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Type of bind: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 823.5
EAN num: 9780141439822
ISBN number: 0141439823
Label: Penguin Classics
Manufacturer: Penguin Classics
Quantity: 1
Page Count: 288
Printing Date: April 29, 2003
Publishing house: Penguin Classics
Release Date: April 29, 2003
Sale Popularity Level: 32625
Studio: Penguin Classics
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Introduction by John Richetti
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Rated by buyers -
The name "Robinson Crusoe" readily conjures up images of a sad castaway on a desert island, who after years of solitude comes up a man's footprint in the sand. But in reading Daniel Defoe's novel of 1719, I was surprised how different the work is from its common stereotype. Not until about 50 pages in does Crusoe end up a castaway, having before hand some misadventures as a young sailor. Instead of washing up on his island with just the clothes on his back, he in fact is able to get a great many useful tools and implements from his still intact wreck. And the man's footprint, instead of being the sign of another Crusoe subsequently encounters, is just a sign that some cannibals from the mainland visit the island on occassion.
All in all ROBINSON CRUSOE is an entertaining novel, one with much adventure and intrigue. One gets a lot of pleasure from reading of how Crusoe turns the basic furnishings of the island to his own use, having by the end of his confinement there such things as cheese, three houses, two canoes, and pottery. ROBINSON CRUSOE is also an interesting portrait of the times, for it was much influenced by popular attitudes of the early 1700s. Crusoe occasionally voices his dislike of the Spaniards, their atrocities in the Americas, and their Roman Catholic religion. But Defoe is hardly more charitable to the Native Americans, whose ignorance and godless depravity Crusoe deplores constantly.
To criticize a 300 year-old classic might be a silly exercise, but I doubt many readers will find this novel an elegantly crafted work. It's repetitive, for one. How many times do we need to read that Crusoe is reluctant to kill the maneaters? And the writer didn't seem to know when to stop, for after Crusoe's return to civilization we get an unnecessary battle with wolves in the woods of France. No wonder that the novel has so often circulated in abridgement.
I read this book in the Penguin Popular Classics edition, ISBN number 0140623154, which I would recommend if you just want some reading material without making a permanent addition to your library. It is printed on poor quality paper, but is priced quite low. It has no notes or commentary, but you really don't need them. Indeed, I'm surprised how smoothly readable ROBINSON CRUSOE is considering that it was written in the English of 300 years ago (even later works like TRISTRAM SHANDY present more of a challenge), and I'd even recommend it to a young person wanting just a fun adventure story.
Rated by buyers 
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but the key point here is that you will get an authoritative text, an interesting introduction, and a well-bound book for under ten bucks. Amazon can get it used for you for even less.
I teach an English literature course and I know how much my students are fleeced on certain "Anthologies". Instead, I have them buy individual paperbacks like this one. And they appreciate the savings. This edition of "Robinson Crusoe" will be appreciated by casual readers and students alike.
Rocco Dormarunno
The College of New Rochelle
Rated by buyers -
It is said of Robinson Crusoe that he in managing to survive for twenty - eight years on an isolated island in which he was for the most part alone provided a metaphor for Mankind itself in its solitary struggle to survive in this vast sea of a Universe. And that by his ingenuity and his resourcefulness he gave to all of us a demonstration of how we in living must learn to adapt and reconstruct our own world and lives as we go on.
And that thus in reading this work we are not reading the story of some strange shipwrecked figure from a few hundred years ago but rather reading the story of ourselves and our own struggle for survival.
In this it is not surprising that the sequel to the novel is considered far less compelling. And Crusoe's return after the death of his wife to the island he left is seen as somewhat of a failed adventure, especially as his faithful servant Saturday was killed by savages in the process.
One is young and alone and can go far into distant worlds and survive. But when one is old and returns to those worlds seeking to find one's youth there one only finds those worlds have aged also- and the mirror they hold up to your face is not a flattering one.
I wonder now what it would be like to as a child set out in the world again to a distant land of adventure.
'Robinson Crusoe' lives in all of us, but perhaps most especially an really only to those who are young.
Rated by buyers 
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This might not be the wisest thing to do, but here goes.
Is "Robinson Crusoe" a classic? Yes. Iconic? Yes. Adventurous and well-placed? No.
We usually allow liberties for older novels. Common writing and language changes over time. However, Defoe's literary novel about a man stranded on a deserted island for 28 years seems to have problems beyond those liberties. Every section must be tediously described with every possible adjective that could fit the situation. The events of the book go far too slowly for this to be called an adventure, and while Defoe makes the time-transition seem natural for the most part (a difficult thing to do with stories that take place over years,) it doesn't make it any more interesting.
The character of Robinson is a personality, in that he has characteristics the reader can identify (though not necessarily identify with): he has goals that he doesn't know how to pursue, he's a bit oblivious to the workings of the world yet manages to make use of them while on his own, he's a whiner, a worker, a person who blames and takes blame, etc.
Unfortunately, while Robinson describes all his emotions to the reader, the words itself are very unemotional. I suppose this works if you look at the book as a re-writing of his account, but as a moving story... well, it fails to move you.
"Robinson Crusoe" is an important story. Not only is it one of the earlier novels in Europe's history, but the idea of being stranded on an island and having to make due for yourself without society or civilized luxuries is an important one that has made a wave throughout our culture, and has been regurgitated by various re-inventors plenty of times as well. However, as a story for itself, it isn't very engaging, and if it were up to me, I'd say Defoe could have used a stricter editor, to get his ideas and events across to the reader more smoothly without pushing them away from the book.
Rated by buyers -
Robinson Crusoe is a classic book about a shipwrecked man. The book recounts a man's experiences from young adulthood to late middle age - but even leaves room for a sequel. I found the book became more interesting as the story progressed.
Crusoe's life was filled with twists and turns, and perhaps a bit of luck that he survived so much. A great amount of details are given for how Crusoe tamed his land. Although the narrative was slightly repetitive at times and almost as if some details were added after-the-fact, the book does create the semblance of a real narrative - perhaps because of the repetitiveness and tacked-on details.
I enjoyed reading this book and would recommend it. If the book seems a bit boring, keep going, it gets more interesting as it goes on.
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