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Robinson Crusoe
Robinson Crusoe
Robinson Crusoe
Audiobook (abridged)3 hours

Robinson Crusoe

Written by Daniel Defoe

Narrated by Nigel Anthony

Rating: 3.5 out of 5 stars

3.5/5

()

About this audiobook

Robinson Crusoe, the first English novel, was an immediate success when first published in 1719, and has been an internationally popular classic ever since. The compelling tale of a man who put to sea in search of adventure and found himself shipwrecked on a desert island and alone for decades has become a resonant modern myth. Crusoe walking the limits of his small domain, a typical Englishman carrying his umbrella in the blazing tropics, is a figure familiar throughout the Western world.
LanguageEnglish
Release dateSep 16, 1995
ISBN9789629544843
Author

Daniel Defoe

Daniel Defoe was born at the beginning of a period of history known as the English Restoration, so-named because it was when King Charles II restored the monarchy to England following the English Civil War and the brief dictatorship of Oliver Cromwell. Defoe’s contemporaries included Isaac Newton and Samuel Pepys.

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Reviews for Robinson Crusoe

Rating: 3.4859154929577465 out of 5 stars
3.5/5

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  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I can see where this book would have been very unique for its time. It was a very enjoyable (and in some ways an educational) read, but I just kept being amazed at how unadventurous old Robinson Crusoe really was - i.e. 9 months on the island before he even thought to take a stroll around to the other side to see what was actually on this island he was living on???
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Like most people I started reading Robinson Crusoe with the preconceived thought of a adventure story, using primitive means to survive. Yes, the book indeed has this element, but what thoroughly fascinated me was his reflection on giving thanks for what one has, and what one may feel is required for a happy life at one point may be completely irrelevant, and even detrimental when viewed from a different perspective.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    I tried to read this when I was getting my Masters in English. Truly, I did. It was on a list of maybe a hundred books that I was supposed to read outside of classes and be prepared to talk about in an oral exam... and it was the only one I began, and simply couldn't finish. I got to page 26 before I gave up.This year, I decided to try it again. After all, back when I tried it the first time, I was stressed and rushed, and surely some book or another would test my patience, so it had to be better than I'd thought back then. Right? Well, um, yeah... not really.I understand this is a classic, and I even understand why. I'm glad to be able to say that I finally finished it. But that's about all I can say. This was a dry read, and one that I had a hard time getting through. Sprinkles of action didn't make up for the non-action or the style of the book, and although I rather like the idea of the story and wanted to enjoy this, I just couldn't. Unless you have to read it, I probably wouldn't recommend it.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    There's so much more in this novel than has come into the culture. It's essentially about sin and slavery. So Crusoe disobeys his father and is cast into slavery. After he escapes he sets about enslaving others and is cast away on the island, into a sort of slavery to himself, where he can never do anything for anyone else. And for all that he takes to God, he can never be tested. Whatever his character faults, when he gets company he does take command with their agreement and it's only then that he can escape. Clever stuff, and it's also an exciting adventure story.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    The majority of this book is enjoyable if you keep it in perspective. Being written as long ago as it was it still maintains a quality of easily read prose that I do not find in any other book of the time period. It leans a little heavily into religious thought but I suppose if you are stranded on an island for 28 years you have a lot of time to think!The end doesn't live up to the rest of the book. The last 20 odd pages are just a mess, and take the reader through some idiotic exercise in the mountains between Spain and France. There is a series of attacks by 300 wolves and bears and our man Friday teases a bear before killing him. Very bad.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I think if someone cleared this of about 95% of the religious/"moral" drivel, it would be a decent story. As it is, much of it is bogged down by his droning on about that. But the story itself was fairly interesting. Not really recommended unless you're simply a fan of the old classics, and/or like having that sort of thing shoved endlessly down your throat.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Robinson Crusoe doesn't deserve classic status to my mind. The language and authorship seemed pedestrian. The most enjoyable passages were philosophical (his conversion to Christianity and Providence, for example) or concerning Friday and cannibals. These were outweighed by pages of narrative-choking detail about building fences and disposing of property, and the characters beside the protagonist are very thin.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A fictional autobiography of Robinson Kreutznaer, or Crusoe as he is better known, tells the story of a young man who wouldn't listen to his father and left home for the life of adventure. He was forewarned by his father and others that he should not go to sea or it would be his peril. Robinson doesn't listen and ends up a castaway on a remote island near Trinidad. The first part is Robinson's efforts to create his castle. The second part involves fear of others, cannibals and gathering of slaves and subjects. I enjoyed the first part of the book, the mastery of survival on an island where he finds himself completely alone. Crusoe starts out feeling sorry that he didn't listen to his father, then he begins to see God's providence in his survival and the mastery of the environment lead Crusoe to have a better attitude. The second part of the novel, where Crusoe begins to be fearful of cannibals deprives him of the peaceful life he had created. He has thoughts of killing the others and then of capturing others to be his slave. In the second part there is fear and there is the unfair mastery over other people. It certainly is a look at the imperialism and colonization by the British. There is a strong theme of repentence. The moral is that it is not enough to give God credit for the miracles or even to pray but Crusoe must repent of his wretched state and acknowledge his dependence on God.
    Some thoughts of the book include the exactness of measuring and counting. The focus on eating or being eaten. When Crusoe finds the footprint he immediately becomes negative again. He is fearful and no longer trusts God. One could make a point of racism in this book written in 1719 but also I think it reflects the time and I think books should be judged by when they were written not by our superiority in the present. In fact I think this superiority that is often taken on isn't much better than racism of the past. It's still a value judgment. I actually think Defoe might have been making a political statement against imperialism, colonization and unfair treatment of others.
    I enjoyed this adventure tale but liked the first part better than the second. I listened to an audio read by Simon Vance who did a good job of narration. The strong Christian theme reflected Defoe's Puritan beliefs.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    A wonderful, seminal achievement by one of the greatest masters of prose ever.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Although tedious at times, I found this book to be a captivating adventure. With allowances made for the time period the book was written, this book is a rather straighforward and intriguing adventure. It does get repetitive at times and bogs down with the detail of the drudgery of Crusoe's solitary life on the island, but perhaps that just give's one a sense of how monotonous and slowly life would pass if one were walking in Robinson Crusoe's shoes.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Robinson Crusoe is shipwrecked on an island after his slave ship runs aground. The rest of his crew soon die and Robinson is left to fend for himself. Robinson soon encounters a group of savages, one of which he befriends and names Friday, and the two work in tandem to get themselves off the island.Defoe’s work provides opportunity for various topics of discussion, ranging from the power of religion to the reconciliation of cultural differences. It is also an excellent book for examining the development of the English language, as the writing style is quite a bit different than most of the texts your students may have encountered.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I had a really hard time getting into this book. The pacing was very inconsistent. Some sections were fast paced and exciting, others were dull and seemed pointless. The writing itself made reading this incredibly dry. Constantly repeating himself and reminding you of things you had just read as if his story was that easily forgotten. I understand this was written in the early 18th century and that styles were different back then, i just can't get past how hard it was to stay focused on the story, esp. when sentences would take up entire pages.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This story is very terrific!!!I cannot imagine that I live alone in island for many years.If I were him, I would want to die because of terror, loneliness, andanxiety.I was moved by friendship between them.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    I've loved this story since my teens. The illustrations by Fritz Kredel are nice full-color plates.
  • Rating: 1 out of 5 stars
    1/5
    To say I hated this book is probably the understatement of the century. In fact, I'm only halfway through the book after six years! I just can't seem to bring myself to buckle down and finish it mainly because the main character is a whiny pompous ass who is just plain dislikeable. I should probably donate this book, but there is still this little part of me that insists on finishing it, although that will most likely never happen.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Why did I wait so long to read Daniel Defoe's classic "Robinson Crusoe?" The book, which follows the story of Crusoe who is marooned on a tropical island for decades is well-paced and thoroughly engrossing. Not only does Defoe detail what it takes to survive on a lonely island, he includes plenty of musing about religion and the craving for companionship and "stuff." There is a reason this book is considered a classic.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This book was probably the first true novel, in the modern sense, published in the English language (1719). Much of the book details Crusoe's attempts to survive on his island, with quite detailed accountants of his efforts to grow crops, domesticate goats and make cooking utensils and other tools. Although this may sound quite dull, the writing style for the most part pulled me through. The narrative is quite positive and Crusoe comes to adopt a positive mental attitude by counting his blessings in terms of the articles he salvages from the shipwreck, the fact that the hulk is still accessible, and that there are no wild animals on his island. This is of course the original cannibal savages v. civilised white Anglo Saxon story, now a racist cliche, but then a worldview that all the book's readers would surely have shared nearly three centuries ago. Finally, I think the narrative should have ended when he came back to England, but instead there is a longish section on his property and financial arrangements and his fighting wolves in France, that seemed to lack a clear purpose.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    This novel is so good and such a bulwark of the proverbial canon that this series' editor's choice to modernize the language and syntax falls a bit flat. A good version for the un-initiated, though it pales in comparison to the experience of the original novel.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    The legend of Robinson Crusoe and his Man Friday are elaborated in the novel and one can understand the appeal. The audiobook is also nicely done.
  • Rating: 5 out of 5 stars
    5/5
    Sure, it's not for everyone, but what book is? I've read it many times. It's a great book, especially after a tough week or month surrounded by traffic, computers, and smog. Then I just want to be Robinson on my own private island, building, inventing, and slowly going happily mad!

  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Robinson Crusoe starts off whiney. And moany. And oh-woe-is-me, and why did I do that?

    This is spoiler-ish.

    Then he spends 20-odd years alone on a not-desert island. He learns to be alone--except for pets, and a parrot who he teaches to talk, and God. Because of course he finds God and starts studying the bible. It was all downhill from here.

    From whiney guy he becomes the King. Because of course a native man will be his servant! And of course his servan'ts father and the random Spanish guy will serve him too! And then he becomes the Governor, because of course those who survive a mutiny on their ship will want Robinson to be their boss! And hey, he'll just eave the Spanish behind!

    I was going to recommend this for a friend's 5th grade daughter--she reads like crazy, and would love the way he builds his life on the island. But then the servant bossy governor bits come in. Meh.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    What an aggravating book. Chilling in its blithe acceptance of slavery and exploitation for personal gain, though of course this is not out of sync with the times in which it was written. Even put in context, though, it is hard to sympathize with this character beyond an admiration for his industry and compassion for anyone who is suffering, no matter how morally afflicted a fellow he may be. The racism is thick and irksome, from his descriptions of skin tone outward, and his "improvements" on the "savage" he saves and then dominates are of the sort justifiably decried in countless modern books on slavery, racism, and colonization.It is also astonishingly boring. I have a higher level of patience than most for characters noodling around doing nothing much of interest in order to set the scene, but egads. I am gobsmacked that this book is still published and recommended for children. It must be seriously rewritten in their versions. Yikes.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    A really good book. Some find it boring but I think it was interesting to read about his isolation.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    I do think this is a book worth reading at least once (thus the three stars), although it certainly is no favorite. One thing it isn't though, even though I've seen the novel categorized as such--it's not a tale that would appeal to children in language or content--at least not in unabridged, unbowlderized, unillustrated editions. The novel is a mix of the good, the bad and the very ugly.Good -- The introduction calls this book "the first English novel" and that alone is good reason for anyone interested in the form to read it. And for the most part, it's a very engaging read which surprised me in something so early in the form--it probably helped I read an edition that modernized the spelling and punctuation. Crusoe's first person voice pulled me in, and there's a lot of evocative detail that brings the story alive. The afterward in the edition I read speaks of one of the fascinations of the tale is "technique." Isolated on an island in the Caribbean, at first with nothing but one knife, a pipe and a bit of tobacco, Crusoe recapitulates the entire process of civilization. First salvaging tools and stores from his wrecked ship, then mastering everything from carpentry, basket-weaving and pottery to small scale animal husbandry and agriculture and more. Parts of this book makes for great action/adventure reading--truly suspenseful parts that play like a film in my mind, such as as the chapters dealing with quelling a mutiny. It's not overlong either, and I found it a quick read. Bad -- The narrative at times violates the rule "show, don't tell" and the style is almost too spare at times and too taken up with minutia. The book was once praised for it's piety but to modern ears, even to devout Christian ones, I think, would come across as unduly preachy in parts--and that very preachiness complicates what I find most problematical in the novel. (See, "Very Ugly" below.) And my goodness, Defoe uses the word "Providence" more often than Meyer's Twilight uses "sparkle." (That would be a lot.) The last three chapters of a few dozen pages is anticlimactic, tedious and pointless after all that came before. Very Ugly -- In a word: slavery. I really am willing to make allowances for the times--the novel was published in 1719--but it's an issue from the first that got increasingly more disturbing. Crusoe himself before being shipwrecked on that island had been captured by pirates and sold into slavery and endures in that condition for two years. He escapes with a fellow slave who helps him quite a lot--then Crusoe turns around and sells the boy into slavery. Crusoe's brought to Brazil where he becomes a slave owning planter. The very voyage that shipwrecked him was for the purpose of bringing slaves back to Brazil. And I could have set that aside... Except... Well, Crusoe has a spiritual reawakening on the island where he bewails his sins--and they turn out to be his "original sin" in disobeying his father by going out to sea--and not being religiously observant in matters such as the sabbath. Slavery is certainly not enumerated. And then there's Friday. "Man Friday" is a word for servant because of this novel. For two-thirds of the novel Crusoe is alone. He observes that "cannibals" come ashore periodically with victims, and decides that he'll rescue one, or even two or three to "make slaves" of them. He does exactly that, and especially in the chapters dealing with his turning a man he names Friday into a servant, teaching him to call Crusoe "master" and converting Friday into a Christian, I truly wished I could reach into the pages and throttle Crusoe.I found the treatment of the whole issue more maddening than in any book I can ever remember reading. Including Gone With the Wind by the way. Lots of people decry that book as racist and as an apologia for slavery. I love Gone With the Wind though, despite those problems and found it far easier to enjoy. I think part of what made it easier to tolerate is that Gone With the Wind was written and published after slavery was history and set in an era where there was great opposition to it that would lead to its abolition. Proponents of slavery at least were on the defensive. Reading Robinson Crusoe, it seems this was an era where no one had a clue slavery was wrong at all. Forgetting the Sabbath? Quel horror! Trafficking in fellow human beings? Situation normal. Never mind that the whole characterization of Friday was enough to set my teeth on edge. Although in a way I suppose all this is all the more reason to read the book. The mindset says volumes about how the slave trade was able to be established and endure so long. No moral brakes on the practice. At least if Defoe reflects his times faithfully.For what it's worth, a friend who is an academic in the field of literature tells me there had been objections and opposition to slavery from the outset--and that critics themselves are undecided whether to take Crusoe straight up or whether his views reflect the author's. Apparently Defore is well-known for writing unsavory and repulsive characters who wind up on top--as in Moll Flanders about a thief and prostitute. So maybe we're meant to want to throttle Crusoe. Just reinforces though--this isn't some sweet children's book.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Preview… Daniel Defoe’s “Robinson Crusoe” has had an inarguably enormous effect on the literature of today. Widely considered the first English novel, it recounts the “life and strange surprising adventures” of its protagonist, who is marooned on an unidentified South American island for 28 years before he is able to return to EuropeCrusoe lives in utter solitude for 25 years. Not a skilled tradesman, he must teach himself various crafts to aid in his comfort and basic survival. The simplest things take great amounts of time—our hero spends 42 days making a single shelf! Crusoe also spends a substantial amount of time reflecting on his plight in a spiritual manner. He alternately cries out to God for deliverance and praises his maker for sparing him death at sea.One day, Crusoe sees a human footprint on the shore of his beach. He agonizes over its possible implications, restricting his activity for nearly seven years in order to remain safe. Later, he is able to rescue the intended victim of cannibalistic feasting, a young man he names Friday. Friday pledges himself to a life of servitude under Crusoe and is made “civilized” by learning the English language and religion and undergoing modest dietary changes. Friday quickly becomes indispensable to Crusoe as a companion and fellow survivor. He helps Crusoe defend the island and secure resources. He also offers valuable company.How does social isolation affect the human psyche? How is religion a valuable coping mechanism? How does “Robinson Crusoe” espouse the protestant work ethic? Most interestingly, how does Crusoe finally escape, and how does he react upon his return to England after so many years alone on the island?Although I find the novel a bit tedious at times, no one can deny its literary and cultural import or help but wonder how she might react if cast into a similar condition.You may like this book if…you wonder how extreme isolation might affect the human mind; you like reading a character’s spiritual musings; you want to read the original survival novel; you just have to see what happens to Crusoe; you find cannibals to be interesting; you want to read a political/ moral portrait of the time; you want some pointers on making the best of a hopeless situation—just in case.You may not like this book if…you expect the plot to follow the traditional story arc that is prominent in literature today; you are distracted by archaic grammar and spellings (viz., perswasion, prophetick); you can’t feel pity for a man who massacres cats; you can’t fathom reading about a society of cannibals—your brain is just too visual; you are too upset by ethnocentric, culturally imperialistic overtones; you desire a sense of immediacy to help heighten the conflict and sustain interest; religious back-and-forth annoys you.
  • Rating: 4 out of 5 stars
    4/5
    Four stars on the strength of it's historical/classical significance...I read an abbreviated version as a young boy....enjoyed it much then...I thank I liked the adventure story of a very competent person...in this reading Defoe's religious themes were more in site...took a long time to get through.
  • Rating: 2 out of 5 stars
    2/5
    The story was interesting enough but not very realistic. Crusoe was a very shallow-minded British man who was able not only to survive nearly three decades alone on an island but teach himself all manner skilled trades, avoid being eaten by neighboring savages, acquire a faithful servant (slave), and raise a small fighting force against would-be pirates. He then is able to return back home to England with all the money he had saved (even though it had seemed useless to keep it for so long) and discovered that his business interests had been looked after in his absence with great success and he would now enjoy the fruits of someone else's labor; still with his slave in tow.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Robinson Crusoe is claimed to be the first novel written in English, published in 1719, and is a fictional autobiography of Crusoe who is from an average family in England at that time, and spends 28 years stranded on a remote desert island.I found this book really dragged, & it is quite repetitive. Crusoe never really has any exciting adventures until way into the book. For the first quarter or so of the book it is mostly an account of daily life and the difficulties of making ink and paper, learning to make pottery & raising goats etc. It gets some what better when Crusoe rescues Man Friday from some cannibals and their relationship is interesting and compelling. Crusoe is forced to be open minded because he has no one else around except his parrot. He is able to understand the dignity of Friday and look upon him eventually as an equal in some ways although still a servant. Crusoe teaches Friday English & converts him to Christianity. I liked the fact that it questions our relationship with those we feel are beneath us in whatever way.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    This is possibly the most mindnumbingly boring book I have ever read. I may have read worse, but if so I have removed the memory of the horror from my conscious mind. The worst bit is I thought I had read it before and rather liked it. I can only surmise that I have read one of those re-written versions for children, one that put rather more weight on the cannibals, finding Friday, the hindering of the mutiny ... you know, that sort of thing. I am of course referring to the rare moments of "something happens". I am not saying the book is bad. It does a very good job of conveying the feeling of being stuck on a desert island for 28 years. The sheer mind-numbing slowness of it. And while it is a dreadfully religious book, and my patience when it comes to sermons in books is limited to accept only two repetitions per topic, I enjoyed the occasional kicks aimed in the general direction of the Stuart monarchy, the Catholics and other people Defoe did not like in general. Perhaps I found it so boring because I am not a Victorian boy. I find it as a staple of any male character set in the Victorian era (and often later) that he will have spent his childhood reading Robinson Crusoe and enjoying it tremendously. Half the male authors I have been reading about considered it one of their formative books. Ironically, these authors write books I like, books that do not go on for 180 pages about the detailed measurements of the cave, the table, the canoe, the wall and all the rest. I know why it is there. I know it is supposed to back up the illusion of truth, the claim that it is a memoir, not a fiction. But knowing does not entail enjoying. Finally, for I should stop now, I must say this: I am sure this could be an intriguing book to analyse. Both for its attitude to politics and religion, for its very interesting treatment of slavery (which did fascinate me when it showed up), for the meditations on cultural relativity, or even for its use of mind-numbing detail of mundane tasks as a literary tool which really does communicate the experience of the cast-away in a way that no mere "I was alone on the island for 25 years" can do. I am not saying that you shouldn't read it. But don't go into it thinking it will be fun.
  • Rating: 3 out of 5 stars
    3/5
    Timeless classic!