Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift - 3*

[Doughgirl5562]

Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift -

Rating: Voyage to Lilliput - 4*
Voyages to Brobdingnag, Laputa, and the country of the Houymnmnms 2*
Average - 3*

I read this for book club, and before that have never read any version of this story or even seen it on TV or a movie. Of course, through popular culture, I had heard the story of Gulliver and the tiny Lilliputians - but very little of it. And I knew it was a satire, but didn't have a clue what the satire targets were in the story.

Gulliver's Travels was published in 1726, so I also got a copy of the CliffsNotes to help me better understand the references that would normally go totally over my head - because I don't live in 1726 England. And that helped IMMENSELY - at least with the first voyage.

With the first voyage - the Voyage to Lilliput, I took my time. Reading each chapter, then reading the CliffsNotes regarding that chapter, and then re-reading the book chapter and taking notes. I really enjoyed this chapter. Let me tell you, this story is absolutely chock full of satire - mostly political or religious and pertinent to England and European politics of the time. And thanks to CliffsNotes (and previous knowledge gained from Rutherfurd's Sarum & London and even Outlander), I got it! Swift had a jolly time lampooning the lords and ministers and even kings. On its own, the story of the voyage to Lilliput is entertaining - even though Swift does get a little long winded and detailed occasionally. That however, it partly due to the time in which it was written and the nature of satire.

Did you know that there are THREE OTHER VOYAGES in this book? I didn't.
- Second Voyage is to Brobdingnag, a land of giants. Now it's Gulliver's turn to be the small one and be treated like a pet.
- Third Voyage is to the flying island of Laputa, where science and math are the keys to their culture.
- The Fourth Voyage is to the country of the Yahoos (ape like humans) and the Houymnmnms (horses, believe it or not). And it is here that Gulliver finally finds what he believes to be the ideal society - led by the Houymnmnms .

Frankly, after the first voyage to Lilliput, I grew a little tired of how Swift would sometimes drone on about the smallest of details. I didn't pay as much attention to the satire and was looking just for entertainment. But I didn't really find it. If I re-read this in the future, I'm going for the abridged (VERY abridged) version. Or maybe the movie.