Friday, January 8, 2010

Robinson Crusoe


A few days back I happened into a used bookstore, and before I knew it, I was walking out with three books. Only thing was, all of these were classic Young Adult (YA) novels. I've been reading these books this week, hoping that they might inspire me to get back to work on some YA novels of my own. I have two that I want to send to editors very soon.

One of these used books was a copy of Robinson Crusoe, the ancient Daniel Defoe tale about a man stranded on a deserted island for twenty-six years. That's much longer than the three years that Tom Hanks spent on his island in Castaway, but there is no doubt that Steven Spielberg used Defoe's tale as a cheat sheet for his movie.

My wife has always loved Castaway. Every time it's on TV she watches it and says, "I love that movie." I ask her why she loves it and she just says, "Just dreaming, honey . . . just dreaming."

Secretly, I think she is hoping that I will end up on an island somewhere so she can try out eHarmony.com.

That's the problem with old concepts like Robinson Crusoe and an island full of cannibals. Those were the fears that 17th century people carried when they considered being stranded on an island. Now, they fear not having access to the internet so they can begin dating again.

But there's enough savagery and butchery in Crusoe to keep me fastened to the edge of my seat. And in case I'm ever stranded on an island, you can bet I'll know how to survive. That, and I'll call my wife every couple of days on my cell phone just to check in. I'll be asking, "What's for dinner?" or "You're not seeing anyone are you?"

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