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. ( )

Telling the incredible story of a man shipwrecked for over two decades, Robinson Crusoe is part adventure, part fantasy, and part conversion story. Much of the story actually deals with Crusoe's coming to real faith in God along with various descriptions of how he manages to survive over two decades alone. The last part of the novel reflects the mores of the time, where class distinctions were much more defined. Crusoe's relationship with Friday would be quite offensive today, but appears completely logical and natural in the book. ( )

When I first read this book I was around 10 years old... So you might be able to imagine how that went. Honestly, it was way too complex for my age, with vocabulary and grammar way over my head. Unfortunately, the second time I read it was only a year later... So once again, you can probably imagine how that went. But the reason this book had such an impact on me, the reason I will never forget it, is that I thought it was the most interesting adventure story I had ever read. Even though I had the utmost amount of difficulty dissecting the paragraphs and trying to figure out what people were saying (including the narrator), I did find myself following the basic plot. All I can remember was feelings of pain for a man who was stuck on an island along for so long, and the joy of all the accomplishments he made while on the island. I always think of it as a truly epic story of a man overcoming adversity. How could it be possible that a book as long as this, and as complicated as this, managed to capture and hold the attention of a 10 or 11 year old kid? It was simply the gripping storyline and emotion-stirring events that took hold of me. Because of this, I found myself unable to put a book down that I couldn't completely understand. I do plan to go back and read it again when I have a chance. Hopefully will more comprehension it will have an even greater impact on me. ( )

It's pretty slow going at first, but the pace picks up after the first 80 pages or so. It is pretty racist, but you make allowances for the time period, etc. Just a good adventure story, but to be honest I much prefer some Jules Verne. ( )

There are a lot of dragging events about how he survived the wilderness and made do with what he has. I liked how he has these reflections, how the experiences he had made him a better person, and how despite all that he went through, he thanked God because he realized that being alive is the greatest blessing of all. There are a lot of misspelled words but the description is excellently written. It would take you to a place where you'll just find calm, trees, and blue waters, and would make you ask yourself what you'd do in his position. I thought it would never end but things got more interesting when he found Friday. His character is really stubborn from the start, but he's only human and the great thing about him is improvising with scarce resources. This story just tells us what happens when we take the big plunge. We learn from mistakes and sometimes enjoy making the mistake. ( )