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Gulliver's Travels (Signet Classics (Paperback))
Books: Travel: Arabian Peninsula: Item 8
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Gulliver's Travels (Signet Classics (Paperback))by Jonathan Swift and Leo Damrosch
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6 of 10 people found the following review helpful: Satirical Classic, January 4, 2000 Reviewer:C. Gilbert "frumiousb" (Amsterdam, the Netherlands) - I haven't read this book since I read it as a child, and it was amazing how much of it had stuck with me, and how vividly. There were sections (particularly in Brobdingnag) where I could almost recite word-for-word what was going to happen next. Happily, like Alice in Wonderland, this is a book that ages very well. There was still the element of being just a plain old good travel story with strong images (particularly in the Lilliput and Brobdingnag sections) but there was also a wicked sense of satire that continues to be relevant and funny now more than three hundred years after the book was originally written. The latter two sections of the book-- Laputa and the land of the Houyhnhnms-- are perhaps a little less vivid for being more pointed in their satirical content (interestingly I have no memory of these sections from my childhood reading) but that in no way detracts from the value of the book. A must-read.
From School Library Journal
Gr 7 Up-Jonathan Swift's satirical novel was first published in 1726, yet it is still valid today. Gulliver's Travels describes the four fantastic voyages of Lemuel Gulliver, a kindly ship's surgeon. Swift portrays him as an observer, a reporter, and a victim of circumstance. His travels take him to Lilliput where he is a giant observing tiny people. In Brobdingnag, the tables are reversed and he is the tiny person in a land of giants where he is exhibited as a curiosity at markets and fairs. The flying island of Laputa is the scene of his next voyage. The people plan and plot as their country lies in ruins. It is a world of illusion and distorted values. The fourth and final voyage takes him to the home of the Houyhnhnms, gentle horses who rule the land. He also encounters Yahoos, filthy bestial creatures who resemble humans. The story is read by British actor Martin Shaw with impeccable diction and clarity and great inflection. If broken into short listening segments, the tapes are an excellent tool for presenting an abridged version of Gulliver's Travels.-Jean Deck, Lambuth University, Jackson, TN
Copyright 2001 Cahners business Information, Inc.
--This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.From AudioFile
Naxos follows its usual practice of punctuating the narrative with carefully chosen classical music segments appropriate to the mood of the particular part of the story. Neville Jason reads this classic satire, supposedly a travelogue to remote islands with bizarre inhabitants, with an intense British voice that is crisp and effective. This is a heavy abridgment of the original, with some choppiness in continuity. Everyone will recognize the Lilliputians and the giants of Brogdingnag; the airborne islanders and intelligent horses are less familiar. Abridger Daniel Eilon retains the story's essential core, and Jason captures the tone well. D.W. (c)AudioFile, Portland, Maine --This text refers to the Audio Cassette edition.
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