The Swiss Family Robinson

By: Johann David Wyss, Johann Rudolf Wyss

Narrated by: Taylor Pepper

"The Swiss Family Robinson" by Wyss and Son is a novel, intended to teach Wyss' four sons about family values, good husbandry, the uses of the natural world and self-reliance. Wyss' attitude toward education is in line with the teachings of Jean-Jacques Rousseau, and many of the episodes have to do with Christian-oriented moral lessons such as frugality, husbandry, acceptance, cooperation, etc.

The adventures are presented as a series of lessons in natural history and the physical sciences, and resemble other, similar educational books for children in this period. The novel opens with the family in the hold of a sailing ship, weathering a great storm. The ships' passengers evacuate without them, and William and Elizabeth Robinson and their four children (Fritz, Ernest, Jack and Francis) are left to survive alone. As the ship tosses about, the father - William - prays that God will spare them.

Johann David Wyss (1743-1818) was a Swiss pastor. Johann Rudolf Wyss (1782-1830) was one of his sons, a writer and folklorist who wrote the former Swiss national anthem: "Rufst Du, mein Vaterland".©2018 Audioliterature (P)2018 Audioliterature

A classic adventure!

This classic work of fiction can stir the senses of all who listen to it. Although a land such as is described does not exit with the flora and fauna, the story is still riveting.

Being read as a narrative through the eyes of the male protagonist by a female voice actor takes some getting used to.

The actual story line does get a bit far fetched,but it’s still entertaining.

Be ready for 19th century animal topics including hunting, animal husbandry, and other natural (yet unpalatable to today’s) processes.

I recommend this unabridged version of the tale, because it will shed much light on how things used to be done... even by the educated!

Faith, science, family combination

The animal & plant kingdoms, wonders of nature, faith in God & divine providence, warm family interactions make this story fascinating.

What in the actual frick

My family and I generally like to listen to audiobooks on long road trips. We bought this book because it was long, and we generally like survival stories like The Martian. The book starts out with a family on a boat. The boat sinks, and shortly thereafter, we discover the family has absolutely NO feelings or remorse. The first signs we see of this is when they enslave a turtle to tug their raft along. They arrive on the island, and promptly take out their guns and kill everything in sight. I quote, ‘ “Daddy! Look at those beautiful penguins!” I promptly took out my gun and shot three of them. “Run along now. Rope the rest and bring them back to camp for breeding” ‘ I generally show this to my friends as a joke and I must say, some of them can’t even listen to a full five minutes without hearing some sort of violence and asking me to shut it off. Would not recommend.

Do.
Not.
Buy!