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DianaC
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| Posted: Nov 02 2010 at 12:33pm | IP Logged
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Warning: Spoilers!
I have been looking forward to reading this with my daughter this year and we are now about 1/2 way through. My daughter has asked several times to stop reading it (this is the first book ever to which she reacted in this way), but I had never read it before and since it seems to be so often recommended among the better reading lists, I thought we should continue and expected it to get better. We've watched the old Disney movie several times and enjoyed it very much. To us, this is one instance where the movie was much better than the book.
We've both been troubled with how quick the characters are to shoot any creature they see. (We have no issues with hunting, but the behavior in this book seems so excessive). Last night we were reading the chapter called "The Midnight Raid" about how they killed all the birds and then the slaughter of all of the monkeys. This was just too much! We're putting the book away. I am very surprised about this book. I was expecting so much more!
Am I completely missing something of value that would eclipse this excessive behavior?
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hylabrook1
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| Posted: Nov 02 2010 at 4:19pm | IP Logged
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We had the same experience here a couple of years ago. I don't have any answers, but I do know that different aspects of certain things are more or less accepted by different people.Mind you, I'm the mom who got panicky during the first 10 minutes of Finding Nemo, when nobody was making it very easy for the father fish to catch up with his son. Seriously. I couldn't deal. 
Peace,
Nancy
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Nique
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| Posted: Nov 02 2010 at 5:13pm | IP Logged
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I read this book a couple of months ago myself, while deciding if it should become a read-aloud. Realized it wouldn't hold my kids interest. It hardly did my own 
Boy was I relieved to see this thread. It is reaffirming to read others felt the same as I did! Sometimes I don't understand why some books are considered "Classics".
Another book I will not read aloud is "Oliver Twist". Very depressing 
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ekbell
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| Posted: Nov 02 2010 at 5:41pm | IP Logged
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First of all no one person will enjoy every recommended book, if only becouse people have different tastes.
When talking about Swiss Family Robinson, the first question is which version? (see http://www.jimandellen.org/montolieu/robinsonsuisse.html)
The version I have from a child has lots of animal domestication (pets as well as utility) and building of strange homes as well as hunting-as a child I remembered it as the story which made grilling and eating grubs sound most appetizing. I quite enjoyed the book with its fantastic island providing opportunities for the narrator to give information on a multitude of topics but I'd not say that it was for everyone.
The bird and monkey killing didn't bother me more then it did the narrator because the bird killing was to provide winter provisions (preserved in lard!) and the monkeys had been shown to be terribly distructive. As well my copy spent more time talking about the birds that they captured alive to domesticate then the killing.
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Angie Mc
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| Posted: Nov 02 2010 at 6:32pm | IP Logged
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I never finished reading this aloud...Father's personality (his constant confidence and endless attention to and description of detail) became too much for me .
Father is fab in the movie, though, which is sweet and a big fave of my boys  .
Love,
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Angie Mc
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Willa
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| Posted: Nov 03 2010 at 10:12am | IP Logged
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DianaC wrote:
| Am I completely missing something of value that would eclipse this excessive behavior? |
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I think part of the reason the book is on booklists is because it depicts a certain time period and culture and thus helps give us a kind of perspective that can be hard to get otherwise. It is interesting to discuss with the kids how a modern family might act differently in those particular circumstances.
Plus, the "Robinson" genre is long-lived and durable-- from Robinson Crusoe to "Lost in Space". The basic story is in some ways a paradigm of our western civilization and again, interesting to see how different time periods handle the subject matter and ethical choices. The focus on mechanical detail was delightful to that time period -- for us it doesn't work so well because we are used to just flipping switches and getting things done for us.
That being said, we had pretty much the same experience as you did. I read it to my oldest when he was twelve. He was usually very tolerant about a wide range of reading material, but he became so offended by the killing that he would just grumble every time we picked up the book -- Father had lost all his moral credibility for my son. So I put it aside about 2/3 through because I didn't want him associating his hostile feelings with Christianity, etc.
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Angie Mc
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| Posted: Nov 03 2010 at 3:32pm | IP Logged
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Willa wrote:
The focus on mechanical detail was delightful to that time period -- for us it doesn't work so well because we are used to just flipping switches and getting things done for us.
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So true. Combine this with my natural inclination toward the macro and, well, I was doomed  .
Initerestingly, my boys and I are enjoying Stephen Crane. His writing is very detailed, yet I can handle it in the short story format. Baby steps  .
Love,
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Angie Mc
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Elena
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We're having a similar experience with Robinson Crusoe. However, I got the book on tape with a professional narrator, and my 9th and 7th graders got all the way through it!
I should mention that my 12th grader is studying for the CLEP test in analyzing literature and there are lots of prose and poetry that are from different time periods and different styles, so it doesn't hurt to expose the kids ahead of time to books and materials outside of their normal comfort zones and preferences. 
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LucyP
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| Posted: Nov 04 2010 at 9:39am | IP Logged
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I loved it when I was about ten. But as an adult? I hated it. I was actually really sad to find the magic had died.
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kingvozzo
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I don't know which version/translation it was, be we listened to an audio version of the book, narrated by Jim Weiss, which was riveting! It wasn't his usual "storyteller's (abridged) version," he was reading the book. We all enjoyed it.
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4Real Forums : Living Literature
Topic: Can't finish Swiss Family Robinson
