FB: (Vintage Paperback Forum) "Gulliver's Travels" by Jonathan Swift. I read this as sophomore in high school in about 1966. I remember enjoying this a lot. My original cover, complete with doodles, which I still own.

very good/good

It was worth reading at least once. Definitely not my favorite book but I loved the snarky British humor. It has some very long descriptive parts that made it hard to stay focused on. ( )

I was pleasantly surprised when I read this book. In addition to the travels with which we are all familiar, there were other mysterious lands also visited by Gulliver.

There are a number of philosophical thoughts sprinkled throughout, as well as a number of jabs delivered to the government. There are a lot of political viewpoints and legal suggestions that take this work into an intellectual realm without detracting from the story.

A solid novel, worth reading. ( )

Gulliver is a ship's surgeon. He takes four voyage and through various circumstances finds himself in strange lands. In Lilliput he is a giant. The inhabitants are tiny people who at first appear cute, but upon closer inspection the reader realizes they are an extremely petty population. The next voyage lands Gulliver in Brobdingnag. Here Gulliver is dwarfed by the people. Interestingly, for Gulliver, the roles are reversed; he now appears to be the petty, peevish individual. On voyage three, Gulliver visits Laputa, Balnibarbi, Glubbdudrib, Luggnagg, and Japan. Most of the time the inhabitants view life in an inaccurate perspective. Gulliver realizes most of the people embrace ideas that are not really practical. He also sees that the upper class and royalty persecute those that are not their equals.The final voyage provides Gulliver interaction with the Houyhnhnms and the Yahoos. The Houyhnhnms are a most logical race and greatly admired by Gulliver. The Yahoos, on the other hand, are brutish and savage. Gulliver despises this race. Unfortunately, when Gulliver returns home he views his fellow humans as very similar to the Yahoos and can hardly tolerate their presence, including his wife! Gulliver, for all of his exotic travels, appears utterly unhappy in his existence.