# Robinson Crusoe **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [August 17, 2015, 4:44pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robinson-crusoe/728088 "2015-08-17T16:44:47Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 18\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![hogarth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/hogarth/32/1773_2.png) [@hogarth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hogarth)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 9:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robinson-crusoe/728088/21 "2015-08-18T21:05:21Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > I remember reading it sometime in middle school, and the parts I found most evocative were the actual descriptions of survival. Pillaging the ship, setting up his homestead, rationing supplies, etc. The boy scout in me said, “yeah! I could totally do all of that! Sounds awesome!” If you can swim naked out to a ship and then stuff your pockets with biscuits, I tip my hat to you, sir. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 9:23pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robinson-crusoe/728088/22 "2015-08-18T21:23:04Z")
11-year-old me could have done it! Current me would probably take a nap on the beach and end up eaten by wolves. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 18, 2015, 10:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robinson-crusoe/728088/23 "2015-08-18T22:32:06Z")
I believe it was National Lampoon that had the spoof version, where, after a few days, he had put together a small nuclear reactor to power his local electrical grid. Another fun example of a few people devising a remarkably high level of tech from a shipwreck is Act II of “The Admirable Crichton,” the second-most-famous play by J.M. Barrie. (“The Tempest,” too, but Prospero cheats and uses magic.) ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 1:07am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robinson-crusoe/728088/24 "2015-08-19T01:07:37Z")
> [@Boyo\_Jim](#): > > I felt exactly the same as the OP, but about _Silas Marner_, which must be the most boring book in the history of English literature. The Scarlet Letter could outbore both of them combined with half it’s pages tied behind its back. ---
**Author:** ![Boyo\_Jim](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/87869e/32.png) [@Boyo\_Jim](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Boyo_Jim)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 2:32am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robinson-crusoe/728088/25 "2015-08-19T02:32:48Z")
The Scarlet Letter at least acknowledges the concept of sex, which is inherently more interesting than the sexless monotony in Silas Marner. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 2:34am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robinson-crusoe/728088/26 "2015-08-19T02:34:56Z")
I liked _Robinson Crusoe_ (and even _Silas Marner_). My go-to sleeping aid is Henry James. ---
**Author:** ![Toxgoddess](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/f08c70/32.png) [@Toxgoddess](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Toxgoddess)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 3:36am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robinson-crusoe/728088/27 "2015-08-19T03:36:28Z")
I liked it also. I thought the beginning, when he was a teenager still living at home, and complaining how boring, visionless and staid his parents are, and how they didn’t seem to know anything about what life was about, surprisingly relatable. As was his much later reminiscence that he was an idiot at that age. I read it during the heyday of Lost. As a devoted fan, I was interested to review the wellspring of the “lost on a deserted island” genre. I was amazed to see how much the TV show borrowed directly from the original source material, and how gripping the book was. ---
**Author:** ![TonySinclair](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/49beb7/32.png) [@TonySinclair](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TonySinclair)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 3:45am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robinson-crusoe/728088/28 "2015-08-19T03:45:43Z")
> [@Bryan\_Ekers](#): > > I thought it was just a slightly less primitive version of Gilligan’s Island. You thought wrong. “Like Robinson Car-ew-so, it’s primitive as can be.” And the Professor could make a radio out of coconuts. ---
**Author:** ![Inner\_Stickler](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/inner_stickler/32/318_2.png) [@Inner\_Stickler](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Inner_Stickler)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 4:35am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robinson-crusoe/728088/29 "2015-08-19T04:35:27Z")
> [@TBG](#): > > The Scarlet Letter could outbore both of them combined with half it’s pages tied behind its back. Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. That was next on the list. ---
**Author:** ![Johnny\_Bravo](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/johnny_bravo/32/493_2.png) [@Johnny\_Bravo](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Johnny_Bravo)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 12:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robinson-crusoe/728088/30 "2015-08-19T12:51:46Z")
I have absolutely no defense for The Scarlet Letter. ---
**Author:** ![Shodan](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/9f8e36/32.png) [@Shodan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Shodan)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 1:07pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robinson-crusoe/728088/31 "2015-08-19T13:07:49Z")
> [@Johnny\_Bravo](#): > > I have absolutely no defense for The Scarlet Letter. The only defense for _The Scarlet Letter_ is that it is better than _Tess of the D’Urbervilles_. So is my grocery list, but FWIW. Regards, Shodan ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 1:28pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robinson-crusoe/728088/32 "2015-08-19T13:28:59Z")
> [@Inner\_Stickler](#): > > Fuck. Fuck, fuck, fuck. That was next on the list. Yup, Scarlet Letter is pretty bad, too. For a book about adultery it is really preachy. You know what I found surprisingly good? Sense and Sensibility. Pride and Prejudice always bored the fuck out of me but S&S was really good. Maybe because we all have a bit of sense and a bit of sensibility in us, forever warring in our natures. McTeague is also really great. I am just throwing out “older” novels I liked, no real order to them, btw. I’ll try to think of others. Oh, I liked the Woman in White, though it did go on a distressingly long time. ---
**Author:** ![Siam\_Sam](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/d78d45/32.png) [@Siam\_Sam](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Siam_Sam)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 2:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robinson-crusoe/728088/33 "2015-08-19T14:36:15Z")
I’m sure someone is poised to mention _Moby-Dick_, so I want to go on record as declaring I liked _Moby-Dick_. ---
**Author:** ![madsircool](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/madsircool/32/3432_2.png) [@madsircool](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/madsircool)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robinson-crusoe/728088/34 "2015-08-19T15:41:22Z")
> [@Siam\_Sam](#): > > I’m sure someone is poised to mention _Moby-Dick_, so I want to go on record as declaring I liked _Moby-Dick_. Im suprised no porn star ever co-opted that name. ---
**Author:** ![Anaamika](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/5f9b8f/32.png) [@Anaamika](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Anaamika)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 3:45pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robinson-crusoe/728088/35 "2015-08-19T15:45:01Z")
How could I forget the Count of Monte Cristo? Amazing book, except for the Sinbad the Sailor bits. ---
**Author:** ![BrotherCadfael](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/b/977dab/32.png) [@BrotherCadfael](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/BrotherCadfael)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 3:59pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robinson-crusoe/728088/36 "2015-08-19T15:59:58Z")
My “it’s time to go to the library” book is _Dr. Zhivago_. When I am desperate enough to pick that one up, I know I really need to go get some more books. ---
**Author:** ![Trinopus](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/2bfe46/32.png) [@Trinopus](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Trinopus)\ **Post date:** [August 19, 2015, 9:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robinson-crusoe/728088/37 "2015-08-19T21:36:58Z")
Old-ish stuff: I’m currently reading the “Inspector Hanaud” novels by A.E.W. Mason. Hanaud is very recognizeable as an inspiration for Agatha Christie’s “Hercule Poirot.” The Hanaud novels – all Mason’s books – are appallingly intricate! The plot lines are twisted, deep, involute, and complicated! Hell, in one of the books, the business where Hanaud explains to his confreres how the crime occurred and how he solved it, took up more than 100 pages! But…they’re fun! ---
**Author:** ![TBG](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/c89c15/32.png) [@TBG](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/TBG)\ **Post date:** [August 21, 2015, 11:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robinson-crusoe/728088/38 "2015-08-21T23:40:07Z")
> [@madsircool](#): > > Im suprised no porn star ever co-opted that name. Especially one that looks like Moby. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/robinson-crusoe/728088.md?page=1)