Robinson Crusoe

A Classic

This was a wonderful listen. I have always wanted to read this book but never had the opportunity. Listening to it while I drove was a real pleasure.

This is a good classic.

What you would expect from a classic beloved by millions.
Narrator was great. This book needs a British narrator, and this guy did a very good job.

Preachy & Ponderous

I have read many "classics" over the decades, and am most aware that they tend to be overly long and occasionally tedious. But this book pushed even my tolerance. Interestingly, this was the last of 3 Defoe books I read, (in this case, listened to) -- the other 2 being Moll Flanders and A History of the Devil. I'm not completely up on my history of Daniel Defoe, but I suspect he must have been either a member of the clergy or a religious zealot, for all of his books come across as stories whose sole purpose is to sermonize his beliefs and values. Robinson Crusoe was tedious on many levels. The constant talk of God and the Bible consumed at least 1/3 of the book, details of no particular interest -- except perhaps to someone who may be stranded on an island sometime in the future -- took up entirely too much time, Friday (the native character) doesn't appear until nearly 3/4 of the way through the book, and very little of interest actually happens to Crusoe for the majority of his stay on the island. It is interesting to note that not one film adaptation has ever been as boring as this book. I give 2 stars only for some of the more interesting elements of the story. The narrator did a decent job of it -- but there were times you can hear the pages of his script being turned, and he occasionally stumbles and stutters over some of the lines (even pausing at the wrong moments), which would occasionally bring me out of the story. As I said, I generally enjoy classic literature, but unless you want more of a sermon and less of a story, skip it.

Their last name was not Robinson.

Would you listen to Robinson Crusoe again? Why?

No, once is enough.

Would you recommend Robinson Crusoe to your friends? Why or why not?

Yes, it is a classic, and listening to it is a great way to enjoy this novel.

Any additional comments?

It turns out to be a novel in the genre of the survivalist, as was Robinson Crusoe. Faced with an unbelievably fitting cache of tools, seeds, and plants, the family with a father who knows everything that there is to agriculture, home building, animal husbandry, and with less ambition to be rescued that Gilligan, converts the island where they land to series of homes away from home. It is a story of homesteading, but one in which you have a Home Depot (the wrecked ship) with everything one might image one would need.

Overall, I'm glad I listened.