"The Swiss Family Robinson" by Johann Wyss

Well, the book wasn't really "written" by Johann Wyss. It was written by his father and later edited by his son Johann before publication. But I digress...

I don't quite know how to sum up this book. At times I found it very interesting and enjoyed the family's grit and knowledge that helped them survive on a deserted island. But much of the book included the unnecessary killing of many animals of every sort - in nearly every chapter; their bodies left to rot without being used for life-sustaining food or provision (I am by no means a foe of hunting but it really was ridiculous).

With all that in mind, this was a book written by a father in the 18th century to entertain his four sons. Boys running wild with pistols packed at their sides, coming across all sorts of exotic animals and being able to tame some and hunt others must have been a thrilling read for his sons. While reading this book, I think it is important to keep the author's place in time and his intention to entertain HIS sons, in mind. The plot is slow going, but so are many other books of a coeval nature. The pirates depicted in the Disney movie never showed up; there was no pump organ in the treehouse to sing "O Tannenbaum" by.

I do plan to read this book aloud to my children in the near future. So many animals are described in each chapter that I think it would be fun to keep our animal encyclopedia close at hand to look up pictures of those creatures named in the book. The ingenuity and hard work of the family, including long-lost skills were fascinating to read about (although it seemed that the father especially had some unrealistically fantastic abilities and knowledge about the natural sciences).

I marked one paragraph in the book that summed up the parts I enjoyed about the book: "The more there was to do the better. I never ceased contriving fresh improvements, being fully aware of the importance of constant employment as a means of strengthening and maintaining the health of mind and body. This, indeed, with a consciousness of continual progress toward a desirable end, is found to constitute the main element of happiness."

I have to admit that I enjoyed the Disney movie better than the book (that is a very rare admittance). This is probably due to the fact that I am a product of the 20th and 21st centuries and must have constant adventure/plot development/excitement in what I view and read.