Review of Gulliver's Travels

(Originally written March 23, 2018)

My Goodreads review of Gulliver's Travels by Jonathan Swift

When I was a kid I read the abridged versions of classics like this one. As a reward my mother would have me read the unabridged versions and write a book report on them. A great way to spend your summer vacation, right? Being younger, I hadn't quite grasped satire. The first version of this book that I read included, A Modest Proposal. Needless to say the shock of reading about poor people selling their children off as food for the rich shocked me? Now, as an adult, and understanding a trifle more of what satire is, I can still say I was shocked by this book.

Swift is nearly as ruthless as Voltaire in his bluntness. He excoriates mankind and lays bare the ugliest parts of human nature to show those qualities to be inherent and truly fundamental. He hammers home the point that we all are merely Yahoos.

Beyond being good satire this book is a good story. It's easy to read and moves quickly. While it compares to Voltaire, I still find the pace of Candide to be preferable - but that is merely opinion, and not a rational fact.