Review of the book "Swiss Family Robinson"

Swiss Family Robinson
By Johann Wyss
Genre: Action / Adventure
No. of pages: 344 (Grosset and Dunlap Edition)

Plot
A Swiss family decides to live in a colony abroad. Unfortunately for them, the ship carrying them runs into a storm. The ship gets wrecked and everyone except the family escapes in life boats.

The family makes a vessel out of wood and sails to to the nearby island. Over the course of the next few days, they bring livestock, seeds and hardware from the wreck. The family builds three houses for themselves. They live in a tree-house in summer and dwell in a cave in winter. They explore the island and discover new plants and berries that are useful. They are very successful in cultivating their own food. They also have many encounters with wild animals and manage to domesticate some.

Over time, the family comes to love the island and name in New Switzerland. They also discover another person shipwrecked on the island.

One day, a ship arrives and suddenly the family is faced with a difficult decision: to leave the island and return to civilisation or to stay on.

Setting
The story is set at sea and on New Switzerland, a tropical island.

Recommendation
Some parts of the book were dull and did not bear relevance to the story, while others are re-readable. I would recommend this book for people who like slow adventure and those who like biology and science.