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Gulliver's Travels and Other Writings
Ted Danson reads the official tie-in to Hallmark Entertainments NBC-TV television event!Imagine the greatest adventure of all time....Rediscover the immortal story of Lemuel Gulliver and his fantastic voyage. Join him on his journey to the land of the six-inch-high Lilliputians...and into the royal court of the sixty-foot-tall Brobdingnagians. Ascend with him to the flying island of Laputa, whose inhabitants are endowed with uncommon intelligence, but no common sense at all. And follow him into the world of the Houyhnhnms, a race of civilized horses -- lords and masters of the brutish human Yahoos. The tale of a lifetime, "Gulliver's Travels" is filled with action, romance, danger, satirical wit, timeless wisdom, and the high drama only a classic of this caliber can convey. Set sail!
448 pages, Library Binding
First published November 1, 1962
102 people are currently reading
2256 people want to read
About the author
Jonathan Swift
5,025 books2,165 followersJonathan Swift was an Anglo-Irish satirist, author, essayist, political pamphleteer (first for the Whigs, then for the Tories), poet, and Anglican cleric who became Dean of St Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin, hence his common sobriquet, "Dean Swift".
Swift is remembered for works such as A Tale of a Tub (1704), An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity (1712), Gulliver's Travels (1726), and A Modest Proposal (1729). He is regarded by the Encyclopædia Britannica as the foremost prose satirist in the English language. He originally published all of his works under pseudonyms—such as Lemuel Gulliver, Isaac Bickerstaff, M.B. Drapier—or anonymously. He was a master of two styles of satire, the Horatian and Juvenalian styles.
His deadpan, ironic writing style, particularly in A Modest Proposal, has led to such satire being subsequently termed "Swiftian".
Swift is remembered for works such as A Tale of a Tub (1704), An Argument Against Abolishing Christianity (1712), Gulliver's Travels (1726), and A Modest Proposal (1729). He is regarded by the Encyclopædia Britannica as the foremost prose satirist in the English language. He originally published all of his works under pseudonyms—such as Lemuel Gulliver, Isaac Bickerstaff, M.B. Drapier—or anonymously. He was a master of two styles of satire, the Horatian and Juvenalian styles.
His deadpan, ironic writing style, particularly in A Modest Proposal, has led to such satire being subsequently termed "Swiftian".
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 109 reviews
January 13, 2022
هي مجموعة صفعات متتالية على وجه البشرية جمعاء..فعندما ترفضك الجياد الناطقة بلطف..لانها اكثر منك تحضرا و رشدا..اذن فلتعد يا"جاليفر "من رحلاتك الاربعة..حزينا كسيرا
لهذه الروايات مكانة خاصة في قلبي..فهي أول رحلاتي الطويلة لعالم الفانتازيا والخيال بلا حدود..فمن خلال الترجمة الرشيقة للعبقري كامل الكيلاني..قراتها في سن العاشرة بعربية فصيحة و تشكيل. .و لم ينطفىء انبهاري
فقراتها ملخصة بالإنجليزية..ثم في نسختها الكاملة في سن 30
أحببت اهل ليليبوت الاقزام السخفاء المتمسكين بالتقاليد..و الشكليات ..و العمالقة الهمج الذين كشفوا لجاليفر غروره و ضالته. .و الفلاسفة ..السحرة. .والمخلدون التعساء
وأخيرا و رغم خياله الفلسفي الجامح ..لم يحقق سويفت..هدفه من الحرب التي شنها على الجنس البشري..نفذت طبعات كتابه..و لكن ضحك الجميع من المغامرات واعتبروها..طرائف عن حماقات شعوب اخرى
..وهكذا رحل سويفت صامتا...و فاقدا لعقله
الأسلوب قديم و على شكل مذكرات ..و كذلك اللغة .. لذا قد يكون اسهل على البعض قراءتها مختصرة فهي تنتمي لعام 1700..و لكن الحماقات ..والانانية و الحروب ..هي هي..و ستظل كما هي
لهذه الروايات مكانة خاصة في قلبي..فهي أول رحلاتي الطويلة لعالم الفانتازيا والخيال بلا حدود..فمن خلال الترجمة الرشيقة للعبقري كامل الكيلاني..قراتها في سن العاشرة بعربية فصيحة و تشكيل. .و لم ينطفىء انبهاري
فقراتها ملخصة بالإنجليزية..ثم في نسختها الكاملة في سن 30
أحببت اهل ليليبوت الاقزام السخفاء المتمسكين بالتقاليد..و الشكليات ..و العمالقة الهمج الذين كشفوا لجاليفر غروره و ضالته. .و الفلاسفة ..السحرة. .والمخلدون التعساء
وأخيرا و رغم خياله الفلسفي الجامح ..لم يحقق سويفت..هدفه من الحرب التي شنها على الجنس البشري..نفذت طبعات كتابه..و لكن ضحك الجميع من المغامرات واعتبروها..طرائف عن حماقات شعوب اخرى
..وهكذا رحل سويفت صامتا...و فاقدا لعقله
الأسلوب قديم و على شكل مذكرات ..و كذلك اللغة .. لذا قد يكون اسهل على البعض قراءتها مختصرة فهي تنتمي لعام 1700..و لكن الحماقات ..والانانية و الحروب ..هي هي..و ستظل كما هي
December 31, 2017
What high adventure. Maybe I was Gulliver in my youth. I certainly had an adventure.🐯👍
Read
March 9, 2014A Bantam pb from 1962, reprint 1981. Some of this stuff was written in 1697. It’s ôld.
Into the gutter left and right about two-letters’ worth of a span are nearly illegible. But for fifty coppers, I knew what I was getting. One makes due. And plans for a better annotated, more nicely bound edition in one’s future.
The first piece, popularly known as Gulliver’s Travels, I have failed to review elsewhere. I hesitate to link to that Review knowing that such appearance of self-promotion is and ought to be frowned upon. But I recognize too that the mere mention of the fact that I’ve made mention of it here will impel you to seek it out and Like it anyway. Or not. What you will read there, should you head thitherward, is the mere recommendation of it as “required reading”, a spurned designation which says little more than “classic.” It has both its wit and its entertainment value. The Travels, I mean.
Second piece is a lovely novel called A Tale of a Tub: Written for the Universal Improvement of Mankind (spelling here slightly modernized). What is bound in this Bantam is a reproduction of the fifth edition, described as “With Author’s Apology and Explanatory Notes. By W. W--tt--n, B.D. and others.” The following treatises wrote by the author are announced as forthcoming (I’m still waiting) ::
A Character of the present Set of Wits in this Island.
A panegyric Essay upon the Number Three. (would that he had writ one upon Four).
A Dissertation upon the principal Productions of Grub Street.
Lectures upon a Dissection of Human Nature.
A Panegyric upon the World.
An analytical Discourse upon Zeal, histori-theo-physi-logically considered.
A general History of Ears (for a general theory of noses, vide Tristram Shandy).
A modest Defence of the Proceedings of the Rabble in all Ages.
A Description of the Kingdom of Absurdities.
A Voyage into England, by a Person of Quality in Terra Australis incognita, translated from the Original.
A critical Essay upon the Art of Canting, philosophically, physically, and musically considered.
These several treatises are touched upon and lightly discussed in the work under discussion.
A Tale of a Tub, being a charming, if rather standard and Traditional kind of novel, is organized along the following lines. (I make this delineation if only to demonstrate the rather straight=forward and conventional nature of what has been previously dismissed as a “difficult” work).
The first :: “An Apology, For the, &c.”. This from our Author’s hand, June 3, 1709.
Secondly :: “Postscript”. The which is an apparent appendage to the first.
Followed by “To the Right Honourable, John Lord Somers.” which will be acknowledged as an entirely justifiable practice. (from the hand of “The Bookseller”).
Fourth, “The Bookseller to the Reader”. (a nice touch, if a bit overdone).
The next piece is of high=conventional fictioneering, “The Epistle Dedicatory to His Royal Highness Prince Posterity.”
Properly placed in the succeeding position, “The Preface” which is well placed in towards the beginning of our novel.
And thus with the meat of the matter taken care of, wrapped warmly in packaging paper and set aside we continue to the middle matter::
“Section I. The Introduction.”
In order to more fully sketch the true structure of this work, the following items will be delineated along two lines, nämlich, the central thread first followed by a sketch of the digressive matter. Thusly we read ::
“Section III. A Digression Concerning Critics.”
“Section V. A Digression in the Modern Kind.”
“Section VII. A Digression in Praise of Digressions.”
“Section IX. A Digression concerning the Original, The Use, And Improvement of Madness in a Commonwealth.” (self-explanatory)
“The Conclusion” (in which a number of conclusionary remarks and remarks by way of concluding are made ; all without being superfluous).
Into this novel Mr Swift has felt it necessary, perhaps due to a fit of pretentiousness, to weave in a little moral story about three brothers and their Dead Father. It’s a nice enough tale and perhaps he needed to include it in order to get his novel past the censors, but it would have been nice if he stuck straight to his narrative and had disallowed his own propensity for showing=off from getting in the way of what would have been a very enjoyable novel with real characters that just jump off the page like Salmon at Leixlip! That digressionary tale is structured in the following manner ::
“Section II.” (bears no subtitle).
“Section IV. A Tale of a Tub”.
“Section VI. A Tale of a Tub.” (Our author is rather annoyingly redundant in the subtitling of these digressive passages).
“Section VIII. A Tale of a Tub.” [sic]
“Section X. A Tale of a Tub.” [ditto]
“Section XI. A Tale of a Tub.” (Our author’s lack of originality really starts to show in these section=titles).
So much for what ought to count as Swift’s mastery of the form of the novel, entire and complete. For we must recognize that those little digressionary passages containing the story of those three brothers and their Dead Father must count as that part of the novel-definition in which we understand “something wrong with it.”
If I may intrude just for a brief moment. In order to settle things even, fair & square, &c., with the current critical and perspicacious practice among our Good Readers, I do owe it to point out that this edition contains at least one typographical error. I recall not precisely where, which page, although it was verso, the final word. The err’r consists of a failing “i” in the word “critic.” Make of that what you will, but I think the joke is quite plain.
Which reminds me. Also according to standard practice, I, your Faithful Reviewer, will float this Review into your literary and critical Feed Troughs each time I endeavor to correct a comma, dot an i or perform like function upon a tee, or should any peas and cues require Verbesserung. I confess my failure heretofore in properly performing this social grace and vow, &c, &c, & &c.
Back to our book...
Next in our Bantam :: “A Full and true Account of the Battel Fought last Friday, Between the Antient and the Modern Books in St. James’s Library.” The astute reader will recognize this as the purist of plagiarisms, ripping off almost without blushing the current story underway, nämlich, “The Present and Continuing Account of the Bottle Being Fought Presently and Currently Right Now, Between Good Books and Popular Books on goodreads.camp.” Nevertheless, there is a charming story contained herein about a battle between a spider and a bee. Not to be missed!
“A Discourse Concerning the Mechanical Operation of the Spirit in a Letter to a Friend. A Fragment.” This and the above were at one time bound together with the above=twice. But this “discourse” is entirely disappointing for this reason :: it leaves me failing the capacity to make the comment I had intended to make upon reading its title but prior to reading its text. Namely of course, that Swift has written the wrong thing here. Instead of writing a satirical piece about the gaseous wailing of persons religious and spirituoso, he ought to have written about the mechanistic philosophy of mind then detectable in the likes of philosophers such as Mr Hobbes. Had he done so then herein this Review I could have remarked about how little progress have we made in the direction of a truly philosophical understanding of the mind ; substituting for ourselves instead a bunch of erroneous naturalistic superstitions and neuro-xyz junk. So I’ll just say what I want to say anyway and let the rest of you take the easy- and cheap- shots at the religiously clownish.
Had Swift been a man of the Left instead of the conservative creep and party=switcher which he in fact was, we could have imagined a present-day Swift writing a satirical piece entitled “An Argument to Prove That the Abolishing of the Private Health Insurance Industry In the USofA. May, as Things Now Stand, Be Attended with Some Inconveniences, and Perhaps Not Produce Those Many Good Effects Proposed Thereby.” Instead, he predicts our present times quite perspicaciously whereby we retain nominal christianity and nominal atheism both as our national religions. [I confess that this locution, “nominal atheism” may prove controversial. By it one should understand merely that assemblage of atheists who feel compelled to confess their atheism. The parallel with the nominal christian should be made clear enough when considered in contrast to each their opposite, the ‘real’ or ‘true’ version of each.]
There’s more stuff in this Bantam. Not to spoil plot or anything by putting flowers on its grave, but here’s what’s there ::
“The Bickerstaff Papers” (three items) -- So a target easy which might be an equivalent today to the (still) easy target of astrological prognostication, may I suggest the TED talks?
“The Examiner: No. 14, Nov. 9, 1710”. I don’t know what this is because I’ve not read it yet but the title is rather appealing, to use an understatement expression.
“The Drapier’s Letters: The First Letter”. Required Reading, probably, for Wakeans and a variety of Finnegans, whether awake, alive or merely asleep.
“A Modest Proposal” I understand this to be a kind of PoMo cookbook (ie, a PoMoCoBo).
Swift’s Correspondence (a meager three exemplars). Again, do you know Stella & Stella? Ppt!
Swift’s Poems. God help us all if we’ve gotta read poems just for in order to get page=count credit!
Chronology. I always skip these things. As boring as History.
Selected Bibliography -- Please don’t tell me what to read. I’m perfectly happy just knowing what I like.
And to conclude, the opening line of the Introduction, not from Our Author’s hand ::
“Of satire in general and of Jonathan Swift in particular, this may safely be prognosticated -- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * “✝
✝”"Here is pretended a defect in the manuscript, and this is very frequent with Our Reviewer, either when He thinks He cannot say anything worth reading, or when He has no mind to enter on the subject, or when it is a matter of little moment, or perhaps to amuse His reader (whereof he is frequently very fond) or lastly, with some satirical and plagiaristic intention.""
Into the gutter left and right about two-letters’ worth of a span are nearly illegible. But for fifty coppers, I knew what I was getting. One makes due. And plans for a better annotated, more nicely bound edition in one’s future.
The first piece, popularly known as Gulliver’s Travels, I have failed to review elsewhere. I hesitate to link to that Review knowing that such appearance of self-promotion is and ought to be frowned upon. But I recognize too that the mere mention of the fact that I’ve made mention of it here will impel you to seek it out and Like it anyway. Or not. What you will read there, should you head thitherward, is the mere recommendation of it as “required reading”, a spurned designation which says little more than “classic.” It has both its wit and its entertainment value. The Travels, I mean.
Second piece is a lovely novel called A Tale of a Tub: Written for the Universal Improvement of Mankind (spelling here slightly modernized). What is bound in this Bantam is a reproduction of the fifth edition, described as “With Author’s Apology and Explanatory Notes. By W. W--tt--n, B.D. and others.” The following treatises wrote by the author are announced as forthcoming (I’m still waiting) ::
A Character of the present Set of Wits in this Island.
A panegyric Essay upon the Number Three. (would that he had writ one upon Four).
A Dissertation upon the principal Productions of Grub Street.
Lectures upon a Dissection of Human Nature.
A Panegyric upon the World.
An analytical Discourse upon Zeal, histori-theo-physi-logically considered.
A general History of Ears (for a general theory of noses, vide Tristram Shandy).
A modest Defence of the Proceedings of the Rabble in all Ages.
A Description of the Kingdom of Absurdities.
A Voyage into England, by a Person of Quality in Terra Australis incognita, translated from the Original.
A critical Essay upon the Art of Canting, philosophically, physically, and musically considered.
These several treatises are touched upon and lightly discussed in the work under discussion.
A Tale of a Tub, being a charming, if rather standard and Traditional kind of novel, is organized along the following lines. (I make this delineation if only to demonstrate the rather straight=forward and conventional nature of what has been previously dismissed as a “difficult” work).
The first :: “An Apology, For the, &c.”. This from our Author’s hand, June 3, 1709.
Secondly :: “Postscript”. The which is an apparent appendage to the first.
Followed by “To the Right Honourable, John Lord Somers.” which will be acknowledged as an entirely justifiable practice. (from the hand of “The Bookseller”).
Fourth, “The Bookseller to the Reader”. (a nice touch, if a bit overdone).
The next piece is of high=conventional fictioneering, “The Epistle Dedicatory to His Royal Highness Prince Posterity.”
Properly placed in the succeeding position, “The Preface” which is well placed in towards the beginning of our novel.
And thus with the meat of the matter taken care of, wrapped warmly in packaging paper and set aside we continue to the middle matter::
“Section I. The Introduction.”
In order to more fully sketch the true structure of this work, the following items will be delineated along two lines, nämlich, the central thread first followed by a sketch of the digressive matter. Thusly we read ::
“Section III. A Digression Concerning Critics.”
“Section V. A Digression in the Modern Kind.”
“Section VII. A Digression in Praise of Digressions.”
“Section IX. A Digression concerning the Original, The Use, And Improvement of Madness in a Commonwealth.” (self-explanatory)
“The Conclusion” (in which a number of conclusionary remarks and remarks by way of concluding are made ; all without being superfluous).
Into this novel Mr Swift has felt it necessary, perhaps due to a fit of pretentiousness, to weave in a little moral story about three brothers and their Dead Father. It’s a nice enough tale and perhaps he needed to include it in order to get his novel past the censors, but it would have been nice if he stuck straight to his narrative and had disallowed his own propensity for showing=off from getting in the way of what would have been a very enjoyable novel with real characters that just jump off the page like Salmon at Leixlip! That digressionary tale is structured in the following manner ::
“Section II.” (bears no subtitle).
“Section IV. A Tale of a Tub”.
“Section VI. A Tale of a Tub.” (Our author is rather annoyingly redundant in the subtitling of these digressive passages).
“Section VIII. A Tale of a Tub.” [sic]
“Section X. A Tale of a Tub.” [ditto]
“Section XI. A Tale of a Tub.” (Our author’s lack of originality really starts to show in these section=titles).
So much for what ought to count as Swift’s mastery of the form of the novel, entire and complete. For we must recognize that those little digressionary passages containing the story of those three brothers and their Dead Father must count as that part of the novel-definition in which we understand “something wrong with it.”
If I may intrude just for a brief moment. In order to settle things even, fair & square, &c., with the current critical and perspicacious practice among our Good Readers, I do owe it to point out that this edition contains at least one typographical error. I recall not precisely where, which page, although it was verso, the final word. The err’r consists of a failing “i” in the word “critic.” Make of that what you will, but I think the joke is quite plain.
Which reminds me. Also according to standard practice, I, your Faithful Reviewer, will float this Review into your literary and critical Feed Troughs each time I endeavor to correct a comma, dot an i or perform like function upon a tee, or should any peas and cues require Verbesserung. I confess my failure heretofore in properly performing this social grace and vow, &c, &c, & &c.
Back to our book...
Next in our Bantam :: “A Full and true Account of the Battel Fought last Friday, Between the Antient and the Modern Books in St. James’s Library.” The astute reader will recognize this as the purist of plagiarisms, ripping off almost without blushing the current story underway, nämlich, “The Present and Continuing Account of the Bottle Being Fought Presently and Currently Right Now, Between Good Books and Popular Books on goodreads.camp.” Nevertheless, there is a charming story contained herein about a battle between a spider and a bee. Not to be missed!
“A Discourse Concerning the Mechanical Operation of the Spirit in a Letter to a Friend. A Fragment.” This and the above were at one time bound together with the above=twice. But this “discourse” is entirely disappointing for this reason :: it leaves me failing the capacity to make the comment I had intended to make upon reading its title but prior to reading its text. Namely of course, that Swift has written the wrong thing here. Instead of writing a satirical piece about the gaseous wailing of persons religious and spirituoso, he ought to have written about the mechanistic philosophy of mind then detectable in the likes of philosophers such as Mr Hobbes. Had he done so then herein this Review I could have remarked about how little progress have we made in the direction of a truly philosophical understanding of the mind ; substituting for ourselves instead a bunch of erroneous naturalistic superstitions and neuro-xyz junk. So I’ll just say what I want to say anyway and let the rest of you take the easy- and cheap- shots at the religiously clownish.
Had Swift been a man of the Left instead of the conservative creep and party=switcher which he in fact was, we could have imagined a present-day Swift writing a satirical piece entitled “An Argument to Prove That the Abolishing of the Private Health Insurance Industry In the USofA. May, as Things Now Stand, Be Attended with Some Inconveniences, and Perhaps Not Produce Those Many Good Effects Proposed Thereby.” Instead, he predicts our present times quite perspicaciously whereby we retain nominal christianity and nominal atheism both as our national religions. [I confess that this locution, “nominal atheism” may prove controversial. By it one should understand merely that assemblage of atheists who feel compelled to confess their atheism. The parallel with the nominal christian should be made clear enough when considered in contrast to each their opposite, the ‘real’ or ‘true’ version of each.]
There’s more stuff in this Bantam. Not to spoil plot or anything by putting flowers on its grave, but here’s what’s there ::
“The Bickerstaff Papers” (three items) -- So a target easy which might be an equivalent today to the (still) easy target of astrological prognostication, may I suggest the TED talks?
“The Examiner: No. 14, Nov. 9, 1710”. I don’t know what this is because I’ve not read it yet but the title is rather appealing, to use an understatement expression.
“The Drapier’s Letters: The First Letter”. Required Reading, probably, for Wakeans and a variety of Finnegans, whether awake, alive or merely asleep.
“A Modest Proposal” I understand this to be a kind of PoMo cookbook (ie, a PoMoCoBo).
Swift’s Correspondence (a meager three exemplars). Again, do you know Stella & Stella? Ppt!
Swift’s Poems. God help us all if we’ve gotta read poems just for in order to get page=count credit!
Chronology. I always skip these things. As boring as History.
Selected Bibliography -- Please don’t tell me what to read. I’m perfectly happy just knowing what I like.
And to conclude, the opening line of the Introduction, not from Our Author’s hand ::
“Of satire in general and of Jonathan Swift in particular, this may safely be prognosticated -- * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * “✝
✝”"Here is pretended a defect in the manuscript, and this is very frequent with Our Reviewer, either when He thinks He cannot say anything worth reading, or when He has no mind to enter on the subject, or when it is a matter of little moment, or perhaps to amuse His reader (whereof he is frequently very fond) or lastly, with some satirical and plagiaristic intention.""
May 25, 2011
I picked up this collection because I wanted to read A Modest Proposal. It's one of those must-reads, and only nine pages long. Written in 1729, it's a bitingly satirical economic solution to the problem of poverty among Irish families with too many mouths to feed. Quite funny in some places, unless you're a very literal person, in which case you'll find it gruesome.
Here's a example: "I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled, and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee, or a ragout."
Three stars for that selection.
As for the rest of the book, I've decided not to waste my time. Since I had the book around, I slogged through Part I of Gulliver's Travels and then quit. I've heard about it all my life...classic, right? Huh, well, don't waste your time. I'm well aware that it is carefully veiled political satire aimed at specific personages, but it's now so outdated as to be meaningless. Even with the copious explanatory footnotes in the version I read, it made little sense to me. Besides that, it's un-be-freaking-lievably boring, and just plain gross in some places.
One star for Gulliver.
I read bits and pieces of other selections in the book, and won't be reading any more.
Overall assessment = 2 stars
Here's a example: "I have been assured by a very knowing American of my acquaintance in London, that a young healthy child well nursed is at a year old a most delicious, nourishing and wholesome food, whether stewed, roasted, baked, or boiled, and I make no doubt that it will equally serve in a fricassee, or a ragout."
Three stars for that selection.
As for the rest of the book, I've decided not to waste my time. Since I had the book around, I slogged through Part I of Gulliver's Travels and then quit. I've heard about it all my life...classic, right? Huh, well, don't waste your time. I'm well aware that it is carefully veiled political satire aimed at specific personages, but it's now so outdated as to be meaningless. Even with the copious explanatory footnotes in the version I read, it made little sense to me. Besides that, it's un-be-freaking-lievably boring, and just plain gross in some places.
One star for Gulliver.
I read bits and pieces of other selections in the book, and won't be reading any more.
Overall assessment = 2 stars
February 4, 2019
Fantastic adventure . A wonderful evocative journey into the dream world of the enlightenment.
October 5, 2017
This is just a review of Gulliver's Travels.
There are two ways to read this book: 1, as satire, and 2, as a fantasy/travel story. If I was living in 18th century Britain, I'm sure I would appreciate all the little jabs and bits of satire found within it. Unfortunately I do not, so I was only able to understand and appreciate a small amount of the wit.
Thus, I read it purely as a fictional narrative, which is simply what it is not meant to be. You get very little sense of who the narrator is as a person; the people he encounters are clearly meant to be satire, which the reader cannot comprehend. In my opinion, when fantasy elements only exist for the purpose of satire, they stop being fantasy. There was more focus on the culture of these beings (for the purposes of satire) than on any actual plot.
Not to mention, of all the bizarre places he visits, one of them is Japan, which apparently has trade relations with some of these fantastic creatures, and there is just so much wrong with that.
For people well versed in British political history of this time period, I'm sure the book is a delight, and if I was reading it at that time period, as a member of the intended audience, I may have appreciated it more. However, reading it as a tale of fiction I found it simultaneously dull and ridiculous, and overall found it to be distinctly un-enjoyable.
There are two ways to read this book: 1, as satire, and 2, as a fantasy/travel story. If I was living in 18th century Britain, I'm sure I would appreciate all the little jabs and bits of satire found within it. Unfortunately I do not, so I was only able to understand and appreciate a small amount of the wit.
Thus, I read it purely as a fictional narrative, which is simply what it is not meant to be. You get very little sense of who the narrator is as a person; the people he encounters are clearly meant to be satire, which the reader cannot comprehend. In my opinion, when fantasy elements only exist for the purpose of satire, they stop being fantasy. There was more focus on the culture of these beings (for the purposes of satire) than on any actual plot.
Not to mention, of all the bizarre places he visits, one of them is Japan, which apparently has trade relations with some of these fantastic creatures, and there is just so much wrong with that.
For people well versed in British political history of this time period, I'm sure the book is a delight, and if I was reading it at that time period, as a member of the intended audience, I may have appreciated it more. However, reading it as a tale of fiction I found it simultaneously dull and ridiculous, and overall found it to be distinctly un-enjoyable.
June 10, 2022
Finally forced myself through the last few parts of the Travels about the yahoo's and hounynms (whatever the spelling is). I don't understand why this is a beloved must-read classic. It's boring, there is no real plot, the issues it is satirising are non-issues today. Nothing Swift is trying to say felt relevant. His criticism of certain science topics just seem ignorant from the perspective of 2022. He's obsessed with bodily functions. It's not even good enough to be considered fantasy or children's lit. I can't imagine why anyone would subject a child to any of this. I wanted to read to check off a personal bucket list item. We don't have to keep holding these older books up as the greatest of all, classics that are necessary to read any longer. There are so many fantastic books in the world. Yes, this is just my opinion. This is book is utterly forgettable.
August 4, 2021
I enjoyed Gulliver's Travels so much! (But I have absolutely zero clue about what's going on in his "other writings.")
First of all, I gotta give it to Gulliver for being so adventurous and fearless that his history of being captured by bizarre creatures does not stop him from being down for his next odyssey. He's probably the pioneer of YOLO.
Next, the satires are profound and timeless. I love how Jonathan Swift organizes his satires so well. In Lilliput, he ridicules politics and governance, underscoring the pettiness of religious strife and warfare (the nations went to war over how they crack their eggs). In Brobdingnag, he mocks societal morality: Gulliver's consternation when the King repudiated the idea of using gunpowder, mankind's "greatest" invention, to frighten his subjects into subordination. In Laputa and the islands, he takes multiple jabs at modern science and philosophy (likely the Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution). Finally - and this is my favorite part - in Houyhnhnm, he exposed the ugly truths about human nature. It is only appropriate that in this final chapter, Gulliver ends his lifelong adventures after being utterly disillusioned and disgusted by humanity.
I highly recommend these reads. They aren't particularly exciting, but I can see how they ended up being considered 'classic literature.'
First of all, I gotta give it to Gulliver for being so adventurous and fearless that his history of being captured by bizarre creatures does not stop him from being down for his next odyssey. He's probably the pioneer of YOLO.
Next, the satires are profound and timeless. I love how Jonathan Swift organizes his satires so well. In Lilliput, he ridicules politics and governance, underscoring the pettiness of religious strife and warfare (the nations went to war over how they crack their eggs). In Brobdingnag, he mocks societal morality: Gulliver's consternation when the King repudiated the idea of using gunpowder, mankind's "greatest" invention, to frighten his subjects into subordination. In Laputa and the islands, he takes multiple jabs at modern science and philosophy (likely the Enlightenment and Industrial Revolution). Finally - and this is my favorite part - in Houyhnhnm, he exposed the ugly truths about human nature. It is only appropriate that in this final chapter, Gulliver ends his lifelong adventures after being utterly disillusioned and disgusted by humanity.
I highly recommend these reads. They aren't particularly exciting, but I can see how they ended up being considered 'classic literature.'
May 22, 2020
Funny. Interesting. An adventure.
February 23, 2021
Ahora veo por qué salió tan bardero Voltaire
January 17, 2023
Such a sad view of humanity as a whole. This was an unabridged version. I would have enjoyed the children’s version much better. This one is so bleak.
March 21, 2022
You would never suspect, but actually a pointed critique of European Colonialism and the assumed idea of the era of 'European Superiority'. So much better than the simplified children versions, and a good sense of humour also.
December 1, 2022
It was good but I expected a bit more; and I disliked the political aspects of it so to say.
November 4, 2012
I read this at the turn of the millennium, along with Ambrose Bierce and H. L. Mencken, as it seemed an ideal time to get to know the great cynics of the English language. I was mostly familiar with Gulliver through various child-oriented media adaptations, and had never really experienced the whole story as it was intended - as a satire of European society in the Age of "Enlightenment." Happily, this version gave me that opportunity, and was also annotated to give context to some of what Swift was lampooning, as well as a chance to read a few of Swift's other works.
“Gulliver’s Travels” is a novel-length tale that takes up just over half the volume. It is, I think, the most readily accessible to a modern reader of the works in here. It is a rousing adventure story, similar in some ways to “Robinson Crusoe,” in which a luckless traveler is castaway in unexplored regions of the Earth’s oceans and must fend for himself in a strange environment. Fortunately (mostly) for Gulliver, the islands he encounters are populated, but by various strange inhabitants, whose customs and physical form he must adapt to. The most well-known of these are the Lilliputians, who are the first people he encounters, and who stand only six inches high. They have a fairly European culture, in spite of their diminutiveness, and Gulliver gets along with them well, ultimately arbitrating in a war with their miniature neighbors which is started over which side of an egg one “ought” to crack open. This part is a mockery of the minor points of theology that divided Englighmen at the time, but can be extended to any sectarian dispute or cause for war. He later encounters a land of giants, in which he seems the Lilliputian, and also the dread Yahoos and the noble Houyhnhmms, a race descended from horses, who are clearly superior to human beings. Throughout, the language and descriptions are delightful, and there is enough action to hold the attention of a modern reader.
“The Tale of a Tub,” “The Battle of the Books,” and “The Mechanical Operation of the Spirit” are shorter pieces which satire English learned society in their spiritual hypocrisy, their divisiveness, and their disregard for tradition. “The Tale of a Tub” is fairly hard going, grounded in disputes of the day and using intentionally overblown language, although it does contain a good parody of the three major Christian sects of the day, and their lack of respect for their heritage. “Battle of the Books” is more exciting, with a library coming to life and drawing lines between “Ancients” and “Moderns,” who conduct an amusing war with one another. The “Ancients,” it is presumed, win due to their possessing greater substance. In some ways, it is a commentary on the proliferation of writing made possible by the printing press, and the corresponding decline of quality as quantity increased. This could be relevant to today’s explosion of electronic publishing as well. “Mechanical Operation of the Spirit” is a sort of parody of the “Enthusiastic” religious trend of his day, essentially arguing that they have confused sensual pleasure for religious devotion.
Also worth noting are “A Modest Proposal” and “The Abolishing of Christianity,” both of which satire positions in an extreme way, making it appear that the author is arguing for the exact opposite of what he wants. Instead, he is showing the logical conclusion of his opponent’s arguments, and thereby destroying that position. In “A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Ireland from Being Poor,” Swift argues satirically that the most kind approach to the problem of Ireland within the Empire would be to start eating Irish babies and prevent their continued procreation. It is worth noting that Swift was Irish himself, and felt that the English had no business trying to repress the Irish national spirit. “The Abolishing of Christianity in England” essentially argues that if the Church of England continues on its present course, there will be no future for Christianity in England. He pretends to be arguing against an already-decided course, and to be very humbly suggesting that Christianity’s merits may be being overlooked, but in fact he is arguing very strongly that political and religious developments in England are appalling.
There are several more small pieces in the book, including some of Swift’s poetry, which very from difficult to delightful. The whole is well worth the time of anyone interested in modern English writing and thought and its historical development.
“Gulliver’s Travels” is a novel-length tale that takes up just over half the volume. It is, I think, the most readily accessible to a modern reader of the works in here. It is a rousing adventure story, similar in some ways to “Robinson Crusoe,” in which a luckless traveler is castaway in unexplored regions of the Earth’s oceans and must fend for himself in a strange environment. Fortunately (mostly) for Gulliver, the islands he encounters are populated, but by various strange inhabitants, whose customs and physical form he must adapt to. The most well-known of these are the Lilliputians, who are the first people he encounters, and who stand only six inches high. They have a fairly European culture, in spite of their diminutiveness, and Gulliver gets along with them well, ultimately arbitrating in a war with their miniature neighbors which is started over which side of an egg one “ought” to crack open. This part is a mockery of the minor points of theology that divided Englighmen at the time, but can be extended to any sectarian dispute or cause for war. He later encounters a land of giants, in which he seems the Lilliputian, and also the dread Yahoos and the noble Houyhnhmms, a race descended from horses, who are clearly superior to human beings. Throughout, the language and descriptions are delightful, and there is enough action to hold the attention of a modern reader.
“The Tale of a Tub,” “The Battle of the Books,” and “The Mechanical Operation of the Spirit” are shorter pieces which satire English learned society in their spiritual hypocrisy, their divisiveness, and their disregard for tradition. “The Tale of a Tub” is fairly hard going, grounded in disputes of the day and using intentionally overblown language, although it does contain a good parody of the three major Christian sects of the day, and their lack of respect for their heritage. “Battle of the Books” is more exciting, with a library coming to life and drawing lines between “Ancients” and “Moderns,” who conduct an amusing war with one another. The “Ancients,” it is presumed, win due to their possessing greater substance. In some ways, it is a commentary on the proliferation of writing made possible by the printing press, and the corresponding decline of quality as quantity increased. This could be relevant to today’s explosion of electronic publishing as well. “Mechanical Operation of the Spirit” is a sort of parody of the “Enthusiastic” religious trend of his day, essentially arguing that they have confused sensual pleasure for religious devotion.
Also worth noting are “A Modest Proposal” and “The Abolishing of Christianity,” both of which satire positions in an extreme way, making it appear that the author is arguing for the exact opposite of what he wants. Instead, he is showing the logical conclusion of his opponent’s arguments, and thereby destroying that position. In “A Modest Proposal for Preventing the Children of Ireland from Being Poor,” Swift argues satirically that the most kind approach to the problem of Ireland within the Empire would be to start eating Irish babies and prevent their continued procreation. It is worth noting that Swift was Irish himself, and felt that the English had no business trying to repress the Irish national spirit. “The Abolishing of Christianity in England” essentially argues that if the Church of England continues on its present course, there will be no future for Christianity in England. He pretends to be arguing against an already-decided course, and to be very humbly suggesting that Christianity’s merits may be being overlooked, but in fact he is arguing very strongly that political and religious developments in England are appalling.
There are several more small pieces in the book, including some of Swift’s poetry, which very from difficult to delightful. The whole is well worth the time of anyone interested in modern English writing and thought and its historical development.
March 22, 2022
Audio book
This is one of the times when a book I read in college is less engaging and interesting when I reread it later in life. Yeah, I know about the social and political commentary. Wrote a paper on it.
Do not recommend
This is one of the times when a book I read in college is less engaging and interesting when I reread it later in life. Yeah, I know about the social and political commentary. Wrote a paper on it.
Do not recommend
July 25, 2023
I don't recall reading this book before. This is a satire of travel novels but also trying to be a discussion on culture and also seemed to be a moral tale. It's a bit uneven in execution. The first couple sections are straight-forward satire of travel novels. Then we move into a section where he lives amongst creatures which he forever after compares all to. My issue with this section was he went on an on about how crap English culture is and it sounds very bitter and with no nuance. He also spends a lot of time focusing on morals after this section because the culture he is in is so much better in his opinion. So, the book comes off, to me, rather long-winded and inconsistent in apparent point. That said - I now realize I should stop calling people yahoos. yikes Also, there's a few really weird things in this novel that probably made the readers blush back in the day!
March 30, 2009
has a collection of Swift's poems+ politically incorrect, "A Tale of a Tub." "A Description of the Morning" (1709) by Jonathan Swift
Now hardly here and there a hackney-coach
Appearing, showed the ruddy morn's approach.
Now Betty from her master's bed had flown,
And softly stole to discompose her own.
The slipshod prentice from his Master's door,
Had par'd the dirt, and sprinkled round the floor.
Now Moll had whirl'd her mop with dext'rous airs,
Prepar'd to scrub the entry and the stairs.
The youth with broomy stumps began to trace,
The kennel-edge where wheels had worn the place.
The small-coal man was heard with cadence deep,
'Till drown'd in shriller notes of chimney-sweep,
Duns at his Lordship's gate began to meet,
And brickdust Moll had scream'd thru half the street.
The turnkey now his flock returning sees,
Duly let out a-nights to steal for fees:
The watchful bailiffs take their silent stands;
And school-boys lad with sachels in their hands.
Simply loved this classic children's tale (THIS edition does have footnotes) As this author was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1667 the son of English parents. Active in politics, he returned to Ireland following years in England, filling the spot of "Chaplain to the Lord Justice," Jonathan Swift was a "Tory" a supporter of the Irish resistance. "A wee bit of history" lies in these pages....This edition has a collection of Swift's poems, correspondence + his politically incorrect, "A Tale of a Tub."
Now hardly here and there a hackney-coach
Appearing, showed the ruddy morn's approach.
Now Betty from her master's bed had flown,
And softly stole to discompose her own.
The slipshod prentice from his Master's door,
Had par'd the dirt, and sprinkled round the floor.
Now Moll had whirl'd her mop with dext'rous airs,
Prepar'd to scrub the entry and the stairs.
The youth with broomy stumps began to trace,
The kennel-edge where wheels had worn the place.
The small-coal man was heard with cadence deep,
'Till drown'd in shriller notes of chimney-sweep,
Duns at his Lordship's gate began to meet,
And brickdust Moll had scream'd thru half the street.
The turnkey now his flock returning sees,
Duly let out a-nights to steal for fees:
The watchful bailiffs take their silent stands;
And school-boys lad with sachels in their hands.
Simply loved this classic children's tale (THIS edition does have footnotes) As this author was born in Dublin, Ireland, in 1667 the son of English parents. Active in politics, he returned to Ireland following years in England, filling the spot of "Chaplain to the Lord Justice," Jonathan Swift was a "Tory" a supporter of the Irish resistance. "A wee bit of history" lies in these pages....This edition has a collection of Swift's poems, correspondence + his politically incorrect, "A Tale of a Tub."
November 5, 2010
There was some interesting social and political commentary in here, especially in Parts III and IV. And I appreciated that. And I know this complaint sort of is beside the point, but it's my honest complaint and I'm going to state it. Why the hell did this guy ever get married and have kids? He always goes on adventures because he apparently can't stand to be at home for more than a couple of months at a time and craves the open seas. And when he's on these adventures, he never seems to miss his family back home. It seems like an afterthought combined with a tidy way of wrapping up each tale--on the last page it's always "and then I returned home to my wife and children." The end. Annoying.
February 5, 2018
This is a book that everyone should read at some point in their life. I was surprised a few times to discover that some of the ideas that I thought were fairly new, actual were already being talked about in Swift's time. You can get a good view of what society was doing and how little some of it has changed over time. like with many classical books, we all think that we know the story until you read them. That's when you can get the little details hidden in the greater story that makes it complete and real. Go to the Library, Book Store or download it, but please do read it.
August 12, 2022
i didnt actually finish this lmao i think i'd like it more if i had more background knowledge on british history and knew what the guy was satirizing :// gulliver's travels wasn't as good as i expected it to be tbh it was pretty boring and i had to force myself to read through first few pages of it.
i couldn't even make it through the essays which made me sad bc i wanted to enjoy it SO BAD
i couldn't even make it through the essays which made me sad bc i wanted to enjoy it SO BAD
October 23, 2009
I read this years ago too, but I still remember a lot of it. ;-)
August 8, 2022
Read the complete Book Review by Njkinny and book quotes on Njkinny's Blog
Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift is one of the most popular classic books. Featuring an English Surgeon’s adventures as a ship Captain as he travels to the remote parts of the world, this book is a popular children’s book too!
First published in 1726, this book got immediate popularity and has never gone out-of-print since. Gulliver’s Travels, written by Jonathan Swift who was a clergyman as well as an Irish writer, is a satire on human nature as well as a parody of the “traveller’s tales” literary sub-genre. Also considered the best work by Swift and also an English literature classic, Cavehill in Belfast is thought to be the inspiration for this book.
"Difference in opinions has cost many millions of lives: for instance, whether flesh be bread, or bread be flesh; whether the juice of a certain berry be blood or wine.”
The book is also a satire on the state of the European government. Swift questions whether a man is inherently corrupt or does he become corrupt with time and company. This book is valid even today and one can relate the events to the hypocrisy, corruption and politics of the human race prevalent in the present times.
This is an intelligent piece of work and I was hooked till the very end. And then was left to reflect on what I had just read. So, a book that raises questions when read by adults, it is also capable of being read by children who will find it humorous, witty and imaginative. This is the beauty of the book as well the genius of the writer. A must read. 4.5 out of 5 stars to Gulliver’s Travels by Jonathan Swift, and Njkinny recommends this book to everyone.
Read
February 23, 2021This was one of those classic books I wanted to read for sake of both curiosity and to understand references to it. I knew it only from drawings and references of a giant man pinned down on the ground with many ropes and tiny people standing around him. I was surprised to find there was four different journeys for the protagonist Gulliver - only one of which was to the land of Lilliput where the inhabitants were only 6 inches tall. Thus I quite enjoyed when on his next journey he had become the small person by Brobdingnagian standards. These parts made me remember fondly stories I love settling in these types of worlds such as The BFG and The Borrowers and even a bit of Zelda! Though I’m unsure if Swift calculated out the size ratios for everything (I’m too lazy to work it out) but I had spent a lot of time considering what it would be like being very large or very small and he mentioned descriptions that I hadn’t even considered like how soft fabric to one was horribly rough for someone so tiny. I loved the travelling box idea that the queen of Brobdingnag had made for the Gulliver and the description of it being attached to belt loops of horse riders and such.
I was surprised by the subsequent journeys where Gulliver went to Luputa and the land of Houyhnhnms. I had thought the story might progress to a land where everyone is together but nope! The other two lands were quite random and didn’t seem to have connection to the first two - but that’s fine! I enjoyed Swift’s imagination. I loved Miyazaki’s anime film about Laputa so I could visualize it well.
All and all I liked the story. It reminded me a little of Don Quixote in its telling. Only thing was that Gulliver was a bit too passive for my liking and things happened to him rather than him making things happen so it told us little of who he was as a person or what he wanted. Hard to get away with that style writing anymore!
I was surprised by the subsequent journeys where Gulliver went to Luputa and the land of Houyhnhnms. I had thought the story might progress to a land where everyone is together but nope! The other two lands were quite random and didn’t seem to have connection to the first two - but that’s fine! I enjoyed Swift’s imagination. I loved Miyazaki’s anime film about Laputa so I could visualize it well.
All and all I liked the story. It reminded me a little of Don Quixote in its telling. Only thing was that Gulliver was a bit too passive for my liking and things happened to him rather than him making things happen so it told us little of who he was as a person or what he wanted. Hard to get away with that style writing anymore!
Read
March 9, 2022Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift is a very excellent novel. Jonathan Swift was an Irish satirist and this novel is the most famous novel as a satire (1726). Jonathan Swift is known for his satirist novels and this novel, the most famous novel of 18th Century, is his evidence.
There are two ways to reas this novel, first as a satire and the second one is as a fantasy and fiction story. This story is very humourous and contains many attracting things.
The story starts from Gulliver, who is a ship's doctor and he was om a ship when a storm hit him out of nowhere, destroying the ship into pieces. Gulliver swum and found himself on an island when he opened eyes after he woke, where hundreds of small 6 to 7 inch sized people (Lilliputians) were all around him and stucked into ropes and he was unable to move, after that they moved him into their palace. First they were afraid of him but then they gained trust on him as he helped them im many things dur to his giant size especially after he helped them in a war. After a long time spending with Lilliputians, Gulliver made it to his home by a ship and this is how this fiction and fantasy story ended. Between these, many humurous and unexpected events happened which made this novel quite interesting and attractive.
This all satire is a voyage based totally on fiction and fantasy. After reading this novel, a person feels very relaxing and happy because ita like an interaction of human being to another world based totally on fiction and fantasy and it toally revolves around a journey. This novel is also very easy for beginners as it is very small and its vocabulary is so far easy to understand.
So in my opinion this novel is very good to read, as its quite interesting and makes the reader very curious. So a fantastic way to enjoy a fantastic voyage based on fiction and fantasy plus humour.
There are two ways to reas this novel, first as a satire and the second one is as a fantasy and fiction story. This story is very humourous and contains many attracting things.
The story starts from Gulliver, who is a ship's doctor and he was om a ship when a storm hit him out of nowhere, destroying the ship into pieces. Gulliver swum and found himself on an island when he opened eyes after he woke, where hundreds of small 6 to 7 inch sized people (Lilliputians) were all around him and stucked into ropes and he was unable to move, after that they moved him into their palace. First they were afraid of him but then they gained trust on him as he helped them im many things dur to his giant size especially after he helped them in a war. After a long time spending with Lilliputians, Gulliver made it to his home by a ship and this is how this fiction and fantasy story ended. Between these, many humurous and unexpected events happened which made this novel quite interesting and attractive.
This all satire is a voyage based totally on fiction and fantasy. After reading this novel, a person feels very relaxing and happy because ita like an interaction of human being to another world based totally on fiction and fantasy and it toally revolves around a journey. This novel is also very easy for beginners as it is very small and its vocabulary is so far easy to understand.
So in my opinion this novel is very good to read, as its quite interesting and makes the reader very curious. So a fantastic way to enjoy a fantastic voyage based on fiction and fantasy plus humour.
April 9, 2019
Gulliver's Travels is one of those classics that, when you read it, you completely understand why it is so revered. It is truly a must read, and the sole reason this book gets five stars.
Now for the rest:
Tale of a Tub struck me as disjointed. I kept waiting for more of the story about the remaining brothers, especially Martin, after so much time is spent on John, Swift's lambasting of Catholicism. Ultimately, it's really only of interest if you're a Swift scholar.
Battle of the Books is amusing, but I have a hard time appreciating Swift's satire directed at "Moderns," many of whom we've come to respect as much as his ancients - Hobbes and Boyle struck me as particularly noteworthy. How can I take Swift seriously when he derides a chemist partially responsible for PV = nRT?
The Abolishing of Christianity is good, and A Modest Proposal is downright wonderful. Much of the rest is, again, of primary interest to people specifically interested in Swift and his times. Reading jibes aimed at people you've probably never heard of ceases to be amusing after a very short while.
And what is Swift's fascination with spleens? Weird Al Yankovic's favorite organ may be his pancreas, but Swift can't seem to go more than a few pages without mentioning spleens.
To sum up you should definitely read Gulliver's Travels, maybe some of the other works, and bring your spleen.
Now for the rest:
Tale of a Tub struck me as disjointed. I kept waiting for more of the story about the remaining brothers, especially Martin, after so much time is spent on John, Swift's lambasting of Catholicism. Ultimately, it's really only of interest if you're a Swift scholar.
Battle of the Books is amusing, but I have a hard time appreciating Swift's satire directed at "Moderns," many of whom we've come to respect as much as his ancients - Hobbes and Boyle struck me as particularly noteworthy. How can I take Swift seriously when he derides a chemist partially responsible for PV = nRT?
The Abolishing of Christianity is good, and A Modest Proposal is downright wonderful. Much of the rest is, again, of primary interest to people specifically interested in Swift and his times. Reading jibes aimed at people you've probably never heard of ceases to be amusing after a very short while.
And what is Swift's fascination with spleens? Weird Al Yankovic's favorite organ may be his pancreas, but Swift can't seem to go more than a few pages without mentioning spleens.
To sum up you should definitely read Gulliver's Travels, maybe some of the other works, and bring your spleen.
December 16, 2022
A closet libertarian.
It is not Jonathan Swift’s fault that the writing is archaic. This may be overlooked if it was not so redundant and trivial. It can easily put you to sleep.
We all know that these stories are supposed to be a thin veil for an agenda. Everyone from H. G. Wells to Ayn Rand hit you over the head with their agenda from the first. But no Jonathan rattles with 10 pages to describe what is in his pockets including his hidden pocket. (Who Cares?) And the book is filled with mundane descriptions. I think he is using this to flesh out what would be a 25-page manifesto. It is not until you get halfway through the book that, except for a few snide remarks about kings he finally coughs up his point.
“…, whether a private man’s house might not be better defended by himself, his children, and family, then by half-a-dozen rascals, picked up at a venture in the streets for small wages, who might get a hundred times more by cutting their throats?”
He goes on to pick on just about all the politics and ventures of England at the time. Paranoid readers can see the parallels between the book and today’s news. However, if it is that important then dump Swift and just watch the news.
Anyhow it is not worth the time to read this book unless you are interested in someone that defecates at the end of his chain and dells about it in detail.
It is not Jonathan Swift’s fault that the writing is archaic. This may be overlooked if it was not so redundant and trivial. It can easily put you to sleep.
We all know that these stories are supposed to be a thin veil for an agenda. Everyone from H. G. Wells to Ayn Rand hit you over the head with their agenda from the first. But no Jonathan rattles with 10 pages to describe what is in his pockets including his hidden pocket. (Who Cares?) And the book is filled with mundane descriptions. I think he is using this to flesh out what would be a 25-page manifesto. It is not until you get halfway through the book that, except for a few snide remarks about kings he finally coughs up his point.
“…, whether a private man’s house might not be better defended by himself, his children, and family, then by half-a-dozen rascals, picked up at a venture in the streets for small wages, who might get a hundred times more by cutting their throats?”
He goes on to pick on just about all the politics and ventures of England at the time. Paranoid readers can see the parallels between the book and today’s news. However, if it is that important then dump Swift and just watch the news.
Anyhow it is not worth the time to read this book unless you are interested in someone that defecates at the end of his chain and dells about it in detail.
March 19, 2023
While I enjoyed reading most of Gulliver's tales in the beginning, in the end I came to despise the character for being selfish, scornful, and unfeeling towards his own people, worse still, towards his own family! He leaves his family for years and years for exploration to other fantastical countries and peoples and under subjugation by them, and not even caring how his abandoning them takes a toll on his family and children. His family even welcomes him back with open arms and happiness and he gives them derision and disgust for being the similar-looking species as the ones he encountered in horse country. How can he even compare? I've got no respect for a person like this.
The author chose to make him into a selfish family man who leaves his family for his own desires for freedom and travels when he could've just created a character without family attachments and responsibilities, which brings me to believe the author fantasises about this for himself but probably didn't have the guts to do it himself. I don't know anything about Jonathan Swift, it's just a presumption based on how he wrote the character of Gulliver. Disgustingly horrible kind of person he made.
The author chose to make him into a selfish family man who leaves his family for his own desires for freedom and travels when he could've just created a character without family attachments and responsibilities, which brings me to believe the author fantasises about this for himself but probably didn't have the guts to do it himself. I don't know anything about Jonathan Swift, it's just a presumption based on how he wrote the character of Gulliver. Disgustingly horrible kind of person he made.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
November 4, 2024
I listened to "Gulliver's Travels" solely on audiobook, which I hardly ever do (not that there's anything wrong with reading that way, I just personally prefer to annotate; I also pay attention better when I have the physical book in front of me)(I also only realized a week or so ago that this is the wrong version of the book, but I don't care enough to find the correct one on Goodreads). That being said, despite my less than full attention, I didn't enjoy this book as much as I had hoped to. There were parts that held my attention, and I appreciate Jonathan Swift's digs at his current government, but the longer the book went on, the less I cared. The final section was downright offensive even. I simply got tired of the nonsense, I think. I'm glad to have checked this classic off my list, but I won't be singing its praises.
December 6, 2019
I've read the original in my young adulthood, 10 years after I've become a fan of the Russian translation. The Russian translation, despite being one of the less equivocal and more violent children's books published during the Soviet and early-post-Soviet period, is still much tamer than the original.
As with the "Harry Potter" saga's French edition, the translation improved and changed the nature of the book from an obscure salacious semi-political parody into a recognizeable, and we could even argue - a sort of a Platonic ideal of the children's books about the differences in cultures and societies.
I suspect it could be the same with the French, Japanese and Norwegian translation of it, that I can read but I haven't yet and so far.
As with the "Harry Potter" saga's French edition, the translation improved and changed the nature of the book from an obscure salacious semi-political parody into a recognizeable, and we could even argue - a sort of a Platonic ideal of the children's books about the differences in cultures and societies.
I suspect it could be the same with the French, Japanese and Norwegian translation of it, that I can read but I haven't yet and so far.
September 22, 2025
I just reread Books I, II, and IV for class, and I forgot how fun they are! At a surface level, I really enjoy the whimsical, adventurous tale. The writing is clear & the story is transparent. It's such a fun read, even without diving into any deeper meaning. Going into the satire is fun, too, though. I enjoy all of Swift's writing; he has such a way of categorizing the vices and horrors of humankind. I really enjoy that after all of Gulliver's experiences, even after falling upon a hatred of Yahoos (humans), we have the kind Captain Mendez, who Swift uses as an example of normalcy and how we should aspire to be. There is a goodness amongst all the disgust and terror that humankind evokes.
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