prison and his kingdom.

Try it by all means, Philip, but if you find it hard-going leave it for now and return to it when you're a little older. I'm not saying that to be patronising - I'm well aware that you're an avid reader and perfectly able to cope with a challenge - but I know that I spoilt some books for myself by coming to them too young (Oliver Twist and The Tempest for example - in fact I tried to read the latter at the age of about ten simply because Barney the circus-boy had apparently read and enjoyed it! :roll: )

Anita
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Re: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Post by Aurélien »

With its sequel, Defoe's 'Robinson Crusoe' is a very long book making it a 'marathon' read even for a highly intelligent, literate individual such as yourself, PM. Further, any early novel is apt to appear a little flat to a modern reader 'cos:
  • 1) it lacks certain of the more gripping features of a fast-paced modern adventure tale; and
    2) it doesn't appear to contain anything new and startling - one has to remember that other writers have borrowed from Defoe, and not the other way around.


That said, 'cos Defoe came from a (persecuted) non-conformist, puritanical Christian minority-group background where 'fiction' = lies, and liars automatically went to hell, his religious conscience so influenced his creativity that he wrote in such a way as to make Robinson Crusoe seem totally real, hence utterly believable. [The book is even supposed to have been inspired by the real-life 4-year-long 'marooning' of Scots buccaneer Alexander Selkirk (1676-1721) on the island of Juan Fernandez - Selkirk himself later told all this to Defoe.]

Defoe's passion for detailed, utterly believable verisimiltude actually led to more than one of his books being seriously accepted by early readers as factual accounts, which may :) have eased Daniel D's stern religious conscience.

When to read? Anita has a point, PM, but I first read the whole shebang at the age of 12 and it had a more powerful impact upon me than if I'd left it until I was an older and more sophisticated reader. One suggestion - an option alas not open to me when I was your age :cry: - is that you locate a copy of the illustrated book that this half-picture came from before reading. Didn't :oops: note down the title, but mayhap our invaluable Anita can help out here. 8)

Happy reading, Philip.

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Re: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Post by Laura »

I think that I definitely read this one too young - I was given it aged eight with a whole load of other books, and I must have read it not much later. At that time, I thought it the dullest book ever written, as nothing much seemed to happen, and I found some of the language rather hard to follow. I have read it a couple of times since, but not for a few years now, and so I don't know if I would enjoy it any better now. However, I have heard people say how great it is, so perhaps I should give it another go. But then, I do prefer books with more than a couple of characters! The end is better than the rest, though, in my opinion.
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Re: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Laura wrote:I think that I definitely read this one too young - I was given it aged eight with a whole load of other books, and I must have read it not much later. At that time, I thought it the dullest book ever written, as nothing much seemed to happen, and I found some of the language rather hard to follow.
I read an abridged version when I was about seven and enjoyed it. It was actually a colouring book, with the text on the left-hand page (quite a substantial amount of text on each page, though very heavily abridged compared to the original) and pictures to colour on the right-hand page. I haven't seen the edition to which you referred, Aurélien.
Laura wrote:But then, I do prefer books with more than a couple of characters! The end is better than the rest, though, in my opinion.
There are more than a couple of characters of course, especially at the beginning and end of the book, but my favourite chapters are actually the ones when Crusoe is alone on the island. It's all so deliciously stark and pared down - just one man battling against the elements, learning how to use the natural resources around him to his advantage and contemplating his situation. Oppressive in some respects, yet also strangely liberating.

You may already know this, Philip, but as well as being inspired by the real-life story of Alexander Selkirk it's likely that Daniel Defoe had also read an English or Latin translation of Hayy ibn Yaqdhan written by Ibn Tufail (Arab Muslim philosopher, physician and mathematician) in early twelfth century Islamic Spain. Hayy ibn Yaqdhan was translated into Latin and English in the late 1600s, not long before the publication of Robinson Crusoe in 1719, and it tells how Hayy, son of a princess, is cast upon the shore of an uninhabited island where he is suckled by a gazelle and spends the first fifty years of his life without any contact with other human beings. He is his own teacher, learning about himself and his surroundings through reason, contemplation and study of nature. He comes to believe in the existence of a Creator. When Hayy is about fifty, a man named Asal arrives on the island, seeking solitude in order to devote himself to spiritual contemplation. Together, the two of them explore the social and spiritual aspects of religion.

I've always resisted reading The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, Aurélien, because Robinson Crusoe seems so complete in itself, detailing what must surely be the key events of Crusoe's life, that I feel that to read of his further adventures could spoil things. Is the sequel worth reading, do you think?

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Re: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Post by Aurélien »

Anita Bensoussane wrote:I've always resisted reading The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, Aurélien, because Robinson Crusoe seems so complete in itself, detailing what must surely be the key events of Crusoe's life, that I feel that to read of his further adventures could spoil things. Is the sequel worth reading, do you think?Anita
It's been a while since my last reading of Defoe's sequel, Anita - about 25 to 30 years. The first time I read it, even further back at age 12, I read the sequel 'cos the volume in my hands had both parts of the tale bound together - smallish print and no illustrations - and reading the entire work took forever. Stirred the imagination, though.

From memory, the sequel did develop some themes further, and tie up a few loose ends, but I can't be more specific than that. Was the sequel worth reading? At least once in your life, yes, if one is a voracious reader, especially if the first part of the tale is a big favourite, as in your case.

Happy reading. :)

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Re: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Post by Philip Mannering »

I think I love the idea. Maybe it was because I loved The Secret Island? I itself came into contact with Robinson Crusoe in The Secret Island, but reading it the first time I didn't think much of it! Months later, I Googled the title and was shocked that a real novel existed of that name. Well, since then I have a desire to read the book.

Thanks Anita and Aurelien for your advice. I'll certainly keep it in mind. :D
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Re: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Cheers, Aurélien. I may well be tempted to try the sequel some time as my curiosity is piqued.

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Re: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Post by Aurélien »

Anita Bensoussane wrote:Cheers, Aurélien. I may well be tempted to try the sequel some time as my curiosity is piqued.Anita
Know what you mean :wink: , Anita. Am satisfying my own 'satiable curiosity at the moment by trawling [for the third time] through Project Gutenberg to check out what's new, and what I missed on earlier passes.

Ciao

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Re: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Post by Philip Mannering »

I have downloaded Robinson Crusoe from Project Gutenberg because if I don't like it, it can just as well stay in my folder. If I purchase it in the book form and don't like it, it will be a waste of money.
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Re: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

Some very interesting material has been made available by Project Gutenberg but I must admit I find it hard to read novels straight from the computer screen.

Let us know how you get on with Robinson Crusoe, Philip.

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Re: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Post by Philip Mannering »

Anita Bensoussane wrote:Let us know how you get on with Robinson Crusoe, Philip. Anita
I shall. I have read another 'treasure' classic - Treasure Island - and I liked it, even though some parts were a little too detailed. Wonder if Robinson Crusoe could be the same type for me?
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Re: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Post by Moonraker »

Anita Bensoussane wrote:Some very interesting material has been made available by Project Gutenberg but I must admit I find it hard to read novels straight from the computer screen.
I can just about manage the fan-fic chapters on Keith's site, but could never read a whole novel on the screen. The only option is to pirint it off, but I think that would work out more expensive than buying the book!

However, I did look at the The Reader, from Sony (stay on the linked page for a while!) in Waterstones, and really liked it. The screen was no brighter than a normal book page. It is expensive though, and you have to pay for the downloads as well.
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Re: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Post by Anita Bensoussane »

I saw one of those in a shop somewhere. Good idea, but I bet it would break down just when you were at the most exciting part of a book!

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Re: Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe

Post by Philip Mannering »

I've just finished the first chapter of Robinson Crusoe and I loved it. Defoe writes with such conviction that Crusoe becomes so easy to believe, rather like Jim Hawkins in Treasure Island.

I'm off to read more! :D
"A holiday — a mystery — an adventure — and a happy ending for dear old Barney!" said Roger. "What more could anyone want?"
"An ice cream," said Snubby promptly. "Who's coming to buy one?" The Rubadub Mystery
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