Robinson Crusoe by Daniel Defoe!
I don't think I saw any review on this one, so I thought I'd post one.
To begin with, Robsinon Crusoe is one of the most boring stories ever. I didn't enjoy it, not even a little bit. The narration is SO boring and dull, and esp. the parts where he explains and describes very professional thing, like how he built a ship, how he sailed and things like that, that just drove me nuts, cuz at some point I'm totally lost, and keep wondering what does that have to do with anything.
I have to mention, though, that the character of Robinson Crusoe himself is kind of interesting. He's not interesting per se, but his development, emotional and mental wise, is def. ineresting. How he he became a very independant person, living alone on a deserted island, and actually managing to make a whole complete commmunity out of it throughout the years he's been there. At a certain point, I think Defoe, whether intentionally or not, was a little blunt when describing Robinson Crusoe's relationship with his servant Friday. How it was obvious that Robinson Crusoe felt his superiority over Friday, and never failed to show it. How he called the island his little 'colony', and how he signed himself as the 'savior' of the 'poor savages' such as Friday.
It's appealling to me personally, being someone who believes in human abilities and resourcefulness, to see someone in the 18th century pointing out the fact that an individual is quite capable of making his own life, and realising his own destiney without the interference of anyone whatsoever.
I guess overall, Robinson Crusoe isn't my favotie type of a story. The style is very boring. The idea of Defoe being a journalist and therefore writing most of the novel in a journal or a diary form becomes somehow depressing as you proceed, cuz very little happens, in terms of meeting people or facing dangers as one might guess when we talk about a person adandoned on a far away island. The most important chapters are basically the first 6 or 7 and the last 7 or so, what's in the middle is, for me, insignificant.
Some might say that Robinson Crusoe is a story about hope, faith, individualism and hard work. These are very nice values indeed, but in RC they're being put in a very boring context.
The best rate I can give is 5/10.
