October 03, 2002
32. Robinson Crusoe, Daniel Defoe#
Well, I got tired of just listing out the books I'm reading, so I decided to steal Mer's book blog concept. I'll start with the latest one I've read, but maybe, if I get bored, I'll go back over the books from earlier this year.
Arguments over whether or not this qualifies as a novel or not aside, I really tried to enjoy this book. I read it for my 18th century Brit lit class, and it's just one of those books everyone's supposed to have read. Crusoe was a whiny little bitch who buried all of his numerous "spiritual reawakenings" in capitalist crap of the worst kind. And I think Defoe is where we first saw the development of the "who cares if it's unconnected to anything, this is cool, so it has to be in the book" school of plot design. I mean, what the hell? They get randomly attacked by wolves about ten pages after the story should've ended?
Posted by Lisa at October 3, 2002 03:27 PM | 2002I think that's a fair assessment of most writers of his time... Plot, schmot, let's have some wolves!
Posted by: Mer at October 3, 2002 03:42 PMThere is some disagreement, I understand, on whether or not Defoe invented the novel or not, because of the lack of connected plot in his books. It seems obvious to us now, but at the time it was apparently a big leap. (I want to say Henry Fielding is the more undisputed first novelist, but I could be wrong.)
Posted by: Alfvaen at October 6, 2002 09:52 PM