Rate this book

Clear rating

1 of 5 stars 2 of 5 stars 3 of 5 stars 4 of 5 stars 5 of 5 stars

Gulliver's Travels and Other Writings

3.65 of 5 stars 3.65 · rating details · 1,383 ratings · 39 reviews

Considered one of English literature’s first and greatest satirists, Jonathan Swift possessed a timeless genius for pointing out the foibles of human nature that still has the power to provoke, amuse, and, at times, even outrage
our modern sensibilities. This representative collection of Swift’s major writings includes the complete Gulliver’s Travels as well as A Tale of a...more

Hardcover, 0 pages

Published September 1st 1984 by Turtleback Books (first published 1726)

more details... edit details

Get a copy:

More…

Friend Reviews

To see what your friends thought of this book, please sign up.

Lists with This Book

The Canterbury Tales by Geoffrey Chaucer

Best Books From Before 1950

102nd out of 357 books — 42 voters

Terrestrial SF & Fantasy

52nd out of 156 books — 41 voters

More lists with this book...

Community Reviews

(showing 1-30 of 1,911)

filter | sort: default (?) | rating details

May 25, 2011 Jeanette rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: all-fiction, classics

I picked up this collection because I wanted to read A Modest Proposal. It's one of those must-reads, and only nine pages long. Written in 1729, it's a bitingly satirical economic solution to the problem of poverty among Irish families with too many mouths to feed. Quite funny in some places, unless you're a very literal person, in which case you'll find it gruesome.
Here's a example: "I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nu...more

2 likes · like · see review

Nov 04, 2012 Michael rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Cynics, English historians, English majors

Recommended to Michael by: Frank McCourt

Shelves: classics, literature, satire, poetry

I read this at the turn of the millennium, along with Ambrose Bierce and H. L. Mencken, as it seemed an ideal time to get to know the great cynics of the English language. I was mostly familiar with Gulliver through various child-oriented media adaptations, and had never really experienced the whole story as it was intended - as a satire of European society in the Age of "Enlightenment." Happily, this version gave me that opportunity, and was also annotated to give context to some of what Swift...more I read this at the turn of the millennium, along with Ambrose Bierce and H. L. Mencken, as it seemed an ideal time to get to know the great cynics of the English language. I was mostly familiar with Gulliver through various child-oriented media adaptations, and had never really experienced the whole story as it was intended - as a satire of European society in the Age of "Enlightenment." Happily, this version gave me that opportunity, and was also annotated to give context to some of what Swift was lampooning, as well as a chance to read a few of Swift's other works.

“Gulliver’s Travels” is a novel-length tale that takes up just over half the volume. It is, I think, the most readily accessible to a modern reader of the works in here. It is a rousing adventure story, similar in some ways to “Robinson Crusoe,” in which a luckless traveler is castaway in unexplored regions of the Earth’s oceans and must fend for himself in a strange environment. Fortunately (mostly) for Gulliver, the islands he encounters are populated, but by various strange inhabitants, whose customs and physical form he must adapt to. The most well-known of these are the Lilliputians, who are the first people he encounters, and who stand only six inches high. They have a fairly European culture, in spite of their diminutiveness, and Gulliver gets along with them well, ultimately arbitrating in a war with their miniature neighbors which is started over which side of an egg one “ought” to crack open. This part is a mockery of the minor points of theology that divided Englighmen at the time, but can be extended to any sectarian dispute or cause for war. He later encounters a land of giants, in which he seems the Lilliputian, and also the dread Yahoos and the noble Houyhnhmms, a race descended from horses, who are clearly superior to human beings. Throughout, the language and descriptions are delightful, and there is enough action to hold the attention of a modern reader.

“The Tale of a Tub,” “The Battle of the Books,” and “The Mechanical Operation of the Spirit” are shorter pieces which satire English learned society in their spiritual hypocrisy, their divisiveness, and their disregard for tradition. “The Tale of a Tub” is fairly hard going, grounded in disputes of the day and using intentionally overblown language, although it does contain a good parody of the three major Christian sects of the day, and their lack of respect for their heritage. “Battle of the Books” is more exciting, with a library coming to life and drawing lines between “Ancients” and “Moderns,” who conduct an amusing war with one another. The “Ancients,” it is presumed, win due to their possessing greater substance. In some ways, it is a commentary on the proliferation of writing made possible by the printing press, and the corresponding decline of quality as quantity increased. This could be relevant to today’s explosion of electronic publishing as well. “Mechanical Operation of the Spirit” is a sort of parody of the “Enthusiastic” religious trend of his day, essentially arguing that they have confused sensual pleasure for religious devotion.

Also worth noting are “A Modest Proposal” and “The Abolishing of Christianity,” both of which satire positions in an extreme way, making it appear that the author is arguing for the exact opposite of what he wants. Instead, he is showing the logical conclusion of his opponent’s arguments, and thereby destroying that position. In “A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Ireland from Being Poor,” Swift argues satirically that the most kind approach to the problem of Ireland within the Empire would be to start eating Irish babies and prevent their continued procreation. It is worth noting that Swift was Irish himself, and felt that the English had no business trying to repress the Irish national spirit. “The Abolishing of Christianity in England” essentially argues that if the Church of England continues on its present course, there will be no future for Christianity in England. He pretends to be arguing against an already-decided course, and to be very humbly suggesting that Christianity’s merits may be being overlooked, but in fact he is arguing very strongly that political and religious developments in England are appalling.

There are several more small pieces in the book, including some of Swift’s poetry, which very from difficult to delightful. The whole is well worth the time of anyone interested in modern English writing and thought and its historical development.
(less)

1 like · like · see review

Nov 17, 2011 Jayson rated it 3 of 5 stars

Shelves: 12th-grade-1st-quarter

A collection of timeless tales is always great to have and great to read especially when at an age where you understand things more as a person. The many issues and problematic things of human nature is pointed out in this novel through satire which is amazing to read because to see someone take shots at humans is not of the norm. It is not something we are all capable of doing in writing.

I thought this was a good book simply because of the satire, and how the author writes in a satirical way t...more

like · see review

Jul 30, 2010 Mo rated it 1 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, political, fiction

I remember this being much more interesting when I was a kid. Maybe I was reading a children's or abridged version because I couldn't even finish part one this time. It's too bad because it does sound like a really interesting story, just not so much while I'm actually reading it.

1 like · like · see review

Apr 13, 2011 Tyler Chatelain rated it 4 of 5 stars

Gulliver's Travels is an absolutely ridiculous tale, throwing Lemuel Gulliver into a series of strange encounters which seem like alternate worlds that parallel society. The novel was so appealing throughout due to the way the satire treats society, particularly in response to the feudalism of the Lilliputs (whose society appears comical in trying to oppress the "giant" Gulliver) and the seemingly sardonic take on the English Royal Society and its incredibly disgusting, often inane experiments....more

like · see review

Aug 28, 2012 Justin Mitchell rated it 3 of 5 stars

So, since this is a collection of many works, to judge it as one seems unfair.

Here's how I felt about each one:

Gulliver's Travels: 5 stars

Tale of a Tub: 1 star

A Modest Proposal: 4 stars

Everything else: 2 stars

So, overall, three stars for this volume. Swift has a trenchant wit. I laughed out loud a few times, something not many writers can make me do. But in many negative ways, he is a product of his time--verbose, florid, and difficult to understand, focused more on advertising his own verbal pr...more

like · see review

Nov 05, 2011 Lisa (Harmonybites) rated it 3 of 5 stars

Recommended to Lisa (Harmonybites) by: Good Reading

Shelves: classics, 100-significant-books, fantasy, humor-and-comedy, fiction, novels

The introduction to my edition claims that "Gulliver's Travels has held our attention for nearly three centuries because of its uncanny ability to be whatever we have wanted it to be: a political book, a children's book, a merry book, a mad book, satiric, ironic, parodic, perhaps a novel, perhaps not." The source material sure doesn't read like children's fare. Although I suppose small boys might very well adore the bathroom humor, I can't see them getting past the antique language with unending...more The introduction to my edition claims that "Gulliver's Travels has held our attention for nearly three centuries because of its uncanny ability to be whatever we have wanted it to be: a political book, a children's book, a merry book, a mad book, satiric, ironic, parodic, perhaps a novel, perhaps not." The source material sure doesn't read like children's fare. Although I suppose small boys might very well adore the bathroom humor, I can't see them getting past the antique language with unending paragraphs, random capitalizations, archaic spellings and a wealth of political allusions needing footnotes to unravel. And after the first half, with Gulliver as giant to the Lilliputans and then a doll-sized figure among the giant Brobdingnags, these tall tales become both too erudite and too bitter for children. In the third part dealing with the flying island of Laputa, the political allegory becomes a lot more pointed. Gulliver's Travels reminds me of a blend of Alice in Wonderland and science fiction--using strange unknown lands and peoples to look at ourselves in fresh ways. It's often funny and wildly imaginative in its details, although other parts make for heavy reading with lots of dense, pedantic exposition.

I wouldn't call Swift congenial company among classic writers. He said in a letter to Pope his purpose is "to vex the world rather than divert it." Swift also strikes me as a very conservative mindset, and I don't mean that in a simple political capital "C" contemporary sense. In fact in some ways he can be very forward looking for his period. He believed women should be educated the same as men and had the same intellectual potential. So the introduction and notes say, and you can see hints of that view in Gulliver's Travels and more explicitly in his "Letter to a Young Lady." But Swift is also deeply suspicious of innovation or the possibility of real progress. To change is to degenerate according to Swift, not improve. The derision leveled at the Academy in Part III and its junk science and absurdest art is particularly cutting--and still feels relevant. (Although that's nothing to the utterly scathing rant against lawyers in Part IV--and yes, a lot of its points are still relevant too.) Certainly his tale in the last part of the Yahoos (humanoid beasts) and Houyhnhnms (horse-shaped but noble and rational) is deeply biting about human nature. Given this is all told through Gulliver's first person narrative and the way Gulliver degenerates after living among the Houyhnhms I'm not certain which ways it cuts. Are the Houyhnhms really noble creatures against which humans are found wanting? Or are they a commentary about the dehumanizing effects of slavery and imperialism?

I suppose I might be able to tell better by reading more of Swift. And I tried. The edition I have includes other writings by Swift, the most substantial of which is The Tale of the Tub. I'm afraid I found it far less engaging than Gulliver's Travels. Perhaps if I were a student of the period or a contemporary of Swift I might have found it much more relevant or amusing. But since I really couldn't care less whether Roman Catholicism, the Church of England, or "Dissenters" such as Baptists or Quakers constitute the "true" faith I admit I was soon so very, very bored--and grateful I wasn't forced to read this for school. The one other work of Swift beside Gulliver's Travels I would very much recommend to a general reader is his lacerating satiric essay "A Modest Proposal." I don't want to give too much away, but it's one of those very few essays, such as Virginia Woolf's "A Room of One's Own," that you remember vividly once read even decades later.

(less)

like · see review

Jan 08, 2009 Susan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I don’t think I read this as a kid, or if I did I only read the Lilliput part, though I did remember that Gulliver also met big people who treated him like a little doll. Those were parts 1 and 2. In part 3, he visits a number of different places trying to get home. He encounters people whose dedication to science makes them incapable of doing anything practical and some humans who never die but continue to age, being “written off” by their culture when their contemporaries die so that the live...more

like · see review

Mar 29, 2009 Fenixbird SandS rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: poems childrens books travel Irish, English history

Recommended to Fenixbird by: Elem school 4th grade Mrs,. Wilson

Shelves: poetry, rights-of-passage, short-stories, history, classic-fiction

has a collection of Swift's poems+ politically incorrect, "A Tale of a Tub." "A Description of the Morning" (1709) by Jonathan Swift

Now hardly here and there a hackney-coach
Appearing, showed the ruddy morn's approach.
Now Betty from her master's bed had flown,
And softly stole to discompose her own.
The slipshod prentice from his Master's door,
Had par'd the dirt, and sprinkled round the floor.
Now Moll had whirl'd her mop with dext'rous airs,
Prepar'd to scrub the entry and the stairs.

The youth with...more

1 like · like · see review

Sep 18, 2011 Dorothy R rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Finally read this one. Probably would have been much more fulfilling if I were up on my British history of the time frame during which he wrote - although some of the satire was even funnier considering the passage of time. For example, I am sure that his making fun of Isaac Newton's belief in gravity is much more interesting since it is no longer questioned as a valid scientific operator but is accepted as the truth. And learning where the word "yahoo" came from was a little bonus.

like · see review

Nov 26, 2011 Rebeca rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: book-reports, horrible-covers

The real rating I give this book is a 1.5 star, but I put 2 just to be nice. I just hated the ending and the constant satire. It annoyed me to death. I should just be able to read a book without having to analyze it and think about what Swift's meaning behind it is supposed to be. For Gulliver to end up conversing with his horses after all he experienced just isn't a great ending to me, let alone a great book.

like · see review

Aug 20, 2011 Joel rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, box-2

A great book with hilarious social commentary (I particularly love the 'high' and 'low' heels :D)

My least faviourite part was with the Houyhnhnms, I guess I find that particular utopia very unappealing and the final character quite irritating.

I also loved the frequent attempts to extrapolate to smaller and larger scales that was logical and yet which we now know are incorrect (e.g. smaller eyes do not allow you to see with higher resolution, which is a pity because it would save a lot of money o...more

like · see review

May 08, 2012 Flo rated it 2 of 5 stars

I read this when I belonged to a book club a few years back. It was my book choice. I thought it was an interesting read. Interesting in that it was different from anything else you might have read before. My fellow book club members unanimously disliked it, maybe even hated it. After that book choice, they always worried when it was my turn to choose a book.

like · see review

Dec 09, 2012 Tom Marcinko rated it 5 of 5 stars

Picked up as a last-minute airplane-reading decision, by chance, but an appropriate book to take to Japan.

Such a perfect fantasy in so many ways, especially the first section (Lilliput).

"Tale of a Tub" is pretty tough going, though.

like · see review

Jun 10, 2011 Carson rated it 1 of 5 stars

I did not really enjoy Gulliver's Travels because the way Gulliver tells the story is very boring and long. There are pages and pages of description that just become dull. It is good to know the story, but it is a very long, boring book.

like · see review

Nov 05, 2010 Sarah rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

There was some interesting social and political commentary in here, especially in Parts III and IV. And I appreciated that. And I know this complaint sort of is beside the point, but it's my honest complaint and I'm going to state it. Why the hell did this guy ever get married and have kids? He always goes on adventures because he apparently can't stand to be at home for more than a couple of months at a time and craves the open seas. And when he's on these adventures, he never seems to miss his...more

like · see review

Jul 24, 2009 Deb (Readerbuzz) Nance rated it 5 of 5 stars

Will the real Gulliver please stand up?

Is it an authentic Gulliver experience to read the children's picture book?

Or is it a more genuine experience to read it, unedited, without pictures, on a Kindle?

I read both this week. I liked the children's version better. The pictures were fun and the edited text included the best of the original and omitted the extraneous material that seemed irrelevant to the heart of the book.

I'm happy I read the original as well as the edited version. I can see the a...more

like · see review

May 23, 2011 Taylor Jai rated it 1 of 5 stars

Worst. Terrible. I was supposed to read this for english but it was so bad that I used sparknotes :/

like · see review

Apr 28, 2013 Diane rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I finally finished this book today. I extremely struggled to get through the Other Stories part. The part with Gulliver's Travels surprised me. I've always thought it was just about the little people of Lilliput ... but there's 3 other sections which include Giants, an Island in the Sky and Horses. So on a scale of 5 stars .... I give Gulliver's Travels a 3 and the Other Stories a 1 ... so giving the book a 2 (or 4 on a scale of 10 stars).

like · see review

Mar 02, 2012 Jacquelyn marked it as to-read

Modern library hardback.

like · see review

Oct 22, 2007 Annchan Maulana rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: fantasy-child, adultfantasy

The story telling about Gulliver journey to four strange and remarkable place :

1. Lands of Lilliput, where Gulliver seems a giant among a race of tiny people;
2. Brobdingnag, where the natives are giants and Gulliver puny; 3. The ruined yet magical country of Laputa;
4. The home of the Houyhnhnms, gentle horses far superior to the ugly humanoid Yahoos who share their universe.

like · see review

Jan 11, 2010 Sharon rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: in-hs, classic-lit

The first time I tried to read this for high school English I had a version that was printed as Swift had written it: strange spelling, capital letters in the middle of sentences. I could not get through it. Once I found a more comprehensible version, I made it through, but I never really enjoyed any of it. Adore the animated film, though ("All's well!).

like · see review

Oct 31, 2010 Laura Dahlman rated it 2 of 5 stars

Shelves: fairy-tale, classics, fiction

I'm not going to say that this is a terrible book it was probably an awesome book when it was written it's just that all the satire went right over my head. The story itself I found way to long and can't see it being a good children's story at all. It was just crammed with some much boring detail that I didn't find entertaining or necessary.

like · see review

Jul 06, 2009 Kirsten rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, fiction

Some classics tell their age more than others. Swift wrote satire about current events--and that quite brilliantly--but some of the objects of his critique are dead and buried. Still, the story itself holds its own well enough. New lands, giants, ship wrecks, pirates, mad scientists, talking horses...there's something in it for everyone.

like · see review

Sep 29, 2009 Sofie rated it 1 of 5 stars

Shelves: books-i-ve-read-this-year

Gulliver's Travels is about Captain Gulliver who wrote a book about his travels, into several different islands. He goes to 4 main islands: Lilliput, Brobdingnag, Laputa, and, the country of Houyhnhnms. On his travels he meets many strange creatures. I think the genre of this book is fiction, or adventure.

like · see review

Feb 07, 2011 Duffy is currently reading it

closest I could find to the edition I'm actually reading, mine is by Bantam as well but was published in 1962 and has a different cover illustration.

like · see review

Apr 21, 2010 Tony rated it 5 of 5 stars

I gather that most folks have already read this, but if you are one of those few who haven't (as I was a short while ago), I highly recommend reading the chapters satirizing Academia, i.e. Gulliver's descriptions of Laputa and Lagado.

like · see review

Apr 26, 2011 Nathan Sharp rated it 3 of 5 stars

Swift is definitely creative and clever. A lot of the effect of this book is diminished for the current reader because it has been so influential that his ideas have been copied to the point of cliche, but it is still enjoyable.

like · see review

Nov 25, 2012 Darlene rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition

I read this as a 15 year old. I loved it. Now not so much. I know somewhere in my 20's I lost some of my imagination. It made me reflect that I need to get that back. I think I need to add more fantasy on my bookshelf.

like · see review

Feb 18, 2010 Jeremiah Tillman rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

A Little dated, yet very interesting ideas. I loved The Battle of the Books by Swift and greatly look forward to reading the esoteric masterpiece, A Tale of a Tub by Swift as well.

like · see review

« previous 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 … 63 64 next »

new topic
Discuss This Book

There are no discussion topics on this book yet. Be the first to start one »

Recommend it | Stats | Recent status updates

combine
Other Editions (17)

More editions...

Genres

Classics

54 users

Literature

10 users

Fantasy

9 users

Philosophy

4 users

Novels

4 users

Childrens

4 users

Cultural > Ireland

3 users

Politics

3 users

Poetry

3 users

European Literature > Irish Literature

3 users

See top shelves...

Readers also enjoyed similar books

About Jonathan Swift

Librarian Note: There is more than one author in the GoodReads database with this name. See this thread for more information.

Jonathan Swift was an Anglo-Irish cleric, Dean of St. Patrick's, Dublin, satirist, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for Whigs then for Tories), and poet, famous for works like Gulliver's Travels, A Modest Proposal, A Journal to Stella, The Drapier's Letters, The Battle...more

More about Jonathan Swift...

Books by Jonathan Swift

A Modest Proposal and Other Satirical Works

Gulliver's Travels / A Modest Proposal (Enriched Classics)

More…

Share This Book

Facebook Twitter Your website

Trivia About Gulliver's Travel...

No trivia or quizzes yet. Add some now »

title link	preview: Gulliver's Travels and Other Writings
avg rating	preview: Gulliver's Travels and Other Writings Goodreads rating: 3.65 (1383 ratings)
small image	preview: click here [close]
med image	preview: click here [close]
BBCode	[url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6262281-gulliver-s-travels-and-other-writings?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book][img]http://d.gr-assets.com/books/1266602661l/6262281.jpg[/img][/url] [url=http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/6262281-gulliver-s-travels-and-other-writings?utm_medium=api&utm_source=blog_book]Gulliver's Travels and Other Writings by Jonathan Swift[/url]

Gulliver's Travels and Other Writings

Friend Reviews

Community Reviews

Share This Book

Share This Book on Your Website