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11 of 11 people found the following review helpful:
1.0 out of 5 stars
True Adventures ???, August 1, 2006
This review is from: Selkirk's Island: The True and Strange Adventures of the Real Robinson Crusoe (Paperback)
Souhami's book is awful for the simple fact that she bases so much of Selkirk's actions on his sexual appetite for goats. This may be true, however Souhami bases this gross assertion on the anecdote of one unnamed islander. Forget Selkirk's own testimony. Forget the fact that Defoe's interviews with Selkirk led to a powerful story of an individual wrestling with the providence of God. Forget that when Selkirk lived the idea of throwing off the shackles of moral convention wasn't part of the common individuals frame of reference. No,instead Souhami is clear in her conviction that Selkirk's whole being was centered on a randiness for goats. Unfortunately this leads Souhami to defend this outrageous claim throughout the rest of the book. Defoe, closer to the source, was inspired to write a story that captured the dynamic and driving spirit of Western cultural achievement(Not that it always benefitted everyone). Souhami instead jams a narrow modern interpretation on a classic and we're left with one of the least inspiring tales ever fabricated.
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8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
Very lacking, June 26, 2002
This could have been an excellent book. The author extensively researched the relevant personalities to the story (e.g. Selkirk and the rest of the crew). However, she merely repeats what facts she has found. She provides no analysis and puts nothing in perspective. For example, it appears obvious that a lot of men were seeking their fortunes at sea, but why - what were the conditions like at home? She notes that the conditions on Selkirk's ship is dismal, but what was it like on other ships? Perhaps Selkirk's ship was quite the norm. She makes no mention of the society in England - what period in time are we discussing? E.g. she writes the dates in the margin of her text. Is the reader supposed to understand what was happening during that time around the world. On a smaller scale, but related, the author makes all kinds of comments such as this, "by 17xx the war with the Spanish had ended." (Selkirk was afraid of being captured by the Spanish.) Couldn't the author have told us why the war ended, who won, what were the conditions, etc. Nope. Simply, the war had ended. Finally, the book is over 220 pages, but less than 40 pages are devoted to Selkirk's stay on the island. So many basic things that the author could have researched and given us information on are omitted. For example, the detail given regarding the island's climate doesn't get much better than "the climate was moderate". Well, I don't need to know the month by month breakdown, but "moderate" means something different to somebody from Canada than it does to somebody from Mexico. Couldn't she have stated, "70 degrees on average in the summer". What about the water temperature - was it ice cold? Was this Gilligan's island or was it Antarctica? I still don't know... I usually love these kinds of books and seek them out. I was all excited when I got this, and offered to loan it to a couple friends when I was done. Not now - I won't waste their time.
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16 of 21 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
...And He Didn't Even Have A Pair of Hipwaders!!, June 11, 2002
I have read all the reviews here and have read the book too, enjoying it thoroughly. I find Souhami's meandering style and graphic imagery fascinating. There is no way she could write a book that is just about Selkirk's sojourn on the island, there just isn't enough information. So instead, she weaves a tapestry of the harshness of eighteenth century sealife and lets us imagine for ourselves what it would be like to sail the seas with men like William Dampier in search of booty. Alexander Selkirk was not a nice guy and he travelled in the company of others who were also not nice guys. But these rough men had their own code and sense of fair play, so when Selkirk argued with and refused to obey his incompetent superior, he was marooned rather than executed as he probably would have been under similar circumstances in the Royal Navy. Selkirk was of an age when people knew how to do things with their hands, they had to in order to survive. With a bare minimum of necessities, he was able to carve out a lonely yet comfortable existence on his isle of exile. Souhami paints a beautiful portrait of how the lush the island was and how bountiful it must have seemed to the marooned sailor. Her descriptions of the flora, fauna, and topography are very evocative. Beyond the isle itself, Souhami expands on the geopolitical situation and the position of the English vis-a-vis the Spanish in the struggle for control of the seas and thus of trade. I learned quite a few interesting things about the Spanish settlements and inter-settlement communications reading this book. Souhami's prose makes the era come alive. Despite all the privations of life at sea, pirates and privateers were guys who were truly free. Selkirk's life is one of breaking the bonds of social custom and morality. His instincts were basic, he was fatalistic, and he had no real interests beyond satisfying his urges and doing what it took so that he could indulge his fancy. His sham marriages show that he saw women the way he saw the goats of his island, as objects of sexual conquest. Selkirk's Island is a book filled with fascinating facts woven together with logical conjecture. I recommend it as a spellbinding read for anyone who is comfortable thinking "outside the box".
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