The Journal of the Plague Year: London, 1665 Audiobook (Unabridged)

" Interesting historical fiction about a horrible, horrible time... "

" An early docudrama. Daniel DeFoe's fictionalized account of the 1666 Plague of London. "

" Considered as a work of fiction, it's not much of a novel, rambling around and sometimes repeating itself, including some dry details about the numbers of dead (including charts). However, as an account of the plague, written by someone who experienced it, it's pretty fascinating. "

" A terrifying walk around London during the plague outbreak in 1665. A tough read but worth it. "

" I wanted to read this book to find out more about this awful period of history, but hadn't realized it was actually the first "mockumentary" This account of the London plague of 1665 is vivid, grotesque, fascinating, but it is not the memoir of an adult. It's a mix of Defoe's boyhood memories, other people's accounts, in other words, fiction, represented as Defoe's memories. A scary precedent? "

" Surely Geraldine Brooks read Defoe in the process of researching Year of Wonders. Defoe fights the urge to analyze the plague in terms of his religious beliefs and is left finally with only the powerful sense that he survived. Indeed, and we are grateful for that! "

" bummed it's fiction. "

" This reads as non-fiction, and offers many insights into the effect, socially and commercially, of the 1665 plague in London. Very worthwhile for students of public health history. "

" Generally I'll look over a "classic" if its publishers feel the need to preface it with literary explanations of WHY it is good. I ignored this rule, and more fool me. "

" The book get interesting someway through the middle but the whole I time I wondering, why? Why is this man walking around? Just stay in your house. "

" Bleak and broad in its scope, watch a civilization come close to collapse in this historical fiction. Scary how close some of the reactions from centuries ago sound to reactions of today. Brilliant. Good pairing next to WORLD WAR Z or even THE ROAD "

" A street by street account of the plague's spread in London. What's not to like? "

" Dark, harrowing, fictitious retelling of the plague in London in 1665. Worth the read just to see how they handled the situation... "

" Not destined to become a fan favorite, but I happened to check this audiobook out from NetLibrary at the same time as the Diary of Samuel Pepys, so it made for an interesting contrast. "

" A narrative of the 1665 plague in London "

" A fascinating look at this time in history. "

" A man decides to ride out the outbreak of plague in London and records his thoughts in journal form. Dafoe really makes you feel like you're there in the middle of the outbreak with his graphic and detailed descriptions. "

" Eh...Daniel Defoe is important because he is the father of the English novel, not because he's particularly good. I read it, it was okay. I'd rather read Swift. "

" very readable. Gives a glimpse of what it is like to struggle with a deadly disease when you don't have the technology to understand why it is happening. Had to look it up to see it was a novel instead of an actual account. The novel is thought to be based on Defoe's uncle actual journal. "

" I feel like it's morbid to like this, but it was really great and fascinating. "

" Unbelievably boring despite an interesting subject "

" I read this in college. It's tedious in a way -- one bursting boil after another -- but there's nothing like it to give a feel for the terror and confusion of that time. "

" I did loose concentration halfway through but it was a well written and factual book! "

" very readable. Gives a glimpse of what it is like to struggle with a deadly disease when you don't have the technology to understand why it is happening. Had to look it up to see it was a novel instead of an actual account. The novel is thought to be based on Defoe's uncle actual journal. "

" I hope the plague never hits here! It was in the old days, but must have been a nightmare. "

" this guy is wordy. but once you get past that, there's some interesting facts and a few stories. had he been less a walking dictionary, i would've enjoyed it more. "

" Unbelievably boring despite an interesting subject "

" Even though it's a fictional journal this book reflects the haunting reality of the plague days. The text meant to be a journal there's no real plot in it but many short stories of victims and comments on the way the disease was handled. Not all that entertaining but very informative. "

" The book get interesting someway through the middle but the whole I time I wondering, why? Why is this man walking around? Just stay in your house. "

" Read for 18th c. print culture. I really enjoy this book, even though it's sort of a strange read, with all its death counts, singular unbroken narrative, and episodic recountings of the plague. There's just something fascinating about the way Defoe reaches back into time with this book. "

" Not destined to become a fan favorite, but I happened to check this audiobook out from NetLibrary at the same time as the Diary of Samuel Pepys, so it made for an interesting contrast. "

" I read this in conjunction with several articles on experiments done on Yersinia Pestis, the notorious black death microbe. That made the read more interesting. "

" This was a bit of a struggle to get through (because of the older style English) but I enjoyed reading one of the first examples of journalistic style fiction. "

" Describes the horrible scenes of one personally living through the time of the plague in London. Also recommend Year of Wonders by Geraldine Brooks if you want to see the plague as it affected small villages. I find it amazing that we can read this account from one who actually lived then. "

" I've spent two or three nights just reading the appendices and introductions. Fascinating to think of Defoe as a journalist way back then. I'm going to have to memorize the street map of London. "

" So, I guess this book was the first of the genre for historical fiction. Chilling and extremely readable for a 300 year old book. Even-handed and comprehensive description of the social, religious, economic, and personal impact of the 1665 plague of London. "