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The Swiss Family Robinson
While traveling on a ship, a Swiss pastor, his wife and four sons encounter a violent storm that abruptly transports them to a tropical island. They attempt to navigate the desolate shore but face looming danger and an unforeseen presence. A family venture turns into a survival effort when a ship is damaged during a tropical storm. A father, mother and four sons stumble across a small island that appears to be uninhabited. They set up camp, complete with makeshift housing, to protect against the elements. While exploring the territory, they gather food and other creature comforts. During their stay, the family is met with various challenges that will test their faith in God and each other. The Swiss Family Robinson is Johann David Wyss’ literary masterpiece that’s been passed down from generation to generation. The story found its biggest audience in the twentieth century with the 1960 feature film produced by Walt Disney Pictures. Since then, Wyss’ message of family values and self-reliance have reached countless children and adults across the world. With an eye-catching new cover, and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of The Swiss Family Robinson is both modern and readable.
345 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1812
About the author
Johann David Wyss
295 books113 followersFrom Christian Classics Library
Wyss is best remembered for his book The Swiss Family Robinson . A pastor with four sons, it is said that he was inspired by Defoe's Robinson Crusoe to write a story from which his own children would learn, as the father in the story taught important lessons to his children.
The Swiss Family Robinson was first published in 1812 and translated into English two years later. It has since become one of the most popular books of all time. The book was edited by his son, Johann Rudolf Wyss, a scholar who wrote the Swiss national anthem. Another son, Johann Emmanuel Wyss, illustrated the book.
Wyss is best remembered for his book The Swiss Family Robinson . A pastor with four sons, it is said that he was inspired by Defoe's Robinson Crusoe to write a story from which his own children would learn, as the father in the story taught important lessons to his children.
The Swiss Family Robinson was first published in 1812 and translated into English two years later. It has since become one of the most popular books of all time. The book was edited by his son, Johann Rudolf Wyss, a scholar who wrote the Swiss national anthem. Another son, Johann Emmanuel Wyss, illustrated the book.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 3,021 reviews
April 27, 2018
I have such fond memories of this from seeing the old movie version as a kid. I never got around to reading it then, so I thought I'd give it a go!
The family togetherness and sense of adventure is all there. It's just lacking musical accompaniment and sound effects. It is an old 'un so the writing felt a bit stiff, or perhaps it's the translation's fault. It read more like James Fenimore Cooper than say a Jane Austen.
I guess my real quibble is the lack of tension here. Yes, certainly there is danger inherent in being stranded, especially upon an island that could house unknown beasts. But I never had the impression they were ever in any real trouble. Good old dad seemed to have things under control the entire time.
Also, I felt more than a passing need to suspend disbelief at some of the family's goings on. For castaways they sure were well supplied from that shipwreck! The seemingly infinite supply of dry gunpowder was a stroke of luck, that's for sure.
The Swiss Family Robinson is a family adventure story and as such should probably be read as a family when the kids are young. I don't think it's meant for us old, knitpicky grumps.
The family togetherness and sense of adventure is all there. It's just lacking musical accompaniment and sound effects. It is an old 'un so the writing felt a bit stiff, or perhaps it's the translation's fault. It read more like James Fenimore Cooper than say a Jane Austen.
I guess my real quibble is the lack of tension here. Yes, certainly there is danger inherent in being stranded, especially upon an island that could house unknown beasts. But I never had the impression they were ever in any real trouble. Good old dad seemed to have things under control the entire time.
Also, I felt more than a passing need to suspend disbelief at some of the family's goings on. For castaways they sure were well supplied from that shipwreck! The seemingly infinite supply of dry gunpowder was a stroke of luck, that's for sure.
The Swiss Family Robinson is a family adventure story and as such should probably be read as a family when the kids are young. I don't think it's meant for us old, knitpicky grumps.
October 1, 2007
they kill or enslave everything in sight, whether they need it or not. they pray before they do anything. i'm pretty sure the matriarch of the family was never actually named, but merely called "the mother" or "my wife" any time she was relevant, which was not very often. near the end of the book, the family actually shoots a cachalot. they don't use it for anything, but instead axe the head open and take away buckets of spermaceti. a whole fucking sperm whale had to die just because they saw it, killed it, and as an afterthought figured they could use the head innards presumably for candle-making. fucking... book. it was overly moralizing and offensive in so many bits, yet i found myself bringing it up in conversation with people. frustrating, but i suppose quite memorable. i had the same problem with white fang and the call of the wild, actually. also, how lucky were they? at every regular meal, they were eating better than i am able to and knew every last thing about where they were stranded, except for exactly where they were. makes sense. speaking of where they were, where were they? i thought that maybe they were somewhere like new zealand when they started shooting penguins, but that didn't make sense and the closest i've come to figuring it out has been that they were probably in an archipelago off portugal, but i don't know. maybe they were in a different dimension where people talk about providence all the time and suck majorly. except for the gay one. he was all right.
March 2, 2023
Why I chose to read this book:
1. when I found this copy for 25 cents in a thrift shop years ago, I was reminded of the TV series back in the 1970s, only they cast two sons and one daughter instead of four sons like in the book. I vaguely remember enjoying the show as a kid; and,
2. February 2023 is my "Books for Young and Old Alike" Month.
WARNING!
This review is chockful of spoilers! If you wish to read this book, you may want to stop here. Otherwise, I would appreciate your continued interest.
Praises:
Did people, including children really speak/think so formally in the early 1800s? I found it rather amusing at times; however, I could understand the frequent mentioning of "thankfulness to God", considering author Johann David Wyss was a pastor.
Niggles (Where do I begin?):
1. this story is scientifically inaccurate in so many ways. Where the heck did they land up? In a zoo? Based on some references, I think it was close to Malaysia, but I'm not too sure. From all the different types of flora (e.g. sugar cane, bananas, cotton, pineapple "trees", flax) and fauna (e.g. tigers, elephants, lions, kangaroos, bison, even the great squirrel of Canada???) living on this island that come from every continent, to rocks that harden when exposed to sunlight, my eyes were rolling constantly!
2. it was amazing how everything that was needed for survival was readily available, if not from the shipwreck itself, but also from the island! If they needed to construct anything, it worked perfectly the first time they used it! Nothing ever went wrong, simply because "Father" was so well-read and therefore, extremely knowledgeable! If they did have any issues, it was resolved within the same paragraph;
3. the writing style was quite laughable. Written as a journal, very little emotion was portrayed except that they were so cheerful and thankful ALL THE TIME! Sometimes, it was written in a screenplay format, but often it came across like an instruction manual. And if the reader ever questioned where this family got a certain object, the author conveniently covered his ass by using the words "etc., etc., etc." whenever they were removing materials from the shipwreck, or that "Mother" had an "enchanted bag" that mysteriously held a large stash of items that came in handy at a moment's notice;
4. why didn't they ever send distress signals? Never once was it mentioned that they made large bonfires or shot fireworks (Yep! They had those too!) to attract possible nearby ships;
5. except for some bee stings, no one EVER got sick or injured during the whole 10 years that they were on this island; and,
6. what bothered me the most was that for a family so worried about running out of gunpowder, they sure were trigger-happy, shooting at everything in sight, sometimes for food, but oftentimes just to check out the species to put in their "museum"! And if they didn't kill an animal, they would capture it for various purposes.
Overall Thoughts:
Thank goodness I read an abridged version, because if I had read the full-length story, I would have stuck needles in my eyes! I never had a clue as to how farfetched and ridiculous this story was! While reading it, I went from being amused to annoyed to downright angry, and that was just within the first hundred pages! I only finished it because I wanted to know if, when, and/or how they ever left the island.
Recommendation?
Extremely disappointing for the classic adventure/survival story it was meant to be! I rarely rate a book with only 1 star, but this story was definitely not an "okay" read for me.
You may enjoy this story if you can imagine it to be a "fantasy", but if killing and/or capturing of animals willy-nilly troubles you deeply, then you better pass up on this book!
1. when I found this copy for 25 cents in a thrift shop years ago, I was reminded of the TV series back in the 1970s, only they cast two sons and one daughter instead of four sons like in the book. I vaguely remember enjoying the show as a kid; and,
2. February 2023 is my "Books for Young and Old Alike" Month.
WARNING!
This review is chockful of spoilers! If you wish to read this book, you may want to stop here. Otherwise, I would appreciate your continued interest.
Praises:
Did people, including children really speak/think so formally in the early 1800s? I found it rather amusing at times; however, I could understand the frequent mentioning of "thankfulness to God", considering author Johann David Wyss was a pastor.
Niggles (Where do I begin?):
1. this story is scientifically inaccurate in so many ways. Where the heck did they land up? In a zoo? Based on some references, I think it was close to Malaysia, but I'm not too sure. From all the different types of flora (e.g. sugar cane, bananas, cotton, pineapple "trees", flax) and fauna (e.g. tigers, elephants, lions, kangaroos, bison, even the great squirrel of Canada???) living on this island that come from every continent, to rocks that harden when exposed to sunlight, my eyes were rolling constantly!
2. it was amazing how everything that was needed for survival was readily available, if not from the shipwreck itself, but also from the island! If they needed to construct anything, it worked perfectly the first time they used it! Nothing ever went wrong, simply because "Father" was so well-read and therefore, extremely knowledgeable! If they did have any issues, it was resolved within the same paragraph;
3. the writing style was quite laughable. Written as a journal, very little emotion was portrayed except that they were so cheerful and thankful ALL THE TIME! Sometimes, it was written in a screenplay format, but often it came across like an instruction manual. And if the reader ever questioned where this family got a certain object, the author conveniently covered his ass by using the words "etc., etc., etc." whenever they were removing materials from the shipwreck, or that "Mother" had an "enchanted bag" that mysteriously held a large stash of items that came in handy at a moment's notice;
4. why didn't they ever send distress signals? Never once was it mentioned that they made large bonfires or shot fireworks (Yep! They had those too!) to attract possible nearby ships;
5. except for some bee stings, no one EVER got sick or injured during the whole 10 years that they were on this island; and,
6. what bothered me the most was that for a family so worried about running out of gunpowder, they sure were trigger-happy, shooting at everything in sight, sometimes for food, but oftentimes just to check out the species to put in their "museum"! And if they didn't kill an animal, they would capture it for various purposes.
Overall Thoughts:
Thank goodness I read an abridged version, because if I had read the full-length story, I would have stuck needles in my eyes! I never had a clue as to how farfetched and ridiculous this story was! While reading it, I went from being amused to annoyed to downright angry, and that was just within the first hundred pages! I only finished it because I wanted to know if, when, and/or how they ever left the island.
Recommendation?
Extremely disappointing for the classic adventure/survival story it was meant to be! I rarely rate a book with only 1 star, but this story was definitely not an "okay" read for me.
You may enjoy this story if you can imagine it to be a "fantasy", but if killing and/or capturing of animals willy-nilly troubles you deeply, then you better pass up on this book!
October 18, 2022
Divine Providence and Swiss Industriousness
Review of free Kindle edition
A Public Domain Book
Publication date: March 30, 2011
Language: English
ASIN: B004UJ3C16
446 pages
From the title page:
THE SWISS FAMILY
ROBINSON
OR, Adventures on a
Desert Island
JEAN RUDOLPH WYSS
THE WINDERMERE SERIES
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
BY MILO WINTER
RAND McNALLY & COMPANY
CHICAGO; NEW YORK
Illustrations
Copyright 1916
By Rand McNally & C o.
The Rand-McNally Press
Chicago
Let me begin with the first very obvious thing about this edition. SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON was written by Swiss minister Johann David Wyss, not Johann or Jean Rudolph Wyss. Johann Rudolf was a son who did some editing on the book. Another son, Johann Emmanuel Wyss, apparently illustrated the original German language edition. A quick web search revealed no bio data on a Jean Rudolph Wyss but there are several copies of SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON with Jean Rudolph or Rudolf listed as author.
The Swiss speak three main languages, German, French and Italian. Wyss' wrote the book in German and published it in 1812. The first English and French editions altered the book. Since then there have been many versions and alterations with things added, changed or deleted including the Disney version which irritated me so much as a child. At the time, I had no idea that altering SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON was a long tradition, almost a publishing industry in of itself.
A version by William Kingston published in 1879 is probably the best known English edition. Kingston based his work on two earlier French adaptations by Isabelle de Montolieu. There have been many other editions in several languages. The 1995 Oxford Companion to Children's Literature notes, "...with all the expansions and contradictions over the past two centuries, Wyss' original narrative has long since been obscured." I have been unable to determine if anyone has recently gone back to the original German language edition to provide a definitive English edition. It may be that many of the alterations over the years actually improved the book and are so engrained in culture that there is no market for such a translation. Apparently the closest English edition to the original is the 1816 William Godwin version reprinted by Penguin Classics.
All of this reminds me that over the years I have occasionally wondered at the use of Robinson as a Swiss name. It certainly doesn't sound Swiss. It seems that it is neither Swiss nor the name of the castaway family. Wyss used Robinson in the title as a reference to ROBINSON CRUSOE. He was saying that this Swiss family had an experience along the lines of that of Robinson Crusoe in Daniel Defoe's novel. I'm not sure if any of the various editions give the family's name.
Wyss' original purpose in writing the book was for it to be a Christian moral guide and to teach about the natural world. These were common themes in educational books written at that time. The difference which made SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON so popular and which has kept it in print is that Wyss wrote it as an exciting adventure in the manner of Daniel Defoe's ROBINSON CRUSOE.
The book is successful as both adventure and gentle lessons in Christian morals. As natural history it is decidedly odd. The island upon which the family finds itself could not be a natural occurrence in the real world. It is a sort of benevolent combination of the islands in Jules Verne's. MYSTERIOUS ISLAND and television's Lost series. It has a truly unbelievable combination of flora and fauna from around the world. The Americas, Africa, Europe, Antarctica, Asia, and Australia are all represented. A reader first notices that something is strange when the family first lands on the island and encounters a flock of flamingos and penguins.
SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON was one of the first three grown-up books I owned. The other two being TREASURE ISLAND and KIDNAPPED. (My family did not consider the Bible to be a grown-up book but to be teachings for all ages so I don't count that). Ever since, it has remained one of my favorite books. The perseverance of an industrious family combined with faith in God, not merely to survive as castaways but to thrive is a story for all ages.
No illustrations in the free Kindle edition. The descriptions posted at the Amazon listing for this book seem to concern books by Jane Austen and Lewis Carroll rather than SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON.
There is another free public domain edition of this book available from Amazon: GOODREADS POSTS REVIEWS OF BOTH EDITIONS HERE. NO WAY I CAN FIND TO POST SEPERATE REVIEWS EVEN THOUGH THE BOOKS ARE QUITE DIFFERENT.
Review of free Kindle edition
A Public Domain Book
Publication date: May 17, 3012
Language: English
ASIN: B0084907B6
348 pages
From advertisements at the end of the book:
DECEMBER, 1850.
CHRISTMAS PEESENTS AND GIFT-BOOKS, IN NEW AND ELEGANT BINDINGS, PUBLISHED OR SOLD BY GEORGE ROTJTLEDGE AND CO., 36, SOHO SQUARE, LONDON.
This apparently mid-1800's English edition of Swiss Family Robinson begins and ends differently from the American edition previously reviewed. It is also about a hundred pages shorter and moves along more quickly. There are characters and occurrences such as natives living on the island which are not in the other free Kindle book. Like most editions of SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON, it is an exciting adventure of castaways and their struggle to survive.
Edited August 9, 2022.
Review of free Kindle edition
A Public Domain Book
Publication date: March 30, 2011
Language: English
ASIN: B004UJ3C16
446 pages
From the title page:
THE SWISS FAMILY
ROBINSON
OR, Adventures on a
Desert Island
JEAN RUDOLPH WYSS
THE WINDERMERE SERIES
WITH ILLUSTRATIONS
BY MILO WINTER
RAND McNALLY & COMPANY
CHICAGO; NEW YORK
Illustrations
Copyright 1916
By Rand McNally & C o.
The Rand-McNally Press
Chicago
Let me begin with the first very obvious thing about this edition. SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON was written by Swiss minister Johann David Wyss, not Johann or Jean Rudolph Wyss. Johann Rudolf was a son who did some editing on the book. Another son, Johann Emmanuel Wyss, apparently illustrated the original German language edition. A quick web search revealed no bio data on a Jean Rudolph Wyss but there are several copies of SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON with Jean Rudolph or Rudolf listed as author.
The Swiss speak three main languages, German, French and Italian. Wyss' wrote the book in German and published it in 1812. The first English and French editions altered the book. Since then there have been many versions and alterations with things added, changed or deleted including the Disney version which irritated me so much as a child. At the time, I had no idea that altering SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON was a long tradition, almost a publishing industry in of itself.
A version by William Kingston published in 1879 is probably the best known English edition. Kingston based his work on two earlier French adaptations by Isabelle de Montolieu. There have been many other editions in several languages. The 1995 Oxford Companion to Children's Literature notes, "...with all the expansions and contradictions over the past two centuries, Wyss' original narrative has long since been obscured." I have been unable to determine if anyone has recently gone back to the original German language edition to provide a definitive English edition. It may be that many of the alterations over the years actually improved the book and are so engrained in culture that there is no market for such a translation. Apparently the closest English edition to the original is the 1816 William Godwin version reprinted by Penguin Classics.
All of this reminds me that over the years I have occasionally wondered at the use of Robinson as a Swiss name. It certainly doesn't sound Swiss. It seems that it is neither Swiss nor the name of the castaway family. Wyss used Robinson in the title as a reference to ROBINSON CRUSOE. He was saying that this Swiss family had an experience along the lines of that of Robinson Crusoe in Daniel Defoe's novel. I'm not sure if any of the various editions give the family's name.
Wyss' original purpose in writing the book was for it to be a Christian moral guide and to teach about the natural world. These were common themes in educational books written at that time. The difference which made SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON so popular and which has kept it in print is that Wyss wrote it as an exciting adventure in the manner of Daniel Defoe's ROBINSON CRUSOE.
The book is successful as both adventure and gentle lessons in Christian morals. As natural history it is decidedly odd. The island upon which the family finds itself could not be a natural occurrence in the real world. It is a sort of benevolent combination of the islands in Jules Verne's. MYSTERIOUS ISLAND and television's Lost series. It has a truly unbelievable combination of flora and fauna from around the world. The Americas, Africa, Europe, Antarctica, Asia, and Australia are all represented. A reader first notices that something is strange when the family first lands on the island and encounters a flock of flamingos and penguins.
SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON was one of the first three grown-up books I owned. The other two being TREASURE ISLAND and KIDNAPPED. (My family did not consider the Bible to be a grown-up book but to be teachings for all ages so I don't count that). Ever since, it has remained one of my favorite books. The perseverance of an industrious family combined with faith in God, not merely to survive as castaways but to thrive is a story for all ages.
No illustrations in the free Kindle edition. The descriptions posted at the Amazon listing for this book seem to concern books by Jane Austen and Lewis Carroll rather than SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON.
There is another free public domain edition of this book available from Amazon: GOODREADS POSTS REVIEWS OF BOTH EDITIONS HERE. NO WAY I CAN FIND TO POST SEPERATE REVIEWS EVEN THOUGH THE BOOKS ARE QUITE DIFFERENT.
Review of free Kindle edition
A Public Domain Book
Publication date: May 17, 3012
Language: English
ASIN: B0084907B6
348 pages
From advertisements at the end of the book:
DECEMBER, 1850.
CHRISTMAS PEESENTS AND GIFT-BOOKS, IN NEW AND ELEGANT BINDINGS, PUBLISHED OR SOLD BY GEORGE ROTJTLEDGE AND CO., 36, SOHO SQUARE, LONDON.
This apparently mid-1800's English edition of Swiss Family Robinson begins and ends differently from the American edition previously reviewed. It is also about a hundred pages shorter and moves along more quickly. There are characters and occurrences such as natives living on the island which are not in the other free Kindle book. Like most editions of SWISS FAMILY ROBINSON, it is an exciting adventure of castaways and their struggle to survive.
Edited August 9, 2022.
February 10, 2017
When I first started this book, I found it rather comical at how many reviewers were appalled by all the animals that were killed, (mostly for food, some for safety, albeit, some for sport or rather teenage childishness). And I thought to myself, not having read the book yet "Where do these readers think their chicken nuggets and hamburgers come from? Trees?" After having read the book, I will confess, there were a lot of dead animals. But if one really takes the time to imagine what it would be like stranded somewhere with no other source of food, and having with you 4 teenage boys, I should think that each of us would take every opportunity to secure for us and ours that which would preserve our lives. But I digress.
Father Robinson may be the original MacGyver! He's amazing and entirely brilliant! If I knew merely a tenth of what he possesses within his brain, I should be happy all the days of my life. But more than that, I think his role is that of a Christ archetype. He is ever patient and teaching and wants to see his children succeed and helps them along the way. He works with them in everything. He never sits back and says "Go figure it out on your own, I'm too busy." He is the example of how each of us as parents SHOULD be towards our children, and anyone else we have a stewardship over.
He is ever praising and very respectful of his wife and they work together as men and women should work together; as equals and yet entirely unique. Oh the lessons that could be learned in our society today if we took this example to heart.
The book is full of the value of hard work, teamwork, compassion, affection and creativity.
Father Robinson may be the original MacGyver! He's amazing and entirely brilliant! If I knew merely a tenth of what he possesses within his brain, I should be happy all the days of my life. But more than that, I think his role is that of a Christ archetype. He is ever patient and teaching and wants to see his children succeed and helps them along the way. He works with them in everything. He never sits back and says "Go figure it out on your own, I'm too busy." He is the example of how each of us as parents SHOULD be towards our children, and anyone else we have a stewardship over.
He is ever praising and very respectful of his wife and they work together as men and women should work together; as equals and yet entirely unique. Oh the lessons that could be learned in our society today if we took this example to heart.
The book is full of the value of hard work, teamwork, compassion, affection and creativity.
December 1, 2008
I have great memories of Dad reading this to us as kids, it was so hoplessly archaic and ridiculous that his rendition quickly became sarcastic. We all ended up in fits of laughter each time they found ANOTHER useful thing washed up on the beach/growing on the magic island, and/or shot ANOTHER hapless animal/person/moving object that crossed their path.
June 13, 2014
Its fascinating to read these reviews and see how many people judge a story of this time period by the values of the 21st century. I doubt any of the people who have written these reviews have ever missed a meal let alone faced the dangers of survival in a wilderness.
The story was written to fire the minds and hearts of children of the day. It taught them about the things that were important to their future and their families. Try to remember that a child reading this book in Europe may have grown up and found in this story a motivation for seeking a better life in the new worlds of America, Australia or the Pacific islands. These children grew up to be the settlers of the Old West and of wild places that we now take for granted as tamed. They were parents of the cowboys and farmers that built the nations of today.
The use of animals to survive was consistent with the views of the day.
If you read this book with an appreciation for the time and culture of when it was written you will learn and understand the people of that time better.
The story was written to fire the minds and hearts of children of the day. It taught them about the things that were important to their future and their families. Try to remember that a child reading this book in Europe may have grown up and found in this story a motivation for seeking a better life in the new worlds of America, Australia or the Pacific islands. These children grew up to be the settlers of the Old West and of wild places that we now take for granted as tamed. They were parents of the cowboys and farmers that built the nations of today.
The use of animals to survive was consistent with the views of the day.
If you read this book with an appreciation for the time and culture of when it was written you will learn and understand the people of that time better.
September 28, 2020
Argh, just noticed that I'm reading the confounded Abridged version. Stopping now! Will have to get the unabridged and start fresh. Still very happy to somehow have kept a book that I read over and over again as a kid, until its pages started falling out. (All pages rescued, happily.) But didn't young me wonder why two of the kids suddenly had a pet eagle and a pet jackal, out of nowhere? Whoever thought to create abridged versions of books is a criminal for the ages!
Also have to mention that these Robinsons are rapacious beyond belief, killing or subjugating every animal unlucky enough to cross their paths. Well, I suppose they are just a very hungry family who love to have pets and fur. But how did the ardent animal lover in little me reconcile this with the part of me that adored this book?
Disrespectful Old Review:
Family: It Does a Body Good.
Family: The Other White Meat?
Family: It's What's for Dinner!
Also have to mention that these Robinsons are rapacious beyond belief, killing or subjugating every animal unlucky enough to cross their paths. Well, I suppose they are just a very hungry family who love to have pets and fur. But how did the ardent animal lover in little me reconcile this with the part of me that adored this book?
Disrespectful Old Review:
Family: It Does a Body Good.
Family: The Other White Meat?
Family: It's What's for Dinner!
March 2, 2023
What can I say? No one writes books like this anymore. This was my fave desert island/survival story of my boyhood. (I also loved Journey to the Center of the Earth). It really can be seen as a fun YA story. In some ways.
However I say this based on childhood memory. I understand others’ concerns about the story but I never read it with discernment or a discriminatory attitude. I just boyhooded it and I’d say any negativities just bounced off my boyish adrenaline.
However I say this based on childhood memory. I understand others’ concerns about the story but I never read it with discernment or a discriminatory attitude. I just boyhooded it and I’d say any negativities just bounced off my boyish adrenaline.
June 6, 2012
Stop right now! Before you read this book, I must warn you! The back of the book is a LIE! All of that "they must rely on their wits, the strength that comes from family ties, and the bounty of nature to survive" is all a crock of baloney. Complete fabrication. They're stranded with enough supplies to start a small colony. Guns & timber from the shipwreck I could understand, but butter, livestock, tools, *blacksmith* tools, fishing hooks, needle, thread, extra clothes, enough seeds to start a garden if not a farm, and a complete working boat with a CANNON!?! Not to mention an island so hospitable it has salt for preserving, cotton, flax, rubber, and an overabundance of game. It would be more surprising, if they all died. Not to mention, that every chapter reads like a how-to-book. I can almost hear the conversation with the publisher.
Publisher: Johann, no one wants to read this how-to-manual. It's boring. And there are dozens more just like it. It's needs something extra, a hook, some zing.
Johann: But this is useful!
Publisher: I know, put it on a desert island! Forced to rely on their wits alone! They'll have to do everything with the bounty of nature. No modern tools!
Johann: No! How can I do that?
Publisher: They'll love it! Go on.
Johann: Fine.
Ten days later
Publisher: What is this?
Johann: You said put it on a desert island. They're on a desert island.
Publisher: But you gave them everything! Where's the hardship? Where's the people starving? Where's the adventure?
Johann: This is adventure! It's hard work to start a village! They work hard in almost every chapter, plus I added games and parables for the little children.
Publisher: Fine, fine, but I can't guarantee that anyone will buy it.
Seriously, if you want a cute story about people starting a colony on a desert island (with all the necessary tools) go for it. Personally, I think it reads like a how-to-manual, but if you like that, then this book is for you. I'm not saying it's poorly written, or that it's not a cute little story, but it's not the adventure it's made out to be. Hell it doesn't even have much of a plot. So if you're looking for an island adventure book, find a different one.
Publisher: Johann, no one wants to read this how-to-manual. It's boring. And there are dozens more just like it. It's needs something extra, a hook, some zing.
Johann: But this is useful!
Publisher: I know, put it on a desert island! Forced to rely on their wits alone! They'll have to do everything with the bounty of nature. No modern tools!
Johann: No! How can I do that?
Publisher: They'll love it! Go on.
Johann: Fine.
Ten days later
Publisher: What is this?
Johann: You said put it on a desert island. They're on a desert island.
Publisher: But you gave them everything! Where's the hardship? Where's the people starving? Where's the adventure?
Johann: This is adventure! It's hard work to start a village! They work hard in almost every chapter, plus I added games and parables for the little children.
Publisher: Fine, fine, but I can't guarantee that anyone will buy it.
Seriously, if you want a cute story about people starting a colony on a desert island (with all the necessary tools) go for it. Personally, I think it reads like a how-to-manual, but if you like that, then this book is for you. I'm not saying it's poorly written, or that it's not a cute little story, but it's not the adventure it's made out to be. Hell it doesn't even have much of a plot. So if you're looking for an island adventure book, find a different one.
August 26, 2009
Wow. What a relief to have that out of the way ... I have been painstakingly pushing my way through this book for a while now. Having said that, I always thought that The Swiss Family Robinson was just the type of story that I would like. Going into it, my expectations were high and I think my enthusiasm barreled me past the first few chapters without so much as a literary bump. But just like trying to race up Everest, you lose steam after the first hundred yard sprint and the rest is pure drudgery. The unfortunate thing is that there was no sense of satisfaction upon finishing The Swiss Family Robinson as there would be in peaking Everest, only relief.
Here is the problem as I see it, and I will use the narrator's own words towards the end of the novel to explain it: "It is needless for me to continue what would exhaust the patience of the most long-suffering, by repeating monotonous narratives of exploring parties and hunting expeditions, wearisome descriptions of awkward inventions and clumsy machines, with an endless record of discoveries, more fit for the pages of an encyclopedia than a book of family history." Wow. Couldn't have said it better myself, Mr. Robinson--though your realization of those things was about two-hundred and fifty pages too late.
While I can't say it better, I will sum it up: nothing happens. Oh, sure, they keep building these paradisaical, tropical mansions, lacking only in electronics and internet because those things haven't been invented yet, but what--exactly--is happening? Nothing. The biggest conflicts they have are brought up one paragraph and resolved in the next. And then there are the characters. I originally loved the idea of a family being the protagonist, instead of just some single, adult male like in most stories. But I think Wyss could have put more personality into a single, adult boulder than he did in this entire family. That's not to say that there aren't distinguishing personality traits. The chief one of the narrator is that he is annoying, smug, and wholly unbelievable. Every idea he tried, he immediately succeeded at accomplishing, even if the whole human race had been trying the same feat, unsuccessfully, for thousands of years with plenty more resources. Any animal or plant he saw, he immediately knew the scientific classification, background, and general usage for it as if reading out of the page of an encyclopedia (an interesting study would be to find the Swiss encyclopedias of the time and find out which ones Wyss plagiarized from, probably verbatim in most instances, in order to piece together Mr. Robinson's immaculate naturalist knowledge).
Perhaps I am being harsh ... okay, yes, I am being harsh, especially for a book meant for children. But I think that even children have a right to expect simple things like PLOT or DEVELOPED CHARACTERS as part of their reading experience. However, I realize that the book is up against some pretty stiff prejudices of mine. You see, before reading this, I had also read The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne. This one also has castaways on a destitute island who are able to create amazingly advanced machines, technology, and shelters with very limited resources (more limited than the Robinson family's, even). Yet, I did not balk at incredulity when Cyrus Harding moved from one advancement to another, or accessed astonishing amounts of information using his memory alone. The reason why? I believe it is because Verne actually knew what his characters were talking about. Rather than slapping something from an encyclopedia entry and passing off haphazard hypotheses, Verne had actually thought these things through, understood the implications and context of each thing, and put forward a fascinating, but credible solution.
Besides The Mysterious Island, I had also seen the Disney movie, The Swiss Family Robinson. Such a great, great movie--one of my all time favorite, in fact. How did it attain that status? It made realistic characters that you could believe in and distinguish, one from another. It truly made the family the protagonist. It cared about the characters first, and the cool treehouse secondary (although, you have to admit, the treehouse in that movie is AMAZING). And finally, there was a plot! The characters were constantly working with an underlying conflict, and it culminated in a worthy climax. In short, the movie fixed everything that was wrong with the book ... and they excelled at the few things the book got right (such as the treehouse, the appearance of another character later on in the story, and the references to pirates). Going into the reading with these expectations, it is little wonder that Johann Wyss is getting the brunt of my frustrations here, but in reality the book is harmless. Long, boring, and redundant ... but harmless. It is a great idea, some unique settings, and some simple fun. It is just a matter of sifting through all of the drudgery to get them.
Here is the problem as I see it, and I will use the narrator's own words towards the end of the novel to explain it: "It is needless for me to continue what would exhaust the patience of the most long-suffering, by repeating monotonous narratives of exploring parties and hunting expeditions, wearisome descriptions of awkward inventions and clumsy machines, with an endless record of discoveries, more fit for the pages of an encyclopedia than a book of family history." Wow. Couldn't have said it better myself, Mr. Robinson--though your realization of those things was about two-hundred and fifty pages too late.
While I can't say it better, I will sum it up: nothing happens. Oh, sure, they keep building these paradisaical, tropical mansions, lacking only in electronics and internet because those things haven't been invented yet, but what--exactly--is happening? Nothing. The biggest conflicts they have are brought up one paragraph and resolved in the next. And then there are the characters. I originally loved the idea of a family being the protagonist, instead of just some single, adult male like in most stories. But I think Wyss could have put more personality into a single, adult boulder than he did in this entire family. That's not to say that there aren't distinguishing personality traits. The chief one of the narrator is that he is annoying, smug, and wholly unbelievable. Every idea he tried, he immediately succeeded at accomplishing, even if the whole human race had been trying the same feat, unsuccessfully, for thousands of years with plenty more resources. Any animal or plant he saw, he immediately knew the scientific classification, background, and general usage for it as if reading out of the page of an encyclopedia (an interesting study would be to find the Swiss encyclopedias of the time and find out which ones Wyss plagiarized from, probably verbatim in most instances, in order to piece together Mr. Robinson's immaculate naturalist knowledge).
Perhaps I am being harsh ... okay, yes, I am being harsh, especially for a book meant for children. But I think that even children have a right to expect simple things like PLOT or DEVELOPED CHARACTERS as part of their reading experience. However, I realize that the book is up against some pretty stiff prejudices of mine. You see, before reading this, I had also read The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne. This one also has castaways on a destitute island who are able to create amazingly advanced machines, technology, and shelters with very limited resources (more limited than the Robinson family's, even). Yet, I did not balk at incredulity when Cyrus Harding moved from one advancement to another, or accessed astonishing amounts of information using his memory alone. The reason why? I believe it is because Verne actually knew what his characters were talking about. Rather than slapping something from an encyclopedia entry and passing off haphazard hypotheses, Verne had actually thought these things through, understood the implications and context of each thing, and put forward a fascinating, but credible solution.
Besides The Mysterious Island, I had also seen the Disney movie, The Swiss Family Robinson. Such a great, great movie--one of my all time favorite, in fact. How did it attain that status? It made realistic characters that you could believe in and distinguish, one from another. It truly made the family the protagonist. It cared about the characters first, and the cool treehouse secondary (although, you have to admit, the treehouse in that movie is AMAZING). And finally, there was a plot! The characters were constantly working with an underlying conflict, and it culminated in a worthy climax. In short, the movie fixed everything that was wrong with the book ... and they excelled at the few things the book got right (such as the treehouse, the appearance of another character later on in the story, and the references to pirates). Going into the reading with these expectations, it is little wonder that Johann Wyss is getting the brunt of my frustrations here, but in reality the book is harmless. Long, boring, and redundant ... but harmless. It is a great idea, some unique settings, and some simple fun. It is just a matter of sifting through all of the drudgery to get them.
December 14, 2009
The enchanting story of a shipwrecked family - a minister, his wife, and four sons, Fritz, Ernest, Francis, and Jack - who are cast up on a desert island, build a wonderful house in a tree, and survive so cleverly and happily apart from the world that they never want to be rescued.
And from the inside back cover:
The author of The Swiss Family Robinson was actually a number of people. Originally, Swiss Army chaplain Johann David Wyss (1743-1818) wrote an adventure story modeled after Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe to amuse his four sons, who, one imagines, found their counterparts in age and character in their father's book. One of these sons, Johann Rudolf (1781-1830), edited and published his father's manuscript in 1812-1813. A French translation by Mme. la Baronne Isabelle de Montolieu appeared very shortly thereafter, and it contained some new adventures. The first and further embroidered English translation soon followed, and several years later Mme. de Montolieu published a still longer version. Other writers, editors, and translators continued to add and subtract material, and the book continued to appear in various guises until, in 1889, WHG Kingston's shorter version was published and soon became the English standard. But even the Kingston version contains the zoologically improbable profusion of animals for which the book is noted - penguins, ostriches, kangaroos, jackals, and so on - not to mention terrain of amazing diversity and every variety of plant the castaways could ever want. And all this one one undiscovered and uninhabited, though fairly large, tropical island. Certainly The Swiss Family Robinson is one of the most beloved adventure-discovery books of all time, but one should not be tempted to use it as a survival manual, for disappointment would surely follow!
So, I included that blurb from inside the back cover largely because I personally find the last sentence in it kind of hilarious, but certainly not inaccurate. I think I'd have to say that this may be one of the most ridiculous books I've ever read, and not in a good way. There are so many things wrong with it I barely know where to start.
But let's see. Let's start with the extremely stilted writing style. Now, knowing what I now do about how many people have had their hands on this book, it's entirely possible that Wyss's original writing was so eloquent one could weep, and the suck that's left is simply a result of being translated back and forth by way too many people. But whatever the cause, it's basically terrible. Consider the following, a piece of dialogue between the narrator and his wife:
"It seems absolutely necessary, my dear wife, to return at once to the wreck while it is yet calm, that we may save the poor animals left there, and bring on shore many articles of infinite value to us, which, if we do not now recover, we may finally lose entirely."
WTF is that? Who talks like that? Nobody bloody well talks like that, but that kind of ridiculous writing is all the way through the book. Gah.
Oh, and as for "my dear wife," this poor woman has a name (Elizabeth), which we learn on page 67, and never hear again. In the entire book, Elizabeth is referred to by name exactly twice. The rest of the time she's "my wife," which is tolerable, or, more frequently, "the mother." That's right. "The mother." Not just "mother," or "their mother," in reference to the boys, but "the mother." Like she's not really a person who matters; she's just there to be useful and serve her "motherly" function. That drove me absolutely nuts.
Then there's the profusion of "zoologically improbable" animals, which is a severe understatement, and also only the tip of the absurd convenience iceberg. This island seriously has to be the most awesome place to be shipwrecked ever, because it really does contain absolutely everything you could possibly ever want to survive and build anything you can conceive of. I'm half surprised they didn't find some sort of silica deposits that they could use to construct themselves computers. If it had been written later, I bet it would have. And if finding a particular object on the island was too absurd even for the author(s) to conceive of, the family could just get it off the wreck of the actual ship, which was conveniently wrecked, largely intact, on a rock very close to the island, where they could travel regularly to strip it of all kinds of "articles of infinite value." I honestly can't even convey the depth of the absurdity of the things that they just happened to find on this island, so that they never had to do without anything. Seriously, they lived in such luxury, it barely qualifies as shipwreck, if you ask me.
It bugs me, too (and don't even ask why this particular thing bugs me so much), that, for example, after they've been on the island for several years, they suddenly find evidence of elephants around one of the establishments. Um, no. It's almost conceivable that, in exploring to a part of the island where they've never been before, they might find traces of an animal they haven't previously encountered or seen any signs of, but in a place they frequent regularly, and have for several years? Not likely. Animals are creatures of habit, and if you don't see them around a particular spot within a year, chances are, they won't show up there ever. Unless, of course, you've screwed up the ecosystem of this island so badly that you alter animals' usual patterns.
Which is entirely conceivable. Why, I ask you, does a family of six need half a dozen homes on this island? I understand having two, because winter and summer have different shelter requirements, and sometimes it's just easier to construct two different shelters than to try and make one serve dual purpose. But another one here, and another one in this other place we've discovered, and another on over there, etc? Why? I get that sometimes you might want to go to spot X to avail yourself of resource Y that is found in that area, and that sometimes you may need to stay there for a few days while you're gathering the stuff or whatever. But dude. Bring a tent. You don't need a whole other abode, whose main purpose seems to be something for you to build to occupy your time, and to take umbrage when the local monkeys show up and wreak havoc in it. Which is precisely what precipitated two of the most disturbing episodes in this book. In both cases, they show up at one of their settlements that they rarely use anyway, to find that the monkeys have made a mess. And instead of thinking, "Gee, maybe we've expanded enough," they decide to set traps and kill all the monkeys that show up next time. And not to eat, or skin, or do anything useful with. No no, once the monkeys are dead, they just bury them. I found both instances appallingly unnecessary savagery.
Further evidence of their excessively expansionist tendencies is that every time they discover a new animal, they simply must either kill as many of them as possible (Seriously? Your stores aren't adequate? Based on the killing related in the book, they could survive years without killing anything else), or capture at least one and relocate it to one of their homes. Why? These animals were living perfectly contentedly where they were, and now that you know where that is, if you need them, you can come get them. Why uproot them. I especially loved how, when they discovered a pack of ostriches and decided to capture one of them (to be tamed and ridden, btw), did they go for one of the females? Nope. They went after the one male in the group. Great. Way to destroy the ostriches' chance of continued survival, losers. It's all presented in such a happy-go-lucky way, but all I could think while reading this book was how incredibly wantonly they were just destroying the natural resources and populations on this island. What else is new when humans show up, though, I guess.
I could go on, but let me just touch briefly upon the absurdity of the last line in the back cover blurb. They don't ever want to be rescued? Really? The four boys are perfectly content with the options of either celibacy or incest? Sure they are. Good thing Miss Montrose showed up when she did, really. I also love how these parents, unlike pretty much every parent in the time period, and most parents even nowadays, don't seem remotely concerned about the fact that by staying on this island, their boys won't be able to get married or have children of their own. I'm imagining what would happen if they didn't end up getting rescued, with everyone dying until Franz, the youngest, was finally left all by himself on this island. Nice fate you're wishing on your children, parents. This lack of concern was particularly evident when they did find other people, and "the mother" was asked if she would like to go or stay, and she declared that she'd like to stay, as long as at least two of the boys stayed too. WTF? It's a little less screwed up after they go on to talk about how they'd like to bring in more people, and actually form something of a colony (the better to completely destroy the island, I guess), but still. Shouldn't most mothers be a little more anxious for their boys to get the hell off this deserted island so they can meet some nice girls and get married? Weird people, these.
And you know what? Much of this could be forgiven if the story were interesting or compelling. But it's not. Aside from the initial shipwreck, absolutely nothing happens to these people that could be classified as anything more than a trivial inconvenience. There's no real drama or suspense, and that rendered the whole thing just incredibly dull. And that is what's really unforgivable about this book.
And one final note, this one directed at the cover illustrator. When dogs are described in a book as being mastiffs, maybe you don't draw what is clearly a golden retriever on the cover.
And from the inside back cover:
The author of The Swiss Family Robinson was actually a number of people. Originally, Swiss Army chaplain Johann David Wyss (1743-1818) wrote an adventure story modeled after Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe to amuse his four sons, who, one imagines, found their counterparts in age and character in their father's book. One of these sons, Johann Rudolf (1781-1830), edited and published his father's manuscript in 1812-1813. A French translation by Mme. la Baronne Isabelle de Montolieu appeared very shortly thereafter, and it contained some new adventures. The first and further embroidered English translation soon followed, and several years later Mme. de Montolieu published a still longer version. Other writers, editors, and translators continued to add and subtract material, and the book continued to appear in various guises until, in 1889, WHG Kingston's shorter version was published and soon became the English standard. But even the Kingston version contains the zoologically improbable profusion of animals for which the book is noted - penguins, ostriches, kangaroos, jackals, and so on - not to mention terrain of amazing diversity and every variety of plant the castaways could ever want. And all this one one undiscovered and uninhabited, though fairly large, tropical island. Certainly The Swiss Family Robinson is one of the most beloved adventure-discovery books of all time, but one should not be tempted to use it as a survival manual, for disappointment would surely follow!
So, I included that blurb from inside the back cover largely because I personally find the last sentence in it kind of hilarious, but certainly not inaccurate. I think I'd have to say that this may be one of the most ridiculous books I've ever read, and not in a good way. There are so many things wrong with it I barely know where to start.
But let's see. Let's start with the extremely stilted writing style. Now, knowing what I now do about how many people have had their hands on this book, it's entirely possible that Wyss's original writing was so eloquent one could weep, and the suck that's left is simply a result of being translated back and forth by way too many people. But whatever the cause, it's basically terrible. Consider the following, a piece of dialogue between the narrator and his wife:
"It seems absolutely necessary, my dear wife, to return at once to the wreck while it is yet calm, that we may save the poor animals left there, and bring on shore many articles of infinite value to us, which, if we do not now recover, we may finally lose entirely."
WTF is that? Who talks like that? Nobody bloody well talks like that, but that kind of ridiculous writing is all the way through the book. Gah.
Oh, and as for "my dear wife," this poor woman has a name (Elizabeth), which we learn on page 67, and never hear again. In the entire book, Elizabeth is referred to by name exactly twice. The rest of the time she's "my wife," which is tolerable, or, more frequently, "the mother." That's right. "The mother." Not just "mother," or "their mother," in reference to the boys, but "the mother." Like she's not really a person who matters; she's just there to be useful and serve her "motherly" function. That drove me absolutely nuts.
Then there's the profusion of "zoologically improbable" animals, which is a severe understatement, and also only the tip of the absurd convenience iceberg. This island seriously has to be the most awesome place to be shipwrecked ever, because it really does contain absolutely everything you could possibly ever want to survive and build anything you can conceive of. I'm half surprised they didn't find some sort of silica deposits that they could use to construct themselves computers. If it had been written later, I bet it would have. And if finding a particular object on the island was too absurd even for the author(s) to conceive of, the family could just get it off the wreck of the actual ship, which was conveniently wrecked, largely intact, on a rock very close to the island, where they could travel regularly to strip it of all kinds of "articles of infinite value." I honestly can't even convey the depth of the absurdity of the things that they just happened to find on this island, so that they never had to do without anything. Seriously, they lived in such luxury, it barely qualifies as shipwreck, if you ask me.
It bugs me, too (and don't even ask why this particular thing bugs me so much), that, for example, after they've been on the island for several years, they suddenly find evidence of elephants around one of the establishments. Um, no. It's almost conceivable that, in exploring to a part of the island where they've never been before, they might find traces of an animal they haven't previously encountered or seen any signs of, but in a place they frequent regularly, and have for several years? Not likely. Animals are creatures of habit, and if you don't see them around a particular spot within a year, chances are, they won't show up there ever. Unless, of course, you've screwed up the ecosystem of this island so badly that you alter animals' usual patterns.
Which is entirely conceivable. Why, I ask you, does a family of six need half a dozen homes on this island? I understand having two, because winter and summer have different shelter requirements, and sometimes it's just easier to construct two different shelters than to try and make one serve dual purpose. But another one here, and another one in this other place we've discovered, and another on over there, etc? Why? I get that sometimes you might want to go to spot X to avail yourself of resource Y that is found in that area, and that sometimes you may need to stay there for a few days while you're gathering the stuff or whatever. But dude. Bring a tent. You don't need a whole other abode, whose main purpose seems to be something for you to build to occupy your time, and to take umbrage when the local monkeys show up and wreak havoc in it. Which is precisely what precipitated two of the most disturbing episodes in this book. In both cases, they show up at one of their settlements that they rarely use anyway, to find that the monkeys have made a mess. And instead of thinking, "Gee, maybe we've expanded enough," they decide to set traps and kill all the monkeys that show up next time. And not to eat, or skin, or do anything useful with. No no, once the monkeys are dead, they just bury them. I found both instances appallingly unnecessary savagery.
Further evidence of their excessively expansionist tendencies is that every time they discover a new animal, they simply must either kill as many of them as possible (Seriously? Your stores aren't adequate? Based on the killing related in the book, they could survive years without killing anything else), or capture at least one and relocate it to one of their homes. Why? These animals were living perfectly contentedly where they were, and now that you know where that is, if you need them, you can come get them. Why uproot them. I especially loved how, when they discovered a pack of ostriches and decided to capture one of them (to be tamed and ridden, btw), did they go for one of the females? Nope. They went after the one male in the group. Great. Way to destroy the ostriches' chance of continued survival, losers. It's all presented in such a happy-go-lucky way, but all I could think while reading this book was how incredibly wantonly they were just destroying the natural resources and populations on this island. What else is new when humans show up, though, I guess.
I could go on, but let me just touch briefly upon the absurdity of the last line in the back cover blurb. They don't ever want to be rescued? Really? The four boys are perfectly content with the options of either celibacy or incest? Sure they are. Good thing Miss Montrose showed up when she did, really. I also love how these parents, unlike pretty much every parent in the time period, and most parents even nowadays, don't seem remotely concerned about the fact that by staying on this island, their boys won't be able to get married or have children of their own. I'm imagining what would happen if they didn't end up getting rescued, with everyone dying until Franz, the youngest, was finally left all by himself on this island. Nice fate you're wishing on your children, parents. This lack of concern was particularly evident when they did find other people, and "the mother" was asked if she would like to go or stay, and she declared that she'd like to stay, as long as at least two of the boys stayed too. WTF? It's a little less screwed up after they go on to talk about how they'd like to bring in more people, and actually form something of a colony (the better to completely destroy the island, I guess), but still. Shouldn't most mothers be a little more anxious for their boys to get the hell off this deserted island so they can meet some nice girls and get married? Weird people, these.
And you know what? Much of this could be forgiven if the story were interesting or compelling. But it's not. Aside from the initial shipwreck, absolutely nothing happens to these people that could be classified as anything more than a trivial inconvenience. There's no real drama or suspense, and that rendered the whole thing just incredibly dull. And that is what's really unforgivable about this book.
And one final note, this one directed at the cover illustrator. When dogs are described in a book as being mastiffs, maybe you don't draw what is clearly a golden retriever on the cover.
May 26, 2008
*****SPOILER ALERT *****
I've read it now, and it does not measure up to the Disney movie. It was so ridiculous! The boys shoot every animal they see, which range from inhabitants of the African savannah, Australia, and the American northwest -- yes, hippos, rhinos, lions, tigers, kangaroos, bears, elephants, the duck-billed platypus, you name it, they're on the island. The father knows absolutely everything about every plant and animal, and sums up every situation correctly before it happens. He recognizes plants like flax and wax bushes. For a deserted island, it's interesting that there is absolutely everything that they could possibly need and that the father who has never lived in the West Indies recognizes it all at a glance. Oh -- also, their European trees (that happened to be on the ship) grow just fine in the blazing tropical sun. There is no conflict (because the father knows his way out of any trouble), and the only story is "we went here, shot this animal, made this hut, etc." The characters all speak the same (even the little boy talks just like his dad and uses the same adult phrases and big words). The last chapter was the most interesting. I could see a young boy (who doesn't mind old-fashioned language) who's into hunting and survival liking this book but that's about it, so I'll keep it just in case Ethan falls into that category. There is no hot girl for the boys to fight over either! I read at the end that the author thought of the story to give his sons survival ideas, and I don't think that's so bad, but if you're going to set a novel in the West Indies, and you know so much about flora and fauna, you could try to make the flora and fauna of the island authentic. There -- I'm done venting, and very glad to be done with the book!
I've read it now, and it does not measure up to the Disney movie. It was so ridiculous! The boys shoot every animal they see, which range from inhabitants of the African savannah, Australia, and the American northwest -- yes, hippos, rhinos, lions, tigers, kangaroos, bears, elephants, the duck-billed platypus, you name it, they're on the island. The father knows absolutely everything about every plant and animal, and sums up every situation correctly before it happens. He recognizes plants like flax and wax bushes. For a deserted island, it's interesting that there is absolutely everything that they could possibly need and that the father who has never lived in the West Indies recognizes it all at a glance. Oh -- also, their European trees (that happened to be on the ship) grow just fine in the blazing tropical sun. There is no conflict (because the father knows his way out of any trouble), and the only story is "we went here, shot this animal, made this hut, etc." The characters all speak the same (even the little boy talks just like his dad and uses the same adult phrases and big words). The last chapter was the most interesting. I could see a young boy (who doesn't mind old-fashioned language) who's into hunting and survival liking this book but that's about it, so I'll keep it just in case Ethan falls into that category. There is no hot girl for the boys to fight over either! I read at the end that the author thought of the story to give his sons survival ideas, and I don't think that's so bad, but if you're going to set a novel in the West Indies, and you know so much about flora and fauna, you could try to make the flora and fauna of the island authentic. There -- I'm done venting, and very glad to be done with the book!
May 18, 2017
I liked the story well enough. If I had read a decent translation I might have given it 4 stars. It's a great concept, being stranded on a beautiful tropical island. Their perception over 200 years ago would be quite different than ours today. Some things that bothered me were the stereotyping regarding race and religion, and the senseless killing of the wildlife they came across. But it's an adventure story and it's entertaining from that aspect. It left me wanting to know what happened later, his afterword only accounted for 2 years. I understand Jules Verne wrote a sequel to Wyss' classic. I may have to see how that goes.
August 23, 2022
I'm letting this go at 53 %. It's not enjoyable at all following the family. Don't have any intriguing things going on and the ebook version I'm reading is as glitchy as Goodreads so it's very tedious trying to read it and at the same time knowing it won't become satisfying as I go further a long. Feel bad for dnfing a buddy read but at the same time no
April 4, 2023
Terrific. Always meant to read this. They were so lucky to be on an island with such a huge variety of plants snd animals for their survival. Plus that the father was a naturalist - to recognize and know how to use them.
September 28, 2022
The Swiss Family Robinson is an adventure classic written in 1812 as an homage to Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe by Johann David Wyss. It tells the story of a family stranded on an island ala Crusoe, but whereas Crusoe is alone and unprepared, the family had set out as settlers, so they have livestock and all the accoutrements deemed necessary to begin a new life in a new place. It should not be underestimated how well this family gets along. I could hear my own children arguing every step of the way when planning and preparing their home on the island, whereas the children here hop to every command by dear old Dad. The father who narrates the story is extremely knowledgeable in disparate subjects almost to the point of being obnoxiously knowing. I have no doubt that in a similar circumstance one would have to be inventive, avidly preparing, but it borders on the fence of believability to know something about everything. I guess I could see that if you are going to tackle the frontier that one would prepare by acquiring the most necessary skills and requiring his family to prepare as well. Still, I could see why it is a classic, but more apropos to a Disney type story.
September 25, 2008
I've read this a couple times to the boys. As a mom of boys, I loved it. It is fun to read of the ingenious solutions for survival, and I love their constant reliance on and gratitude to God.
And Eric says:
I love the many passages of the book that go something like this...After my wife and children had expressed their ideas, I explained the folly of their reasoning and they rejoiced in my knowledge and wisdom.
Dream on ER.
And Eric says:
I love the many passages of the book that go something like this...After my wife and children had expressed their ideas, I explained the folly of their reasoning and they rejoiced in my knowledge and wisdom.
Dream on ER.
October 23, 2015
I had no idea this one had so many negative reviews... oh well, it appears I am once again in the minority, although funnily enough now I'm apparently the only one who loves this, while everyone else hates it. Never mind, someone has to hold down the fort.
This has always been my favourite classic; I read this first when I was about ten and I've re-read it occasionally ever since. I think this may be my fourth or fifth time re-reading it. It's great.
This is how you write a story about a shipwreck on a desert island without being incredibly boring, HINT HINT MR. LOUIS STEVENSON.
This has always been my favourite classic; I read this first when I was about ten and I've re-read it occasionally ever since. I think this may be my fourth or fifth time re-reading it. It's great.
This is how you write a story about a shipwreck on a desert island without being incredibly boring, HINT HINT MR. LOUIS STEVENSON.
June 4, 2013
This book was almost mildly entertaining until it became disgustingly unbearable. In truth I only listened to half of the book. I decided to listen to it based on fond memories of the tv show from when I was a child, but It was honestly a complete waste of 4 hours of my life... even though I was working...
The writing of this book is completely lost to the ages and changes in societal beliefs
Enter this father that seems to know every little thing about surviving in the wilderness, so much so that even though they knew they had a crate full of medical supplies he didn't even need to open it until 2ish years after they landed because he knew how to extract medicines from plants.(and keep in mind he has like 3 young boys)
This douche narrates a story that is almost more like a wilderness survival guide than a story, except for its lack of any pertinent information on how to actually survive a similar situation.
This douche is seemingly the only man in the world that 'god' cares for because every time a situation appears that would pose a massive challenge he simply prays and it magically appears (ie bees hollowing out the exact tree they had decided to use as a tree house from the bottom to the top so that he could simply build a spiral staircase on the inside (good thing that among studying with a surgeon, learning about natural medicines (in this exact climate), learning how natives turned random nuts into bowls and learning how to tan leather, he also studied as a carpenter and a ship builder (fuck))
And amazingly having all these skills going into this situation, this douche still sits there preaching about 'god', as if his douche life of learning completely random skills didn't luckily douche out and douche him into douchery.
But I douchegress, Don't waste your time on this book. it will only leave you wanting for a sweeter time in your life, a time when fairies still danced upon the morning dew. A time when thunder sounded like a brave lions roar. A time when geese flew in perfect V's and not strange Tilde (~) shapes. A time long before you decided to open this book of rank douchery.
The writing of this book is completely lost to the ages and changes in societal beliefs
Enter this father that seems to know every little thing about surviving in the wilderness, so much so that even though they knew they had a crate full of medical supplies he didn't even need to open it until 2ish years after they landed because he knew how to extract medicines from plants.(and keep in mind he has like 3 young boys)
This douche narrates a story that is almost more like a wilderness survival guide than a story, except for its lack of any pertinent information on how to actually survive a similar situation.
This douche is seemingly the only man in the world that 'god' cares for because every time a situation appears that would pose a massive challenge he simply prays and it magically appears (ie bees hollowing out the exact tree they had decided to use as a tree house from the bottom to the top so that he could simply build a spiral staircase on the inside (good thing that among studying with a surgeon, learning about natural medicines (in this exact climate), learning how natives turned random nuts into bowls and learning how to tan leather, he also studied as a carpenter and a ship builder (fuck))
And amazingly having all these skills going into this situation, this douche still sits there preaching about 'god', as if his douche life of learning completely random skills didn't luckily douche out and douche him into douchery.
But I douchegress, Don't waste your time on this book. it will only leave you wanting for a sweeter time in your life, a time when fairies still danced upon the morning dew. A time when thunder sounded like a brave lions roar. A time when geese flew in perfect V's and not strange Tilde (~) shapes. A time long before you decided to open this book of rank douchery.
March 12, 2020
1.5 stars rounded down.
Shoot. My first 1 ⭐️ rating for 2020. 😕 All my fears about this book have been confirmed, unfortunately. It may be a classic, but it hasn’t aged well, and it honestly isn’t good. Just a few of my issues with it are below.
I don’t see this as a book about survival because everything was handed to them. Survive what? Survive living on a utopia unicorn island full of every flora and fauna known to mankind, all conveniently located on a small desert island? Survive having a constant abundance of food and supplies? (PSA, this is NOT what you see on Naked & Afraid lol.) Survive life in the wilderness when the patriarch knows literally EVERYTHING about every plant, seed, animal; all of their uses from every corner of the globe, how the Africans, Indians, AKA “savages” use them? It requires a little more suspension of disbelief than I can muster, I’m afraid.
EDIT: If you're looking for a book about ACTUAL self-sufficiency and ingenuity, I recommend this one I recently read. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope.
I am not a reader that tends to be put off when an animal dies, as I can fully appreciate fictional stories, however, this book drove me nuts with all the animal killing, capturing and taming! They killed for sport, because they were annoyed, or because they simply wanted to know what type of animal it was and showcase it in their museum, but rarely did they kill out of necessity for food. (They murdered 40 apes for being mischievous and then were “grieved” by the sight of all the bodies. Like “Oops, my unchecked and uncivilized rage got the best of me and now we have to clean up all these apes I wish we hadn’t killed.”) Their domesticated animals were their beloved captives, and seemingly only placed on this earth to protect them and do their bidding.
This doesn’t work as a morality story either, despite the ceaseless and tiresome preaching of the patriarch. It is apparent the author feels everything on earth is placed solely for the use of white, “civilized” (I use this term VERY loosely because they acted in no way civilized) Europeans. Teaching that praying for something means it magically appears doesn’t work; that’s not even how the Bible teaches the way God works. Just because you pray for something doesn’t mean you automatically get it. Trying to teach that if you pray, everything will be perfect is inherently flawed. If you’re familiar with Christianity you know that God never promises a lack of adversity, yet this family faces zero adversity. It’s not realistic as a “teaching tool.”
The colonists were also greedy. From their over-abundance of food, zeal for killing animals for no good reason, forcing wild animals into domestication, and development of numerous homes, abodes, and plantations on such a small island was ludicrous, but I guess that’s what colonizers do? 🤷🏽♀️
This book was perhaps my greatest insight into the history of fear-mongering racism. Their biggest fear was not encountering a wild animal, or drowning, or starving. What they feared most of all was crossing paths with BLACK SAVAGES. Apparently, the Robinsons are entitled to colonize a land not native to them, but had there been any natives who ALREADY owned that land, they would have shot and killed them on the spot to “protect” themselves. Sound familiar? 🙄
I’m a pretty avid reader and enjoy the classics. I understand that many were written in a time where racism was widely practiced and encouraged, however, there isn’t enough plot or characterization to interest me so that I can ignore the rampant racism. And I think it’s ridiculous anyway that people put that burden on minorities to somehow ignore hatred towards their skin color simply because “that’s just how it was back then.” How about we just concur that this book is no longer worthy of being a classic, and stop expecting people to read it without addressing their own moral compass?
Shoot. My first 1 ⭐️ rating for 2020. 😕 All my fears about this book have been confirmed, unfortunately. It may be a classic, but it hasn’t aged well, and it honestly isn’t good. Just a few of my issues with it are below.
I don’t see this as a book about survival because everything was handed to them. Survive what? Survive living on a utopia unicorn island full of every flora and fauna known to mankind, all conveniently located on a small desert island? Survive having a constant abundance of food and supplies? (PSA, this is NOT what you see on Naked & Afraid lol.) Survive life in the wilderness when the patriarch knows literally EVERYTHING about every plant, seed, animal; all of their uses from every corner of the globe, how the Africans, Indians, AKA “savages” use them? It requires a little more suspension of disbelief than I can muster, I’m afraid.
EDIT: If you're looking for a book about ACTUAL self-sufficiency and ingenuity, I recommend this one I recently read. The Boy Who Harnessed the Wind: Creating Currents of Electricity and Hope.
I am not a reader that tends to be put off when an animal dies, as I can fully appreciate fictional stories, however, this book drove me nuts with all the animal killing, capturing and taming! They killed for sport, because they were annoyed, or because they simply wanted to know what type of animal it was and showcase it in their museum, but rarely did they kill out of necessity for food. (They murdered 40 apes for being mischievous and then were “grieved” by the sight of all the bodies. Like “Oops, my unchecked and uncivilized rage got the best of me and now we have to clean up all these apes I wish we hadn’t killed.”) Their domesticated animals were their beloved captives, and seemingly only placed on this earth to protect them and do their bidding.
This doesn’t work as a morality story either, despite the ceaseless and tiresome preaching of the patriarch. It is apparent the author feels everything on earth is placed solely for the use of white, “civilized” (I use this term VERY loosely because they acted in no way civilized) Europeans. Teaching that praying for something means it magically appears doesn’t work; that’s not even how the Bible teaches the way God works. Just because you pray for something doesn’t mean you automatically get it. Trying to teach that if you pray, everything will be perfect is inherently flawed. If you’re familiar with Christianity you know that God never promises a lack of adversity, yet this family faces zero adversity. It’s not realistic as a “teaching tool.”
The colonists were also greedy. From their over-abundance of food, zeal for killing animals for no good reason, forcing wild animals into domestication, and development of numerous homes, abodes, and plantations on such a small island was ludicrous, but I guess that’s what colonizers do? 🤷🏽♀️
This book was perhaps my greatest insight into the history of fear-mongering racism. Their biggest fear was not encountering a wild animal, or drowning, or starving. What they feared most of all was crossing paths with BLACK SAVAGES. Apparently, the Robinsons are entitled to colonize a land not native to them, but had there been any natives who ALREADY owned that land, they would have shot and killed them on the spot to “protect” themselves. Sound familiar? 🙄
I’m a pretty avid reader and enjoy the classics. I understand that many were written in a time where racism was widely practiced and encouraged, however, there isn’t enough plot or characterization to interest me so that I can ignore the rampant racism. And I think it’s ridiculous anyway that people put that burden on minorities to somehow ignore hatred towards their skin color simply because “that’s just how it was back then.” How about we just concur that this book is no longer worthy of being a classic, and stop expecting people to read it without addressing their own moral compass?
May 1, 2021
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).
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).
January 26, 2013
This is a book for kids, and my boys really like it a lot.
Many of the negative reviews posted about this book are totally correct. The Swiss Family is a product of its time. They treat the island like their playground, killing and domesticating everything in sight. They mention god a lot. They never name the mother, and she stays in the background cooking and mending things while the father and boys go out adventuring, but in all fairness, none of the characters have real fleshed out personalities. Besides the fact that one boy is more scared than others, one is young and often left out, and one is slightly lazy, they are all basically the same blank slate into which the child reader can insert themself and imagine surviving in the bountious plentiful island where death and disease do not exist (human death, that is.)
When I read this to my kids ( this is my second time, right now I'm reading to the 7 and 10 year old), we talk about the characters' dated historical attitudes. We mock the unrealistic success of every project they tackle. We laugh at the preposterous confluence of animals and plants from every continent on earth. Yet they really get something out if the story. If it was up to me, I would stop reading it in a heart beat, but I read it for them. And at least the version we have uses great vocabulary and wording I am happy to expose them to.
My sons would rate this 5 stars. I would rate this 2. I could never read this on my own. But reading it to them ups it a star.
Many of the negative reviews posted about this book are totally correct. The Swiss Family is a product of its time. They treat the island like their playground, killing and domesticating everything in sight. They mention god a lot. They never name the mother, and she stays in the background cooking and mending things while the father and boys go out adventuring, but in all fairness, none of the characters have real fleshed out personalities. Besides the fact that one boy is more scared than others, one is young and often left out, and one is slightly lazy, they are all basically the same blank slate into which the child reader can insert themself and imagine surviving in the bountious plentiful island where death and disease do not exist (human death, that is.)
When I read this to my kids ( this is my second time, right now I'm reading to the 7 and 10 year old), we talk about the characters' dated historical attitudes. We mock the unrealistic success of every project they tackle. We laugh at the preposterous confluence of animals and plants from every continent on earth. Yet they really get something out if the story. If it was up to me, I would stop reading it in a heart beat, but I read it for them. And at least the version we have uses great vocabulary and wording I am happy to expose them to.
My sons would rate this 5 stars. I would rate this 2. I could never read this on my own. But reading it to them ups it a star.
July 20, 2012
I feel a tiny bit terrible giving a classic novel only one star, but this book is a tiny bit terrible itself, so I think it all evens out.
This book lacks two integral elements of a novel: plot and characters. All six members of the family are apparently robots who exist only to shoot animals unnecessarily, do everything perfectly the first time, and speak like a bunch of old-fashioned Christian computers. Also, Mr. Robinson (did he have a first name? I never caught one) berates his children for the tiniest infractions and acts as though they're going to hell as a result. However, when they shoot flamingos without even seeing what they're looking at or hit a whole bunch of penguins with an oar, his only response is basically, "Eh, you probably shouldn't do that, but since you did...oh well."
Somehow, Mr. Robinson knows about every single plant and animal and its possible uses in a place he's never been before. Somehow, every risky venture goes perfectly the first time, including using dynamite to blow a hole in the side of a damaged ship. Somehow, every useful item on the ship isn't damaged and is brought to shore without a hitch. Somehow, European fruit trees flourish outside of their native climate. Somehow, not one family member ever says, "Oh shit. We're stuck on this island forever." They seem to accept their fate without a second thought. Somehow, I managed to make it through 280 pages of a horrible book.
This book lacks two integral elements of a novel: plot and characters. All six members of the family are apparently robots who exist only to shoot animals unnecessarily, do everything perfectly the first time, and speak like a bunch of old-fashioned Christian computers. Also, Mr. Robinson (did he have a first name? I never caught one) berates his children for the tiniest infractions and acts as though they're going to hell as a result. However, when they shoot flamingos without even seeing what they're looking at or hit a whole bunch of penguins with an oar, his only response is basically, "Eh, you probably shouldn't do that, but since you did...oh well."
Somehow, Mr. Robinson knows about every single plant and animal and its possible uses in a place he's never been before. Somehow, every risky venture goes perfectly the first time, including using dynamite to blow a hole in the side of a damaged ship. Somehow, every useful item on the ship isn't damaged and is brought to shore without a hitch. Somehow, European fruit trees flourish outside of their native climate. Somehow, not one family member ever says, "Oh shit. We're stuck on this island forever." They seem to accept their fate without a second thought. Somehow, I managed to make it through 280 pages of a horrible book.
September 10, 2021
Sep 8, 1045pm ~~ Review asap.
Sep 10, 130pm ~~ As usual there is a bit of a backstory about why I read this book. You see, not too long ago I was reading 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea by Jules Verne. I got curious about the man so looked at the Wiki article about him. That is where I read about how affected he was in his youth by two books: Robinson Crusoe and The Swiss Family Robinson. He was so thrilled with TSFR that he wrote two books about them, picking up their story at the end of the original book, and telling what happens to everyone from that point forward.
Well, this was a surprise, and of course I was curious to see what he would do with the tale of the castaway family. I checked Project Gutenberg and they had Verne's second book, Castaways of the Flag, but not the first one, Their Island Home. I checked my print books source but they did not have the book either. So I marked the idea on one of my lists, and then kept my eyes open for that first book.
And a month or so ago it showed up at Thriftbooks so I ordered and at first when it came I thought I would jump right in, but then I got to thinking about how long it had been since I had read the original story. I used to have a paperback copy, but it had fallen apart long ago so I went back to Gutenberg and called it up, and here we are!
It had been many years since I read the book, and I don't remember being quite as annoyed with Father as I became during this reading. He was such a patriarch, telling his boys how to behave and naturally knowing almost everything there was to know about the amazing mix of plants and animals they encounter during the ten years covered in this book. Father lectured, and the reader gets the benefit of his natural history knowledge, even when it is wrong (he never did get pineapples correct). I confess I began skimming fairly early in the book. And I wondered how I did not notice such things in my earlier visits with the family? I read the book more than once in the distant past, but it had been a long time, maybe I just forgot all the lecturing?
I remember the Disney movie. I saw that in the theaters when I was little and it was very exciting! Of course there were many differences between the book and the movie (we are talking about Disney, after all) but I became curious about why TSFR seemed to be more of a school lecture than a regular adventure tale.
So I went back to Wiki. The author was a pastor with four sons and this 1812 "...novel was intended to teach his four sons about family values, good husbandry, the uses of the natural world and self-reliance." It seems most books for young people back then had these aims in mind. But Wyss was also inspired by Robinson Crusoe, the book which was so popular and had so many imitations that it created its own genre of desert island castaway adventures.
And that led to this interesting little bit of information: in the original book the family's surname is never revealed. I always just assumed that they were named Robinson, like the title and like the family in Lost In Space. (Oh, hey, I just got THAT little inside joke! How clever! lol) If you haven't figured it out yet, let me allow wiki to explain:
" Although movie and television adaptations typically name the family "Robinson", it is not a Swiss name. The German title translates as The Swiss Robinson which identifies the novel as part of the Robinsonade genre, rather than a story about a family named Robinson."
So I may not have learned much from Father's lectures, but I certainly learned a lot about the book itself and the author!
This was still a fun book to read, if for no other reason than to try to guess which animal will show up next. I think Wyss wanted to cover all his bases here, because of course there is no way in the world that flamingos, penguins, walrus, tapirs, ostriches, tigers, elephants and I could go on like this forever are going to be all together in one 'desert island'. So you cannot let yourself dispute Father's facts here. Just read and enjoy the weirdness and be amazed at how much of their time is spent thinking about collecting food, preparing to collect food, actually collecting food, preparing the food after they have collected it, and finally eating food. I think I gained ten pounds by osmosis!
I have already started on Jules Verne's 1900 book Their Island Home. But I won't say anything else about that now. Except that he gave our Robinson family a real surname: Zermatt. And Father seems not quite so sure of himself so far. Well, everyone gets old at some point, even a Robinson!
Sep 10, 130pm ~~ As usual there is a bit of a backstory about why I read this book. You see, not too long ago I was reading 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea by Jules Verne. I got curious about the man so looked at the Wiki article about him. That is where I read about how affected he was in his youth by two books: Robinson Crusoe and The Swiss Family Robinson. He was so thrilled with TSFR that he wrote two books about them, picking up their story at the end of the original book, and telling what happens to everyone from that point forward.
Well, this was a surprise, and of course I was curious to see what he would do with the tale of the castaway family. I checked Project Gutenberg and they had Verne's second book, Castaways of the Flag, but not the first one, Their Island Home. I checked my print books source but they did not have the book either. So I marked the idea on one of my lists, and then kept my eyes open for that first book.
And a month or so ago it showed up at Thriftbooks so I ordered and at first when it came I thought I would jump right in, but then I got to thinking about how long it had been since I had read the original story. I used to have a paperback copy, but it had fallen apart long ago so I went back to Gutenberg and called it up, and here we are!
It had been many years since I read the book, and I don't remember being quite as annoyed with Father as I became during this reading. He was such a patriarch, telling his boys how to behave and naturally knowing almost everything there was to know about the amazing mix of plants and animals they encounter during the ten years covered in this book. Father lectured, and the reader gets the benefit of his natural history knowledge, even when it is wrong (he never did get pineapples correct). I confess I began skimming fairly early in the book. And I wondered how I did not notice such things in my earlier visits with the family? I read the book more than once in the distant past, but it had been a long time, maybe I just forgot all the lecturing?
I remember the Disney movie. I saw that in the theaters when I was little and it was very exciting! Of course there were many differences between the book and the movie (we are talking about Disney, after all) but I became curious about why TSFR seemed to be more of a school lecture than a regular adventure tale.
So I went back to Wiki. The author was a pastor with four sons and this 1812 "...novel was intended to teach his four sons about family values, good husbandry, the uses of the natural world and self-reliance." It seems most books for young people back then had these aims in mind. But Wyss was also inspired by Robinson Crusoe, the book which was so popular and had so many imitations that it created its own genre of desert island castaway adventures.
And that led to this interesting little bit of information: in the original book the family's surname is never revealed. I always just assumed that they were named Robinson, like the title and like the family in Lost In Space. (Oh, hey, I just got THAT little inside joke! How clever! lol) If you haven't figured it out yet, let me allow wiki to explain:
" Although movie and television adaptations typically name the family "Robinson", it is not a Swiss name. The German title translates as The Swiss Robinson which identifies the novel as part of the Robinsonade genre, rather than a story about a family named Robinson."
So I may not have learned much from Father's lectures, but I certainly learned a lot about the book itself and the author!
This was still a fun book to read, if for no other reason than to try to guess which animal will show up next. I think Wyss wanted to cover all his bases here, because of course there is no way in the world that flamingos, penguins, walrus, tapirs, ostriches, tigers, elephants and I could go on like this forever are going to be all together in one 'desert island'. So you cannot let yourself dispute Father's facts here. Just read and enjoy the weirdness and be amazed at how much of their time is spent thinking about collecting food, preparing to collect food, actually collecting food, preparing the food after they have collected it, and finally eating food. I think I gained ten pounds by osmosis!
I have already started on Jules Verne's 1900 book Their Island Home. But I won't say anything else about that now. Except that he gave our Robinson family a real surname: Zermatt. And Father seems not quite so sure of himself so far. Well, everyone gets old at some point, even a Robinson!
November 15, 2014
★★½☆☆ Torture to get through to the end. Talk about Fantasy Island. And they, or their dogs, killed everything they came across. Ugh. Enjoyed the movie more. (Did I just say that?)
New Switzerland
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
New Switzerland
Per Wiki:Still, this is what I got: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.
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
October 4, 2007
I absolutely loved this book, and have read it again and again. I also read it to my family and we all had goosebumps during the passage about the large snake eating the donkey.
December 5, 2020
Above: Henri Rousseau, The Dream, 1907.
In the foreword of my edition of Swiss Family Robinson, it's mentioned that readers of the time couldn't decide who they loved more: adventurous Jack, mechanical genius Fritz, studious Ernest or angelic Francis. Some still were in the camp of their ever-wise 'Papa' or industrious and faithful 'Mama'.
Well, I can decide: I hate them all equally.
I was prepared for Swiss Family Robinson to piss me off a little. I mean, to most people of color, any novel from the 19th century is bound to contain some kind of barb. You just have to let that slap land if you ever want to enjoy a piece of media from a bygone world.
But boy oh boy: Swiss Fuckin Family Robinson.
For the first part of this book I could picture our dear Robinson family as nothing but a set of chomping, pearl-toothed mouths. They kill any new or strange thing they encounter, often for food, but sometimes with the idea of taxidermy for their museum (!) or just because they can. They spread across the conveniently verdant island like a virus, bringing European 'order' and making good Christian use of the natural resources that previously existed unmolested around them.
The 19th century cult of the museum is well at work too. The Father, journal keeper and intrepid leader of this set of fleas improvises countless native technologies, sometimes even improving on them, from his years of studying them from afar. I won't go into how offensive and ridiculous this notion is. Anyone who's ever tried to build as much as a fire-saw knows that most Indigenous techniques require practice, mentorship and specific natural resources.
The prose throughout the novel is passable, though it mostly reads like an inventory of assets the family acquires. There's never any real danger- at most a storm, the late kidnappings, and even a bear attack are all opportunities for the family to add to their hoard, or thank their faith for preserving them.
The island itself is a strange fevered creation on Wyss' part. It contains whatever the family requires (berries for candle making, buffalo for cattle, caves for rock-salt, chests of washed-up cargo for tools to name a few) and expands every time they make a journey. I think this is actually an aspect of the book I enjoyed- Wyss makes no effort of hiding the wish-fulfillment that this 'Happy Island' is. No corpses ever wash up from their doomed voyage, no one experiences dysentery from the tropical freshwater, and only one snake is ever sighted.
If anything, this book has given me another layer of understanding of colonization. The pervading feeling of the intrepid Robinson clan is that they are improving their surroundings. The conviction is lodged deep within their beings, right next to their unshakable faith in God's plan.
Who are the Swiss Family Robinson without these ideologies? Savages gnawing at the world with less grace than any animal on the island. Characters I certainly would not introduce to any of my future children, and a book I would question if it appeared in anyone's modern nostalgia.
I'll leave you with these words from Krista A. Thompson, from her 2006 book An Eye for the Tropics, on the subject of Rosseau's The Dream, as pictured above. It's an image from a century later, but the flavour is the same babies.
“Rousseau’s tropical world was the imaginative concoction based in part on his dream-inducing visits to Paris’ botanical gardens. The Frenchman never visited the Americas, as he claimed, before realizing his tropical vision on canvas. Such artistic sources, along with fantastic representations of tropical nature from the natural and human sciences, helped to construct an imaginative notion of the tropics or a “dream” of tropical abundance, to use a term travelers frequently employed, which provided a model for the picturesque in the Anglophone Caribbean. […] Picturesqueness in the British Caribbean referred to the landscapes’ conformity to these exoticized and fantastic ideals of the tropical landscape. The picturesque denoted a landscape that seemed like the dream of tropical nature.
Crucially, “picturesqueness” also frequently characterised parts of the islands that had been transplanted, ordered, or “tropicalized” variously by the British colonial government, planters, British and American corporations, and tourism promoters. As such, the picturesque […] denoted the landscape’s conformity to these colonial, imperialistic, or touristic ideals of the tropics.”
January 31, 2015
"Written by Swiss pastor Johann David Wyss and edited by his son Johann Rudolf Wyss, the novel was intended to teach his four sons about family values, good husbandry, the uses of the natural world and self-reliance. Wyss' attitude toward education is in line with the teachings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and many of the episodes have to do with Christian-oriented moral lessons such as frugality, husbandry, acceptance, cooperation, etc. The adventures are presented as a series of lessons in natural history and the physical sciences, and resemble other, similar educational books for children in this period... 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 [flora and fauna] that probably could never have existed together on a single island for the children's edification, nourishment, clothing and convenience." From Wikipedia.
This explains a great deal about the novel. In this context, the reader can appreciate the clever way Wyss has melded formats to present his lessons to his sons. It's not great literature, but one can easily imagine his four boys hanging on these tales of hunting, foraging, and invention.
This explains a great deal about the novel. In this context, the reader can appreciate the clever way Wyss has melded formats to present his lessons to his sons. It's not great literature, but one can easily imagine his four boys hanging on these tales of hunting, foraging, and invention.
June 15, 2021
I found a bookmark on page 237, so I skimmed through to bring things back to current.
The story, after days of being tossed and battered by a raging storm, the pastor his wife and their four sons are passengers. The ship smashes against a reef - and the last lifeboat pulls away without them. The next morning the family finds itself cast away on an island. They retrieve what they can from the ship and construct a life for themselves - building a treehouse, finding such food as coconuts, sugarcane, honey, potatoes, and protecting themselves against danger. Adventure follows adventure as they explore the island. They end up domesticating all sorts of animals, mostly because the boys were a bad shot and they felt bad leaving injured animals behind. They encounter terrifying animals. Although they indure many hardships, the family lives in harmony and even rescues a girl who is a castaway on a nearby island.
There was no real challenges they always thanked God for their good fortune, “Thank Providence” is something they would say quite a bit.
Again no real challenges for the family to face. It made it boring to read. Also, there is no way that all of the animals and plants that were described could have lived together, some were from Australia, Asia and Africa which when I was younger found exciting and thrilling but as an adult not so much anymore.
My Sister and I grew up watching the Disney version of the movie and I am sure if I watched it again I would find it fun again!
The story, after days of being tossed and battered by a raging storm, the pastor his wife and their four sons are passengers. The ship smashes against a reef - and the last lifeboat pulls away without them. The next morning the family finds itself cast away on an island. They retrieve what they can from the ship and construct a life for themselves - building a treehouse, finding such food as coconuts, sugarcane, honey, potatoes, and protecting themselves against danger. Adventure follows adventure as they explore the island. They end up domesticating all sorts of animals, mostly because the boys were a bad shot and they felt bad leaving injured animals behind. They encounter terrifying animals. Although they indure many hardships, the family lives in harmony and even rescues a girl who is a castaway on a nearby island.
There was no real challenges they always thanked God for their good fortune, “Thank Providence” is something they would say quite a bit.
Again no real challenges for the family to face. It made it boring to read. Also, there is no way that all of the animals and plants that were described could have lived together, some were from Australia, Asia and Africa which when I was younger found exciting and thrilling but as an adult not so much anymore.
My Sister and I grew up watching the Disney version of the movie and I am sure if I watched it again I would find it fun again!
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