Helpful Score: 2
Apparently the Gulliver's Travels I read so many years ago was a cleaned-up kids' version, because this book was not nearly as fun as I remember it. Swift's satirical story of a man who happens upon strange lands is still entertaining, but this unabridged version includes all the long-winded commentary that was typical of books in his day. For scolars, and those who want the full experience of a classic, I would definitely recommend the unabridged edition, as it is a clever take on the world the way it once was (and in many ways still is). But for those simply looking for an entertaining story, without all the political and social commetary, I would suggest something edited more recently and aimed at younger readers.
Helpful Score: 1
I read this book while I was in High School, I remember I was actually bored with some parts of it and merely finished it because I never like to leave a book unfinished. After we discussed it in class, and learned what a satire was the novel absolutely blew my mind. I had missed it completely, the deeper meanings of the stories and just what Swift was trying to say about the society he was living in. I never realized that you could do something this mind blowing with literature, and I absolutely fell in love with the book. I actually got this book just because I realized that I did not have it on my bookshelf, and that this book should definitely be on my bookshelf.
Authoritative text of Jonathan Swift's no-holds-barred satire of European thought, culture and politics.
The direct and unadorned narrative describes four remarkable journeys of ship's surgeon Lemuel Gulliver, among them one to the land of Lilliput, where six-inch-high inhabitants bicker over trivialties; and another to Brobdingnag, a land where giants reduce man to insignificance. Great literary read and a great classic.
One of those classics that you'll be sorry if you haven't read it : )
The stories were written about poltics of the day, but the stories have long become just great reading.
Full-text classic.
This is a bargain book of the classics. They are absolutly perfect for your third grader to pratice and stretch their reading skills, or an excellent adaptation for up to age twelve.They are also a good in-between to introduce the concept that books without pictures can be intresting. These have only a few black-n-white. Just enough for the new, serious reader.
Gulliver's Travels is an absolutely scathing critique of English society in the 1600/1700s, and yet is completely applicable to many Western societies today, including the USA.
Every repulsive aspect of so-called "human civilisation" is put under scrutiny and made to seem as primitive, inefficient, and moronic as it truly is. Government corruption is lambasted, frivolous lawsuits are decried, common personality defects are mocked, all of our self-created health issues (resulting from eating low-quality foods, for instance) are pointed to.
You name an aspect of Western life and Swift will express his total disgust for it in eloquent terms. The book does sometimes show its age, with regard to certain outdated attitudes, but these moments are rare. On the whole, Gulliver's Travels feels fresh and meaningful. The writing style is, of course, old-fashioned, in that it tells the story rather than showing it, but it remains very engaging to a modern reader nonetheless.
Any self-described misanthrope ought to read this book for a good, bitter laugh, and I especially recommend this book to patriotic individuals everywhere. You have a lot to learn.
5 stars.
(I also highly recommend the TV miniseries adaptation of this book starring Ted Danson--it's very true to Swift's intent and highly entertaining.)
Every repulsive aspect of so-called "human civilisation" is put under scrutiny and made to seem as primitive, inefficient, and moronic as it truly is. Government corruption is lambasted, frivolous lawsuits are decried, common personality defects are mocked, all of our self-created health issues (resulting from eating low-quality foods, for instance) are pointed to.
You name an aspect of Western life and Swift will express his total disgust for it in eloquent terms. The book does sometimes show its age, with regard to certain outdated attitudes, but these moments are rare. On the whole, Gulliver's Travels feels fresh and meaningful. The writing style is, of course, old-fashioned, in that it tells the story rather than showing it, but it remains very engaging to a modern reader nonetheless.
Any self-described misanthrope ought to read this book for a good, bitter laugh, and I especially recommend this book to patriotic individuals everywhere. You have a lot to learn.
5 stars.
(I also highly recommend the TV miniseries adaptation of this book starring Ted Danson--it's very true to Swift's intent and highly entertaining.)
A classic! It's never too late to read about the Lilliputians and the land of Brobdingnag.
