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The Swiss Family Robinson
Group Challenges and Buddy Reads
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Quarterly Classic Group Read: The Swiss Family Robinson, by Johann David Wyss (2nd Q Dates: April - June, 2014)
Reserved.
My library has the audio of this one; I think I'll give that mode of media delivery a try.
Thanks, LK! Spring Break here so I'm in and out.
Neat, Melissa! Welcome.
Congratulations to those who have nominated this book several times and finally got it selected. Good things come to those who wait.
Woohoo!!
Lisa - (Aussie Girl) wrote: "Good things come to those who wait."LOL!
Need to start this soon. Maybe next week ☺
I still need to check and see if my library has it in. It often surprises me which books they have and which they don't. ☺☻
I got mine from Project Gutenburg and put it on my kindle.
I got it downloaded on my Kindle, so i will be starting it soon. Got a few books ahead of it.
I'm downloading it now to my iPod/Touch. I'll start it later today.
I'm on chapter 2. Already see differences in the movie and book.
Pamela(AllHoney) wrote: "I'm on chapter 2. Already see differences in the movie and book."Neat.
I'm having trouble downloading the audio; it is saying I don't have any free space; while my iPod says I have plenty. Hmmmm...
Mean ipod!
LOL! Yes, but I got it to work. I haven't found any difference, yet, but I'm still in the first chapter.
Well, the movie had 3 sons and book has 4.
Yes, I picked that up. BTW, is that a baby gorilla they adopted or just a regular monkey?
Haven't got there yet. Doing another reread for a group.
Oh! I'm just starting Chapter 20, the start of Spring. The end of Chapter 19, the father started a journal, due to the incessant rain.
New Switzerland
Per Wiki:But the novel differs in that it is modeled on Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, a genuine adventure story, and presents a geographically impossible array of mammals, birds, reptiles, and plants (including the bamboos, cassavas, cinnamon trees, coconut palm trees, fir trees, flax, Myrica cerifera, rice, rubber plant potatoes, sago palms, and an entirely fictitious kind of sugarcane) that probably could never have existed together on a single island for the children's edification, nourishment, clothing and convenience.Still, this is what I got:
Sago Palms
onager subspecies (Equus hemionus kulan, the Turkmenian kulan)
Ruffed Grouse (Bonasa umbellus)
Tree Crab (Caribbean hermit crab, Coenobita clypeatus)
Blue Penguin AKA Little Penguin (Eudyptula minor) or Fairy Penguin
Quite an island!
It is! If I had to survive on an deserted island, that would be the one I chose. It has everything! Well, except John Wayne... who I'd want to be with me. LOL!
Hmmm, John Wayne would be nice but I was thinking Bear Grylls or something.
LMBO! I did mean a young JW. ☺Bear Grylls
John Wayne
Goodness. Here he is really young.
John Wayne in his youth.
Yeah John Wayne had it going on, didn't he? But Bear Grylls will make sure you get out alive ☺
True, where as JW was just scripted to get you out alive, BG could actually do it.
Yeah ☺
I had to take a break from this. Every animal they find either they - or their dogs - kill it! Poor animals. I know the Robinsons are trying to survive, but they are leaving a trail of death that doesn't set too well with this vegan.
I'm on chapter 6 and I am getting tired of all the animals and vegetation. It bears almost no resemblance to the Disney movie. I can honestly say I don't understand how it could have made classic status. I had such high hopes for this. I will continue on and hope it improves.
Yeah, I'm farther than that. I'm where they find the whale... but it goes on and on. I haven't picked it back up... but I will!
Pamela(AllHoney) wrote: "I'm on chapter 6 and I am getting tired of all the animals and vegetation. It bears almost no resemblance to the Disney movie. I can honestly say I don't understand how it could have made classic s..."I read it in high school and remember not being impressed. WHATEVER they needed, they found some tree or plant to make it from!
Makes it all the more a fantasy instead of an adventure. Maybe that was what they had for fantasy two hundred years ago? LOL!
I need to get back to this, since I'm almost done. Did anyone else pick it up? Or back up?
I'm still reading it between books.
I haven't picked it back up at all. **sigh**
I have it in my stack but I keep picking up other books instead of this one, I think it'll be May before I start it.
I have started to listen again, but the lure of other books is great... so I don't stick with it long.
Ugh. Finished. I enjoyed the movie more. (Did I just say that?)
That's disappointing for you that you didn't enjoy it more, Lisa Kay.I didn't join in with this one because I suspected it wouldn't be my thing either.Hopefully you will enjoy whatever our next classic read is.
Hopefully. Thanks, Lisa.
Okay, I managed to finish. My favorite part? The end!
Pamela(AllHoney) wrote: "My favorite part? The end!"FOFLMBO!
You're killing me, Pamela. Wait, no... that would be the Robinsons.
☺
I definitely feel the movie was much better. Of course, the book was written in 1812 or thereabouts, so I guess I should take that into consideration. Nah!
Quarterly Classic Group Read: The Swiss Family Robinson, by Johann David Wyss
Swept off course by a raging storm, a Swiss pastor, his wife, and their four young sons are shipwrecked on an uncharted tropical island.
Thus begins the classic story of survival and adventure that has fired the imaginations of readers since it first appeared in 1812. With optimism and boundless enthusiasm, the Robinson family undertakes the extraordinary task of constructing a home for themselves and exploring the primitive island filled with strange and beautiful creatures and exotic fruits and plants. Rich in action and suspense, this exhilarating novel takes us to a faraway place of danger and beauty, where the courageous Robinson family embarks on a thrilling new life of adventure and discovery.
★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆★☆
Please join us for this classic.
Expect Spoilers!
CHARACTERS
William - The father. He is the narrator of the story and leads the family. He knows a great deal of information on everything from roots to hunting, demonstrating bravery and self-reliance.
Elizabeth - The mother. She is intelligent and resourceful, arming herself even before leaving the ship with a "magic bag" filled with supplies, including sewing materials and seeds for food crops. She is also a remarkably versatile cook, taking on anything from Porcupine Soup to Roast Penguin.
Fritz - The oldest of the four boys, he is 15. Fritz is intelligent but impetuous. Fritz is the strongest and accompanies his father on many quests.
Ernest - The second oldest of the boys, he is 13. Ernest is the most intelligent, but a less physically active boy, often described by his father as "indolent". Like Fritz however, he comes to be an excellent shot.
Jack - The third oldest of the boys, 11 years old. He is thoughtless, bold, vivacious, and the quickest of the group.
Franz (sometimes rendered as Francis) - The youngest of the boys, he is 8 years old when the story opens. He usually stays home with his mother.
Jenny Montrose - An English girl found on Smoking Rock near the end of the novel. She is shy, but soon is adopted into the family.
Grizzle - donkey.
Nip (also called Knips or Nips in some editions) - An orphan monkey adopted by the family after their dogs have killed its mother. The family use him as a test subject for unfamiliar foods.
Turk - Great Dane.
Fangs - A jackal that was tamed by the family.
Master Knips - monkey.
Swift - foal of the onager.