Reviews
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by Daniel Dafoe
Lightly abridged version for Puffin Books. Robinson Crusoe was originally written in 1719! We could recommend for an older child to follow the reading of this novel with J.M. Coetzee's Foe.
One of the most famous survival adventures of all time - with an introduction by Bear Grylls.
After surviving a terrible shipwreck, Robinson Crusoe discovers he is the only human on an island far from any shipping routes or rescue. At first he is devastated, but slowly, with patience and imagination, he transforms his dismal island into a tropical paradise. For twenty-four years he lives with no human companionship - until one fateful day, when he discovers he is not alone...
“I, poor miserable Robinson Crusoe, being shipwrecked, came on shore on this dismal unfortunate island, all the rest of the ship’s company being drowned. In despair of any relief, I saw nothing but death before me…”
Thus Crusoe begins his journal in Daniel Defoe’s classic novel: the vividly realistic account of a solitary castaway’s triumph over nature—and over the fears, self-doubt and loneliness that are parts of human nature.
For almost three centuries, Robinson Crusoe has remained one of the best known and most read tales in modern literature, a popularity owing as much to the enduring freshness and immediacy of its style as to its widely acknowledged status as the very first English novel.
Please Note: this text includes piracy, mutiny, and slavery. It does not challenge ideas of the time it was written.
Recommended by the publisher for ages 9 years and up; however, due to the slavery, sexism, and racism within the story, it could instead be recommended for an older child, as a critical read with insight into the times.
Softcover, 288 pages.
Puffin Classics.
Printed in Great Britain.
"I enjoyed Robinson Crusoe much more than I expected to.
...
Robinson Crusoe is a story of one man’s survival in solitude but it also includes pirates, shipwrecks, cannibals, mutiny, and much more. It’s a very rich tale which examines isolation, loneliness and the will to survive.
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Defoe’s writing is very clever, full of intricate detail at the beginning when Crusoe is fascinated with his new surroundings (and has ink to spare) but deteriorating when the novelty factor wears off (and the ink runs out). It does feel very similar to reading seventeenth-century travelogues, which was Defoe’s intention, but it’s definitely a piece of adventure fiction as Defoe skillfully amps up the tension and action towards the end of the book. I really enjoyed reading it.
Defoe’s book was written in the 17th century and, therefore, cannot be judged by 21st-century values but I know some people find it truly offensive. I have read enough 17th-century literature, especially travel narratives from the era, to know what to expect when reading a book like this. This was not as bad as some of those travel narratives, believe me. I think you can both appreciate aspects of this book and acknowledge that it is archaic in its depiction of race and religion." ~ warmdayswillnevercease blog
