2006-07-18 - 11:10 a.m. - The Swiss Family Robinson, by Johann Wyss
What a huge letdown! You really should not be able to make "family stranded on desert island fends off the elements and builds a society out of coconuts and bamboo" boring, but somehow this book pulls it off.
I mean, really, this is a fool-proof formula! Unfortunately The Swiss Family Robinson is a didactic novel by a pastor, aiming to show his flock that through hard work, the family unit, and humility before God, you can survive anything with absolutely no difficulties or suspense. Within a few days of being stranded on the island, the family has virtually all of their basic needs addressed, and within months they have three different headquarters, a couple of farms, a fleet of three or four seaworthy boats, sixteen pet animals, and so many seamen's chests of unknown goodies that they don't even open them all, saving them as surprises for special occasions! I mean, come on! Even the, like, thirteen-year-old kid in Hatchet gets knocked over by a tornado and rammed by a moose and so on.
Nothing ever poses a real challenge to Father-Knows-Best, who immediately sees the usefulness of every native plant or animal, and is able to construct such unlikely contrivances as life jackets and spinning wheels out of driftwood and animal bones. That stuff is all good escapist fun for the self-imagined craftsperson, I admit, but there's nothing else going on to keep the energy level up. The one time they're threatened by anything (a giant boa constrictor), the chapter is helpfully titled "The Death of the Serpent" just to kill any possible dramatic tension. Many possible subplot opportunities are ignored - for example, it would have been entertaining and suspenseful to have at least some of their island inventions fail, backfire, or at least go through some awkward trial and error.
Characterization is utterly flat, with each family member having one vague personality trait (cautious, headstrong, wise guy, etc.) and becoming almost imperceptibly more mature as their time on the island goes by.
There are small joys to be found, of course, in the construction of treehouses and cave dwellings and other things that whet the imagination. And if you can put off thoughts of "exactly what sort of island is this supposed to be?" it's kind of fun that they manage to hunt both elephants and walruses in the same country. I also like that, once they've finished raiding their shipwreck for its endless assortment of creature comforts, they blow it up even though it might conceivably serve as a distress flag to passing boats. As Matt puts it - "Well it seems to be a family that finds a use for everything and if they've found explosives they've got to use them somewhere..." A little more of that type of thing would have made this a lot more delightful.
There are a number of other plot points that defy explanation - why does it take them so long to begin exploring the rest of the island? what was the point of the woman disguising herself as a man? - but I guess plausibility is kind of a luxury in a book like this anyway. I don't entirely regret reading this one, as my imagination is now fully restocked with fun desert island treehouse material, but I couldn't possibly recommend it to anyone else.