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emilymsimpson's review against another edition
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
3.75
lesliegamboa's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
thishannah's review against another edition
A strange and quiet little book, but I was captivated from start to finish. Muriel Spark is a brilliant writer. January Marlow is the slightly irritable (but not irritating) heroine I never knew I needed.
rebeccarg's review against another edition
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
4.25
giddypony's review against another edition
3.0
I'm not sure how I feel - while it is praised for its "realism" damn, this book is heavy on the symbolism. A man shaped island? The island named after the owner? tunnels? volcanoes that scream? and on and on. I kept feeling I was missing half the point of the book because I didn't understand the symbolism. Don't know what someone who didn't have a Christian background would do with it.
tvdetective's review against another edition
5.0
Robinson is a story about a woman who gets stranded on a small private island near the Azores with three strangers. The first imagery this story brings to mind is, of course, the iconic desert island sort: palm trees, the ocean, perhaps the plane that crashed.
But this seemed a little too obvious. The desert island is the setting, but what actually propels the action? The castaways do not need to work toward their rescue, as the owner of the island has assured them they will be saved when the workers arrive to harvest his pomegranates in the first half of August.
The phrase "the pomegranate boat" repeated throughout the book came to represent to me the major conflict: surviving the months of waiting together until rescue came.
https://mo-kerwin.com/robinson
readerstephen86's review against another edition
3.75
Typically playful, and in this case a Crusoe-esque journey around a human-shaped island where increasingly dark murder-mystery meanderings takes a typically Sparkian turn. Somehow Spark's miniature novels leave enough space for a real yarn. I cannot imagine many novelists could achieve so much in the 180-230 words that Spark often allows for her novels. If I had to put together an ingredients list for this one, it would be: 30÷ Defoe; 40÷ Golding; 20÷ Spark's secret spice - there is a certain amount of native genius that I'm going to give Spark, allowing that genius steals, and I expect there is another influence out there somewhere!
booktwitcher23's review against another edition
2.0
Not my preferred choice of a Sparks novel - being a psychological thriller on an island. I prefer her more domestic style novels.
capcom's review
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25