Robinson Crusoe (Oxford World's Classics) [Hardcover]

Daniel Defoe (Author), J. M. Coetzee (Introduction)

Book Description

Series: Oxford World's Classics | Publication Date: September 16, 1999

Robinson Crusoe (1719) is one of the most famous adventure stories ever written. The account of a sailor shipwrecked on a desert island for twenty-eight years, it is also a tale of mythic proportions, an allegory, and a spiritual autobiography.

Editorial Reviews

Review

"An exemplary text--scholarly and cheap enough to ask students to buy."--Robert Wess, Oregon State University

--This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

About the Author

J. M. Coetzee is Professor of General Literature at the University of Cape Town. His books include Waiting for the Barbarians (1980), Life and Times of Michael K (winner of the Booker Prize, 1983), White Writing (1988) and Disgrace (winner of the Booker Prize, 1999).

Product Details

• Hardcover: 320 pages
• Publisher: Oxford University Press, USA (September 16, 1999)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0192100335
• ISBN-13: 978-0192100337
• Product Dimensions: 6.4 x 4.4 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #697,919 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Great language and characterization, March 21, 2003

By 

"lovely7980" (New York City) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Robinson Crusoe (Oxford World's Classics) (Hardcover)

This is not a novel for those who like quick action and a lot of dialogue. Robinson Crusoe is superbly written, and tends to draw out the events, with a great deal of imagery provided in order to describe everything with minute details. Seeing as to how this is one of my favorite novels, I have read Robinson Crusoe probably about six times, in more than one language. My favorite aspect of this novel is the language in which it is written. Defoe's ability to make every word worth reading is enough to captivate and ignite the imagination. I do not think that if you like fast-paced novels that you would enjoy this masterpiece, but it is a matter of personal preference. If you enjoy well-developed character, then Robinson Crusoe's charater is one worth devoting your time to. Defoe creates a human being, with faults and flaws, as well as dignified qualities. Robinson Crusoe is truly worthy of emulation, and is one of the greatest-developed characters in a work of literature. I recommend this novel to anyone who is willing to take the time to read every sentence and who is not so impatient as to expect action to appear on every page of the novel.

6 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Necessity is the mother of Exploitation, May 2, 2003

By A Customer

This review is from: Robinson Crusoe (Oxford World's Classics) (Hardcover)

Written in 1719, Robinson Crusoe is one of the first adventure novels, and its clear action and detailed portrayal of a man stranded make it a classic.

The book gets off to a fast start, with a series of storms and escapes that make you think the action will never stop-but then it does. For about a hundred pages, or twenty-four years of Crusoe's life, we suffer a dry spell of isolation right along side the narrator.

Now here's what bothers me about this hundred-page dry spell: Crusoe turns out to be an absolutely ingenious handy-man, perfectly suited for island life. We're never in suspense of whether our man will live or die from day to day. He turns out to be an able carpenter, cook, hunter, builder, farmer-whatever he needs, the hero has the uncanny ability to whip up out of the convenient natural abundance of the island.

This combination of the flawless man in an unlimited environment becomes incredibly annoying after a while. The only real obstacle is loneliness, and the narrator's psychology is so cheery that even this seems trivial. I would have much rather heard a few curses at fate than the disgustingly admirable optimism that pervades the book. And that's why I think the time spent alone on the island-what many consider to be the essence of this book-is abominably boring. About the midpoint of the book, however, something unexpected happens and the action picks up again, diverting us from the irritating perfection and complacency of the hero.

There are lots of rumors going around that this book is politically incorrect. I'll just say that if you're not put off by: animal mutilation, British Imperialism, Native American massacres, proselytizing, religious fanaticism, portrayals of other races as brutish and uncivilized, cannibalism, exploitation of Africans, exploitation of Native Americans, exploitation of Muslims, tobacco farming, kidnapping, selling children into slavery, or just plain subjugation of others and the natural world-I say, if you can get past these things and accept them as part of the times (18th century England), then you might consider giving this a read.

1 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

1.0 out of 5 stars clueless?, April 21, 2000

By A Customer

This review is from: The Life and Strange Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner (Oxford World's Classics) (Paperback)

I did not enjoy this book at all...though i had to finish it because it was required by my school. You can barely understand it and the majority of the time the author leaves you cluless. Reading this book will give u hours of boredom. Another thing is the book goes on and on and on and on and on...and just never stops. The sentences in the book are more for the people at Defoe's time. I would not recomend this book to anyone at all.