The Swiss Family Robinson (original 1812; edition 1972)

I love the good classics. For example we have all books in the Anne of Green Gables series. They are obviously written in a different time and in a style that was common then: lots of description and day-to-day happenings without a strong plot. But these books give a beautiful and interesting flavour of times past.

This book, however... I completely fail to understand why this ever became a classic.

It starts well, but soon the book gets bogged in chapter after chapter of problems too easily solved, self-righteous preaching and family wholesomeness that I find unbelievable. In addition to this, the author appears not to have had one ounce of knowledge regarding the world's geography, climate and plant species.

If you want to read classics to your kids, find something else. ( )

http://speculiction.blogspot.com/2013/04/review-of-swiss-family-robinson-by.html ( )

So. A family gets shipwrecked on an island. They happily build some houses, plant food-bearing plants, tame some local animals, and kill one of everything else they see to put in their "museum". The head of the household is a pious man, who luckily seems to know everything about every animal/plant/indigenous custom that ever existed. This father is the narrator of the story. It seems that at every turn there is an opportunity for him to impart some specialised knowledge and moral lesson for his sons. I found him to be stuffy and arrogant, but that was the time I suppose.

The only thing saving this story for me was that it was originally a bedtime story told to the authors sons. In that context I can see the fast moving events working, but in the novel form it is repetitive and borderline meaningless ( )

As an adult this story is ridiculously irritating.

The ship they were shipwrecked from happened to be outfitting a colony and therefore has all the tools and growing crops you could wish for. The island has a good selection of edible plants, trees and animals, as well as running potable water. The family between them can manage everything and know how to do everything they need without having a survival manual to hand.

If you can get past all that it's a good and classic novel. ( )

This classic tale of adventure is a perfect story to place in the graphic novel format with it’s exciting story and colourful backdrop. When their ship strikes a reef and they are abandoned by the crew, this family manages to survive the storm and salvage many necessary ingredients to their survival on a isolated tropical island. In fact not only do they survive, they manage to thrive and create a wonderful colony that eventually, when they are discovered, lures more people to join them.

With four sons in the family, it is a given that there will be adventures galore. Sharks and jaguars, tree houses and caves, all are drawn in great detail, and this book, originally published in German in 1812 springs to life on these pages.

Although simplistic and somewhat abbreviated , this graphic version is a wonderful introduction (or re-visit) to the classic original, especially as it cuts down somewhat on the dated religious views and overly sentimental family values that are strewn throughout the book. Published by Campfire Graphic Novels, this is just one in a large series of classics such as Kim, Prisoner of Zenda, Gulliver’s Travels and many more. Re-visiting the Swiss Family Robinson was a fun way to spend an afternoon. ( )