One of those books I'd always wanted to read but never really knew much about. I've read a few of the other reviews on this, and loads of people seem to make points I totally agree with.



For a start, there are parts in which you just feel Defoe is lecturing us on the virtues of being a good Christian, and specifically not a Catholic but an Anglican. I found this extremely annoying, but understood it to be probably the driving force behind his writing the book in the first place, and I had to keep reminding myself how long ago it was written - at a time when the vast majority of readers would have been (more) religious (than me, at any rate.)



Also, someone mentioned the long sentences - I remember reading one paragraph and realising it was indeed just one sentence. Defoe displays a remarkable ability to avoid the use of the full stop by employing all sorts of other punctuation marks (I haven't seen so many colons since medical school.) Again, perhaps this was just the style of the day, and like the arcane language you just get used to it. I agree with another reviewer who effectively said it is the way the story is told (ie his use of words) which makes it such an enjoyable read. It just takes some getting used to.



Again, as mentioned by others, some of the information we are given about the way Crusoe survives, indeed prospers, on the island can come across as a little mundane. We get some very specific details, and on occasion Defoe goes over things twice, but not seemingly by accident since he will then write "as aforementioned" or words to that effect. It was almost as though he was writing without an overall structure in mind, and was developing the work as he went along, yet was reluctant to alter parts he had already written! At times he also reverts to list form in his desire to furnish us with exact details, as though he is desperate for us not to miss out on anything - but then all of a sudden in the next breath he will tell us that another 18 months has passed.



It is also incredible just how much Crusoe is able to teach himself, for example how to grow crops and make bread, how to make canoes, how to keep livestock successfully, etc.etc, but then I suppose he did have a fair bit of time for trial and error. I hadn't realised until I read the book just how long he was on the island for!



The only bit that I felt was really a bit daft, however, was the cannibals coming to the island for their feasting. I didn't really see why, whenever they caught an enemy that they planned to eat, they then felt the need to put him in a boat and row to the island to do so. I also was uncomfortable with the way Defoe wrote with total comfort about "savages" and the whole way he dealt with slavery, or at best servitude -- but again, I guess this was seen as acceptable at the time.



All in all though, a book I am really glad I read.