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Gulliver’s Travels

Jonathan Swift

Start date: October 1, 2019

Finish date: October 31, 2019

Discussion: Old School Classics, Pre-1915

Discussion leader: Katy

Why we're reading this: Revisit the Shelf Group Read, October 2019

Previous Group Reads:
Book of the Month, January 2011
Revisit the…more
[close] Revisit the Shelf Group Read, October 2019

Previous Group Reads:
Book of the Month, January 2011
Revisit the Shelf Group Read, September 2013

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Old School Classics, Pre-1915

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What Members Thought

Mar 20, 2008 Laura rated it liked it

Shelves: 1001-books-you-must-read-before-you, classics, children-ya

From BBC Radio 4:
Jonathan Swift's classic satire, in a brand new dramatisation starring Arthur Darvill [Dr Who.]

Gulliver is shipwrecked on the Island of Lilliput where the natives are tiny people living in a miniature society. With his unique overview of this realm, Gulliver discovers a world of petty politics and small minds. Coerced into a war between two nations who disagree on the best way to eat boiled eggs, Gulliver finds himself betrayed by friends and battered by enemies - escape is his ...more

1 like · Like · see review

Mar 12, 2014 Tom Britz rated it liked it · review of another edition

This was totally different than I expected. Like most everyone else, I am familiar with Gulliver and the Lilliputians. From there it was totally uncharted territory. There were some funny scenes and some excellent commentary on human civilization, that still rings true more than three hundred years after the fact. There was nary a scrap of dialog and the Golden Rule of writing: Show Don't tell, was broken time and time again. However, I am glad to have read it. ...more

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Apr 20, 2007 Suvi rated it did not like it · review of another edition

Shelves: novels, 1700s, _ireland

Nice metaphors and symbolism but that doesn't save the fact that it's so tedious and repetitive I had to stop after 80 pages. There's no way it can get better after that. It was just endless talking about things that didn't matter and less those which would have been interesting. ...more

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Jun 19, 2007 Jason rated it really liked it · review of another edition

This is the first book I read on the iPod Touch. I would read another book on that device too. I enjoyed this novel and am disappointed I did not get the chance to read it when I was much younger.

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