Classics Challenge - Robinson Crusoe

Robinson Crusoe is one of those classics that I couldn't really believe I'd never read. I won't say I'm ashamed to not have read because there are too many wonderful books in the world to ever be ashamed of not having read any one particular book but I am really glad I've can now say I've read it.

Crusoe spends most of the book on a desert island somewhere near Trinidad which is in the Caribeans so I'm putting this one in the catagory of  Classic from Americas/Caribbean.

I "read" this one mostly by listening along with Lucy (its an Ambleside Online year 4 book). Mark Smith was already a favorite librivox reader of ours and it was nice to have a familiar voice leading us through it. That also meant we took it slow, listening to about 10-15 minutes 4 days a week for many weeks. I think that really contributed to my enjoyment. This book is by no means a simple adventure/survival story but still, not really liking that sort of book, I probably wouldn't have given the other aspects as much of a chance to sink into my brain had I read it on my own quickly.

 Both she and I really liked the middle section. The first part moved quickly and you start to get a little annoyed at Mr. Crusoe for his bad decisions. But we stuck with him and I'm glad. I'm not sure Lucy got as much out of his religious ponderings as I did but I also know that both of us probably internalized more than we think and we both have already made connections to other books and situations since then. That's another benefit to having read it with her, when we see a connection - we get excited to share it with each other!

Robinson Crusoe is my Back to the Classics Challenge - Classic from Americas or Caribbean. For more about challenge, head over to Books and Chocolate.