Robinson Crusoe is a despicable person
934114
I can't believe this book is considered one of the best books of all time. Forget the fact that it is poorly written with Daniel Defoe repeating himself several times throughout the first half of the book (an example would be that he retells the first three years of his life on the island at least three times in different forms), but that the character of Robinson Crusoe is such a despicable person.
How do I even begin. You have a spoiled rich kid who doesn't listen to his father's advise and sets out to see the world. He is taken prisoner and made a slave. When he finally does escape you would think that he would have learned from this experience how wrong it is to enslave others, but he doesn't. He sets up a tobacco plantation in Brazil and sets out on a voyage to Africa to enslave men to work on his plantation, when he is shipwrecked. All others on the boat are drown.
How am I supposed to feel bad for this individual? He says he has no companionship, but he doesn't deserve any. It isn't until he is on the island for several chapters that he even mentions the fact that a dog survived from the shipwreck. He had listed every last essential object he had saved from the ship several times in the earlier chapters, but since a dog means nothing to him, it is an afterthought. He has cats, but drowns the kittens. I understand he needed to eat, but this character has no morals. The island he is on is one of the few that turtles breed on, and he kills them readily. He kills a dolphin, (I'm not sure how exactly he did this, when he was on land). He kills goats while they are with their kids, and then when the kids follow him home he kills them as well. If there had been any baby seals on the island I have not doubts he would have clubbed them all to death.
When he finally meets the savage Friday he is happier to have a servant than to have a companion. I find it humorous that the man giving this savage religious counsel has no Christian morals himself. Crusoe thinks he is a good Christian, but he only looks to God when his life is in peril, and then he quickly forgets his teachings during all other fazes of his everyday world. He thinks God has cursed him. I think it is probably more that He is trying to protect the rest of the world from him.
The character Friday is one of the few things I liked about the book, when he forces Crusoe to question his own beliefs. Crusoe however takes everything about the savage for granted. How can you blame Friday for wanting to be in his own country. When Friday comes upon his Father in need, and is taking care of him, Crusoe is like a little baby that is upset because Friday isn't spending enough time serving him. Crusoe even puts down Friday's religion, when he doesn't even understand his own. Then when he converts Friday over to Christianity and Friday asks Crusoe to come over to his island and to help and teach his people, all Crusoe can think of is himself.
Later Crusoe becomes aware of some Spaniards shipwrecked on the mainland. While he is waiting for them to return, he himself is rescued. Instead of having his rescuers who become indebted to him, go over to the mainland to assist the Spaniards, he just leaves them. From one who knows what is it like to be shipwrecked himself, and that they are in danger over there, this is unacceptable. I can't believe Friday just leaves without inquiring about his father either.
Then in the end Crusoe returns, obtains money and goes back to the island and enslaves many of the savages. I kept hoping when the savages came to his island that they would have tracking skills like the Indians in the "Last of the Mohicans" and that they'd find him out and killed him. Or that Friday would be more like the savage Queequeg in "Moby Dick" who stayed true to his own religious beliefs. Alas they were not.
3123102
I had this book as a child, and threw it away because I was offended by its message.  Unfortunately, I forgot what it was about and bought another copy for my grandnephew at a book sale.  I'm so glad I re-read it before passing it on to him.  This book is disgusting.  It encourages children to travel the world to educate non-Christians about Jesus. It depicts non-Christians as being excited to receive the Christian message - as though inhabitants of Africa, "The Orient," and South America are just sitting around waiting for five-year-olds to enlighten them on the mysteries of the universe.  I'm guessing the intent is to get kids behaving like little preschool preachers.  This book is pure trash, and, if kids follow its message, is likely to leave them friendless and on the receiving end of playground beatings.
901242
Dawkins is a self promoting ego maniacal Reptile and essentially admits to it in this expose of his anger towards those that believe in a Creator. Needless to say he walks in Darkness at noon-day and he will inherit the type of reward that he desires ie., a World without a Merciful God.

He reveals his further lack of character in the movie "Expelled" where he continues his rant and spews forth his disdain and temerity towards those who believe in a higher power. Shamelessly; he teaches the philosophies of men as his Religion and under these tainted assertions he worships at the altar of Secular Humanism.

If you decide to buy this book I highly recommend that you purchase a used version so as not to line his pockets with your hard earned cash! The only Delusion here is this Man's high opinion of himself, truly he is a miserable specimen of humanity...
1724003
I seldomly read a book that makes me want to drink my own urine. This book seems to capture every element that I hate.
For starters, the book drops you onto this island. They never truly describe what "the scar" is exactly. Then we watch as Ralph and Jack become bitter enemies. I really hated Ralph and Jack from the beggining mostly because they seem way to immature. Now, if I was 10 or 13 and such... I would not resort to killing people after like the second week. Then there is the fact of Ralph. Ralph is really arrogant of Piggy's feelings and eventually starts becoming annoying. Piggy is the only real character I liked next to Simon. Jack is really arrogant also. He is so immature that it is almost laughable. Didn't these kids come from a private school? My gosh, to think that one week on an island could make some of the worst sins be committed by 10 year old boys....
The whole detail of the story becomes a little to fine for its own good. The pictures the author describe have no meaning to me. Apparently there is a square, pink piece of land jutting out of the beach. What? The whole end of chapter 3 was the worst when Simon walks through the forest. I just stopped caring about how that blade of grass was bent at a 76 degree angle.
For those who want a great book try Tolkien or R.A. Salvatore. If you hate fantasy then why are you contemplating buying this book? That is all it is. I know I wouldn't kill someone after one week on an island. P.S. The book isn't "terrifying".
311130
"Foe" is a brilliant reimagining of Defoe's "Robinson Crusoe," told from the point of view of a woman, Susan Barton, who was on the island with "Cruso" as he is called here, who tells her story to the novelist "Daniel Foe," who resolutely refuses to include her in the novel he is writing.  The idea that one of the great early novels of the English language was missing its main character, who was ultimately responsible for the story being recorded in the first place, is at once absurd and profound.

The theme of the failure to communicate runs through Coetzee's novel.  Cruso is notoriously taciturn, and Friday is mute, his tongue having been cut out.  At one point, Susan tries to ask him how he lost his tongue - whether it had been removed before he arrived on the island, or if Cruso had mutilated him.  Friday, she realizes, doesn't speak English - or if he did, how would she know?  She tries to draw a picture of a man cutting another man's tongue out with a knife, but it looks more like a picture of one man feeding another man a fish.  Communication is impossible.

Brilliant and unforgettable, "Foe" is both an hommage to, and a parody of "Robinson Crusoe," and a perspective on the violent time in which it both takes place and was written.
4405513
Each and every character in this novel was wretched in some way. They were either venal, greedy, demanding, selfish, jealous, angry, crazy, BATSCHEET crazy, over-the-top batscheet crazy, religiously manic, corrupt, violent, brutal, stupid, ignorant, indecisive, complacent, disengaged, cruel, arrogant, fanatical, bigoted, or otherwise repulsive. The writing (and the translation) were good, but it's a difficult read because there are absolutely no redeeming characters. Even the ones that are supposed to be "good" are, in the end, just not really decent human beings at all. It's a book full of abusers and their victims with a sprinkling of mythological characters, which also made it a difficult read, unless you decide at the outset that the whole thing's an allegory. If I'd known that going in I would have spent my time reading an actual allegory from a list of the classics rather than this attempt at being "luminous", or whatever appellation the author was striving for. It just left a bad taste in my mouth and some parts made my skin crawl.
1092122
If you believe that man's primate ancestors never should have left the trees and stopped being food for predators, this book is for you.
If you believe the day that man discovered fire and the wheel was the worst thing to happen to Earth, this book is for you.
If you believe that the human race should have gone extinct at the last Ice Age, just to keep some superstitious "Mother Earth" diety happy, this book is for you.
If however, you feel that humankind is a magnificent creature, capable of good as well as evil, and has the capacity to make use of it's intelligence (whether you regard such a thing as the result of evolution or creation, the fact remains that humans are the most intelligent species on the planet and have adapted to nearly anything that "Gia" could throw at them), then this book is a blathering screed of anti-human bile. The most extreme portions of "politically correct" philosophy are to be found in this treasure chest of tripe. To hear the author go on and on about it, the human race is a disease on the planet and should just go shiver in a cave somewhere and die off to make amends to his interpretation of the Voice of the Planet", "Giaia". The "Giaia" in Tobias' global Utopia seems to be more Mommy Dearest than Mother Nature. If the "Giaia" of Tobias' imagination were an actual person, I would strongly recommend immediate psychiatric intervention for her sake and for the safety of others. Perhaps all "Giaia" needs is some Lithium or Prozac.
When I see insane dribblings such as this in book form, it's no wonder people are so put off by the "PC" mindset that they are even willing to vote for whatever Republican conservative candidates that come along. I'm a liberal Democrat myself, and yet even I would prefer to endure a nation under the iron rule of the GOP just to make sure that militant human-haters like Michael Tobias and his ilk do not get their way.
The fact that William Shatner starred in the made-for-tv version was a true sign that this once-popular man's career was definately on the way down, and for Ted Turner to endorse this insane novel into a feature format was also a turning point in the career of himself and his Turner Broadcasting empire, for the worse.
I only give this bizarre book one star because it's the minimum rating allowed. If I was able to render my true rating for this thing, I would not only refuse to give it any stars, but render it with 5 black holes instead. Yes, this "book" IS that dreadful.
2325933
This is not real scifi - disappointing ! - very Robinson Crusoe like - overly rated for what it is - It just goes to show that you can't really trust other peoples opinions.
I mean it wasn't bad - but there is a rich world of scifi out there and this is not a part of it.
4566270
This is a book about two self absorbed women in a relationship who stupidly crash their boat upon a reef while driving it with an autopilot without anyone at the helm; the epitome of bad seamanship.

When the local natives try to help them they berate them for not doing it to their standards and they represent the epitome of ugly Americans, critizing the culture for not accepting them as a "couple" and for their primitive conditions.

The natives work tirelessly without thanks from these two self absorbed women and when they help themselves to a few of their things, since this is a culture where individual posessions are generally unknown, the women go nuts.  Not withstanding that the natives might have had an actual salvage claim against the vessel!

I hated this book and urge you to skip it.
867252
Do not read this book if you hope to maintain even a shred of romantic notions connected to pirates. There is no Captain Jack Sparrow in this book, or ever.  According to the author, pirates were a bunch of truly horrible people who were drunk most of the time and capable of doing horrible, atrocious things  murder, rape, torture, kidnapping  for the promise of treasure or loot, all of which was gambled and boozed and whored away in a matter of days.

Delivering a 30-gun broadside of information, this is a fast voyage through a fascinating period of history peppered with familiar names of both pirates (Blackbeard, Captain Kidd) and the writers who enshrined them in the popular psyche (Robert Louis Stevenson, J. M. Barrie). He does a great job of plundering historical documents to illuminate the deeds, motivations (as today, atrocious socio-economic conditions can legitimately make piracy seem like a pretty good choice), daily lives (drunken monotony punctuated by extreme violence) and, pretty much in every case, ignominious ends (hanged, then suspended from a gibbet for all to see) of pirates.

The highlights were the back story behind the actual treasure  gold, silver and jewels being plundered from the new world by equally blood- and treasure-hungry pirates legitimized by their respective empires, and the detail about two historic lady pirates (equally non-romantic).

Its a great, page turning read from which I learned a lot and was disappointed when it ended too soon.
1428558
This is the worst piece of English literature that I have everhad the misfortune of reading.  The author pulls on your heartstringswith promises of happy endings and perfect promises, but in the end hedashes all of your hopes away with several fatal blows. I would not have finished reading this "book" if it had not been for all of the precious time I had invested into reading it.  I wanted to incinerate the book when I began the final chapter, not only because I knew the ending, but primarily because the ending was concocted of wound stinging salt. I do not enjoy being utterly depressed by mere men such as Thomas Hardy.  Once again, I'll reiterate; I loathe this.
Anthony (extremely annoyed) Cross
3667103
He really *IS* a pirate!  He ripped me off for about $20.  Between naming  off every one of his friends and acquaintances and showing us how worthless  our pitiful, ordinary lives are, I was unable to find anything to like  about the book.  The least he could have done was share his "Famous  Dad Pancake" recipe.
I thoroughly enjoyed his other two books.  They  seemed to have been 'written'.  This one left me feeling that he and his  buddies sat around one night after a few beers sketching out ideas on bar  napkins, then hastily 'assembled' the result before the buzz wore off.  It  has almost turned me into a _former_ parrothead.
The only redeeming part  of the book had to do with his relation with his father.  I guess there  really is a little humility wrapped in all that ego.
3465230
I thouroughly despised this book.  I bought it based purely on the five-star reviews here on amazon.  Coming to the last page was the one pleasure this work of fiction delivered.

The main character, Joseph Aeiou, was so depraved and disgusting I could barely keep going.  My negative opinion of this book solidified somewhere around page 30 where Joseph is found sitting in his filthy living room with his pants down eating a brick of cream cheese.

This novel was like a joke that is supposed to be funny but just doesn't work.  Or it was sad but I disliked the main character so much i just didn't care what kind of problems he submerged himself in.
1279348
Tried to read the book but couldn't finish it.  As a scuba diver who loves the ocean and the amazing creatures in it, I was so angry and disgusted by the relentless slaughter of thousands of sharks and the killing of bottle-nosed dolphins to use as shark bait, I was almost physically ill.  Some of these captains are not heroes-on-the-high-seas but more like rapers of our oceans and senseless destroyers of unsustainable marinelife.  Not recommended reading for lovers of all-things-ocean!
1897816
This was an allegory, in which caricatures were presented instead of characters. If it is easier for you to apprehend the interplay of ideas by seeing actors representing ideas rather than representing people, this movie may be of use to you. The themes and ideas being mostly contemptible, I do not believe it can elicit pleasure from anyone. Didacticism belongs in documentaries, caricatures in comedies. The book, by the way, is merely a more subtle, detailed allegory than the movie. Coetzee has wasted his talent on nursing an uninformed idealism into a misdirected guilt.
1768334
The nastiest "protagonist" in any children's book I have ever read. She's selfish, self-important and has a black, tarnished soul. Pinkalicious cares not about the needs of anyone,  she's a horrible daughter and sister. Not a role model I want for my daughter. Such a shame because the artwork is a treasure.
1905880
If you want to convince your children that sea creatures are continually victimized by the evil of man kind with oil spills, whaling, trawling nets, dumping trash in the ocean, plastic bags, etc and that the only good among man kind are some hippies living on the beach that start an environmentalist animal rescue organization, then this is the movie for you to indoctrinate your children with.