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The Swiss Family Robinson

Johann David Wyss

Start date: May 1, 2021

Finish date: May 31, 2021

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May 03, 2020 Manybooks rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens-literature, boring, book-reviews, too-much-religion, gender-stratification, preachy, too-humans-as-supreme, some-racism

REVIEW OF THE ORIGINAL 1812 GERMAN LANGUAGE TEXT

Albeit that I have not (well, at least as of yet) read any of the English language editions of Johann David Wyss' 1812 novel Der schweizerische Robinson, I did in fact watch some of The Swiss Family Robinson movies as a child. And yes indeed, if the English language versions, if The Swiss Family Robinson is anything at all like the movies I remember form my childhood (and did in fact rather enjoy), then The Swiss Family Robinson would also not real REVIEW OF THE ORIGINAL 1812 GERMAN LANGUAGE TEXT

Albeit that I have not (well, at least as of yet) read any of the English language editions of Johann David Wyss' 1812 novel Der schweizerische Robinson, I did in fact watch some of The Swiss Family Robinson movies as a child. And yes indeed, if the English language versions, if The Swiss Family Robinson is anything at all like the movies I remember form my childhood (and did in fact rather enjoy), then The Swiss Family Robinson would also not really be a true translation of Der schweizerische Robinson by any stretch of the imagination but at best a very loosely rendered adaptation of Johann David Wyss' original German text, and thus also only rather vaguely similar to Der schweizerische Robinson (obviously the same general premise, but that is seemingly about it). And actually, this would also in fact (and for me also rather surprisingly, as I usually do tend to enjoy translations considerably more than adaptations) be a rather good thing indeed (at least with regard to basic reading enjoyment and pleasure factors).

For if truth be told, while Der schweizerische Robinson has certainly been an interesting and educational academic experiment for me and albeit that I do from an intellectual point of departure much appreciate having now perused an early 19th century German language example of heavily influenced by Protestant Christianity and Pietism children's literature (and yes, Johann David Wyss was in fact a minister, was in fact a cleric), I also and most definitely have not really all that much liked Johann David Wyss' narrative in and of itself, I have found that with regard to possible reading pleasure Der schweizerische Robinson is mostly just much too heavily religious and preachy for me and that it textually also tends to majorly and monotonously drag along (not to mention the there is also very much gender stratification and some racism present and that the "man is supreme" attitude and therefore a given area's flora and fauna should basically also just appear as resources to be ruthlessly and callously exploited, and that this is also seemingly and somehow preordained by God, this really does make 20th/21st century I majorly cringe with discomfort and huge annoyance whenever I tend to remember and think of Der schweizerische Robinson).

Now while Der schweizerische Robinson actually does not really show and contain anything that for early 19th century Switzerland would be all that surprising philosophy and Weltanschauung wise, sorry, but the attitudes presented by Johann David Wyss (even if they might very well and strongly reflect historic reality) and how tediously Wyss' featured text often moves and meanders along and back and forth, they do not really make for an enjoyable and engaging reading experience and that yes, with regard to Der schweizerische Robinson being a so-called adventure tale, for me personally, the novel is in fact not at all engaging and most definitely primarily something that should really only be perused for academic research purposes and therefore not generally for bona fide reading pleasure and actual, real enjoyment (and which might indeed also in fact be the case with The Swiss Family Robinson, as friends who have read the English language adaptations of Der schweizerische Robinson have equally mentioned to me instances of textual tediousness and in particular racially inappropriate musings and gender issues). ...more

18 likes · Like · see review

Feb 06, 2020 Kelly_Hunsaker_reads ... rated it did not like it

Shelves: read-in-2020, childrens, adventure

I hated this one. It is dogmatic and moralistic. I couldn't enjoy the adventure of it because every other page was a sermon. It didn't feel true, authentic or positive. It was the type of religious fervor that I detest.

Plus there wasn't enough build up to how they created a life. They were on the island for only a day when they already had tons of food and a water source. This wasn't adventure it was glamping with a fire and brimstone twist.
...more

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Mar 14, 2008 Laura rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, children-ya

The Swiss Family Robinson has delighted generations of readers with its exciting tale of a family which, though shipwrecked, displays “the right stuff” and builds a charming colony that later, they do not want to leave. Cut off from the comforts and companionship of other humans, they use a familiarity with natural history and biology to find the resources and build the tools to construct a canoe, weave cloth, irrigate a garden, and turn an immense hollow tree into a lofty house with a spiral st ...more

3 likes · Like · see review

Aug 28, 2011 Pamela(AllHoney) rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction-general, 1st-pov, classics, plane-crash-shipwreck, books-to-movies, marooned-or-stranded

I loved the Disney movie loosely based on this book and have wanted to read it for ages. Well, I did and I will stick with the movie! It was a grueling and tedious read. The concept and basic story was great but having to get through all the descriptions of the animal and plant life and how they killed and ate everything was extremely dull. I will confess I had to skim parts of it to get through it. As far as how true to the book the movie was - well, it wasn't. The movie used the basic concept ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 24, 2008 Becca marked it as to-read

Oct 28, 2008 Veracity added it · review of another edition

Oct 03, 2009 Angie Bates rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: childrens-classic

Oct 28, 2009 Christian marked it as tjek-ud

Jun 30, 2025 Brianna rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: cecily, children, reading-as-a-family, science-and-nature, young-adult, christian-fiction, classics, 19th-century, felicity, 2025-reading-challenge