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    Robinson Crusoe - Retold for Younger Listeners by Roy McMillan
    Robinson Crusoe - Retold for Younger Listeners by Roy McMillan
    Robinson Crusoe - Retold for Younger Listeners by Roy McMillan
    Audiobook (abridged)2 hours

    Robinson Crusoe - Retold for Younger Listeners by Roy McMillan

    Written by Daniel Defoe

    Narrated by Jonathan Keeble

    3.5/5

    ()

    About this audiobook

    Exceptionally popular since its publication in 1719, Robinson Crusoe is widely regarded as the first English novel. Our eponymous hero finds himself shipwrecked on an African desert island after a tumultuous storm, and following the realization he is the only survivor, is faced with the prospect of years of isolation. However, he throws his energy into familiarizing himself with his new habit: he hunts, learns how to make pottery and even adopts a parrot. After encountering a group of cannibals, Robinson Crusoe finally finds a companion. A thrilling adventure for younger listeners, made thoroughly accessible through Roy McMillan’s retelling of Defoe’s text, simplifying and clarifying them at certain points.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherNaxos Audiobooks
    Release dateFeb 1, 2012
    ISBN9781843795582
    Robinson Crusoe - Retold for Younger Listeners by Roy McMillan
    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 - Retold for Younger Listeners by Roy McMillan

    3.5/5

    3,737 ratings93 reviews

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    • 1/5
      I don't remember reading this book, though it's obvious I have -- the spine is bent, and I'm the only one who's ever owned it. It obviously left no impression on me. It might be something I'd pick up in the future and try again.
    • 4/5
      The story begins with the universal quest: the young man in Britain, torn between his safe home and his hunger for adventure, breaks away from his loving father and sails away into the unknown. After a series of harrowing escapes, he's shipwrecked on a desert island. His lively first-person account shows how his intelligence and education help him survive for many years, and how he uses technology, including guns and tools salvaged from the ship. He sets up home, reads the Bible, finds a parrot as a pet, and even devises a calendar to keep track of time. Then one day he finds a human footprint: "Was it someone who could save me and take me back to civilization? Or was it a savage who landed here?" When some "savages" arrive in several canoes, he uses his guns to get rid of them, and he rescues one of their captives, a handsome fellow with very dark skin. Delighted to have a companion at last, Crusoe names the newcomer Friday (since Crusoe found him on Friday).
    • 4/5
      My childhood library included an abridged version of Robinson Crusoe. It was one of my favorites, and I read it several times. When this unabridged version arrived from the Easton Press, I happily settled in to enjoy it again. I don't know what changed - my level of understanding, or the additional material not included in the version I had previously read - but I found the religious material to be slow going.
    • 1/5
      I don't think I've ever disliked a book more in my life.

      Robinson Crusoe is basically the literary equivalent of stale bread. IT'S SO DAMN DULL, and PAAAINFULLY BORING (at least stale bread still has some nutritional value). I hated it. I hated it with the fiery passion of a thousand suns.

      I never want to hear of this book ever again.
    • 5/5
      It's a classic; how could I not give it 5 stars. I was delighted to discover how very readable the book is despite the language of early 1700s. Also surprised that the two main themes of the book are mechanical and spiritual. Mechanical, in the sense that there is a lot of practical detail about how Crusoe creates a living from the bits and pieces he rescues from the wrecked ship. And spiritual, in his struggles to come to terms with life alone (until near the end) on an island (not desert, btw) and how considers his relationship with God under the circumstances. Doubtless one of today's editors would have asked for a rewrite to reduce the book in half, but the rambling detail is part of its classic charm. Read slowly and it's easy to be with Crusoe for a LONG time.
    • 3/5
      Zeer onderhoudend, zelfs na 3 eeuwen. Verrassende spirituele link: vergelijking met Job (beschouwingen over de voorzienigheid). Uniek thema: de nobele wilde, zelfs de kannibalen.
    • 1/5
      Unreadable prose (37 semicolons in a single sentence!) and a self-satisfied narrator make for a very unlikeable book. Defoe was a sexist, racist, colonialist pig, and this book reflects little more than his own crazed view of the world. It's a useful historical document, of course.
    • 4/5
      One of my favorite classics as a child - I suppose because I felt so isolated back then. Defoe shows us that we are all victims of a shipwreck - stranded in the middle of the ocean called life. Faced with the struggle of Man against Nature, most of us would not cope as well as Defoe's hero.
    • 2/5
      This book is very very slow. It is classic, but the type of classic that is only for a few excited readers that are not afraid of a long winter evenings with reading about Robinson's struggling on the sunny (or rainy) island.. Good luck to all brave readers.
    • 4/5
      A wonderfully entertaining story. Much darker and adult than modern Hollywood and politically correct society would have us think. This is a great story and sadly one that is rarely seen in school libraries anymore. It seems to have fallen into that “offensive to some” niche. Loneliness, doubt, self-discovery and the desire to understand why our stars align the way they do and in what manner we should…or should not accept their formation. Defoe comes across with insight and brilliance to tell us the story of Mr. Robinson Crusoe, a young man who appears to have more bad luck than good. Stranded on an island for nearly three decades our protagonist suffers, lives and learns and still has the uncanny ability to be human.
    • 1/5
      A man with wanderlust encounters a series of escalating misfortunes.1/4 (Bad).I gave up after 40 pages. I haven't even gotten to the really racist stuff yet (I suspect), but already the attitude towards slavery is too much. The style is readable but uniformly void of personality, and it's pretty clear how the story is going to unfold, so I'm confident that I'm not missing anything.(Aug. 2022)
    • 5/5
      There are a handful of novels that fascinated me in my early days of reading. This is one of them - I remember being mesmerized by the events of Robinson's life as narrated by Defoe. His creation of a new world on the island where he lived for years. The amazing feeling when he realized there was another person on the island and his ingenuity in developing a new life for himself. I think it was the first adventure book that I ever read and it spurred my interest in reading true tales of adventure ever since,
    • 3/5
      definately a book of it's time (white englishman is a higher moral ethical and valuable animal than both black men and the spanish/portuguese), but interesting to read nevertheless
    • 3/5
      I'M FR--FINISHED!!!!! Seriously, that book is a lot to swim through. I actually really liked Robinson's documenting of how he MacGyvered his dwelling and food and whatnot, which made me think Andy Weir had been inspired by Defoe when writing The Martian. But be not fooled, there is much else to slog through. I am happy to send this book off to the Goodwill in the sky.
    • 5/5
      My absolute favourite as a child
    • 4/5
      Read another copy as a child - loved it - played games for a year based on this shipwrecked, lonely chap & Man Friday (younger sister in reality): Defoe's story is a timeless classic of imagination mixed with the reality of a seafaring mishap all too familiar to the era - amazingly his first novel when aged 60, & a masterpiece of its kind. Still love its vivid ruggedness, today.
    • 4/5
      This was a classic that I'd missed reading for over five decades but determined to attempt this year. It was an enjoyable read, believable, and kept my interest throughout the tale.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 2/5
      When I started this book, I was expecting a story about survival. I expected to hear about wild adventures and man vs. nature. I got a little of that. But, mostly I got a whiny narrator who complained bitterly about how lonely he was and how he wanted a companion. Turns out, he really just wanted a servant. I couldn't get into the story at all, I didn't like the main character (not even enough to feel a little sorry for him) and I really wasn't impressed by the ending. This was a slight disappointment for me.
    • 4/5
      I heard a lot of negative things about the story of Robinson Crusoe, so when I decided to pick up the book I had my doubts. I have to say, I found the book engaging and the story thoroughly interesting. I loved everything about the book right up until the ending. I felt as though Defoe rushed the end and took away everything we enjoyed from the Robinson's island adventure.
    • 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.
    • 1/5
      I have vague memories of reading a Classics Illustrated or other adapted version of this as a child. Whatever version that was, it was more entertaining. Beyond that value, this is one of the best examples I've encountered of what criticism of the canon is all about, viz., having a dismissive, patronizing attitude of anything not English or reflective of Defoe's values.
    • 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!

    • 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.
    • 3/5
      An ebook from the Guttenberg project. I haven't taken to ebooks but the Gutenberg project is certainly a good way of catching up on old classics. And this certainly is a classic. But not quite the tale of adventure I had expected. The adventure is certainly there but this is really a philosophy book along the lines of Emmerson and Thoreau. Mr Crusoe spends much of his time alone musing and philosophising. Given that he was living quite well and had no company that is no surprise. But then that is Defoe's structure. Find a situation in which to put a character and then let him develop, unhindered, a philosophy of life. Crusoe is, of course, of his time and of his culture so his philosophising is in the nature of a debate with himself on aspects of christianity. It is appealing in that his world view is that of an optimist. His theme tune and motto for life would be 'Always look on the bright side of life.'
    • 4/5
      I read this book in eighth grade cause it was worth more 'reading points' than some of the other books on the list. But when I first picked it up, it was a non-stop adventure and tale of survival that I absolutely adored. If you like survival classics like Lord of the Flies or Castaway, then this is a great read as well.
    • 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.
    • 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.
    • 2/5
      This is one of those books that is normally read in childhood that I just never got around to, that being said, I'm not sorry I skipped it as a child. I can't believe this book is considered a children's classic. It promotes slavery as a way of life, discusses lifestyles of cannibals, and overly promotes religion. I could over look all of those things given that the book was written in 1719, and would have been common conceptions, but seriously, this is the stuff of my childhood nightmares.

      The author has Crusoe killing cats to keep the population down, drowning kittens, enslaving a man that he was obliged to save. It wont give me nightmares... But I can't say I've enjoyed this book.