Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
 Beyond Imagination December 14, 2007
Capt John Rowlands (Anglesey, Wales, UK)
Imagine every other person in your social circle, family, friends, workplace and high street dropping dead. This was the reality of the Black Death, at least in the more crowded settlements. A tragedy beyond imagination that Defoe brings alive.
It's not the mortality that grips you, catastrophic as they were, but how people, even close relatives, shunned each other because of the near-certainty of contracting the disease and ending up dead themselves.
It's probably my duty to highlight, too, that the Black Death was almost certainly not bubonic plague as it doesn't fit the facts of how the disease spread, but hemorrhagic fever. One of the key pieces of evidence is the outbreak of plague in Iceland, which is known not to harbour a rat population at that time.
 Rivetting factual account June 30, 2002
A. J. Watson (Newcastle-on-Tyne, UK)
8 out of 12 found this review helpful
A Journal of the Plague Year argues its case better by a bald statement of facts, than by any elaborate literary devices. This reads like it is meant to be, a journal, bringing home the horrors of that awful time in a way that a second-hand description could never do.
Having said that, this account IS second-hand; it is only Defoe's journalistic expertise, boyhood memories and down-to-earth style that make it so believable.BUT - anyone who reads this should not expect another Gulliver's Travels - it IS heavy going; it's not a book that one can curl up with & relax, you have to work for your entertainment. The main point that comes across is the constant religious undercurrent, which was, I guess, typical of the time (if not of Defoe) and the willingness to attach blame for anything unusual to outsiders, or God's will, rather than examine their own circumstances (so what's changed in 337 years!?). As one of the few records of that terrible year, this deserves a place on any amateur historian's bookshelf.
Dark, gripping, and sad story based on a truthful account. June 10, 2000
tamaramolina@hotmail.com (TX, USA)
6 out of 8 found this review helpful
If you skip the depressing death bills, this story will grip you and won't let you go until the end. If you are a history major this story will give you insight into 1660's. Be it human nature, government setup, society setup, etc. A must read!
Fascinating 17th Century Docu-Soap account of the Plague. April 28, 2000
rob@cooperbrown.com (London, England)
6 out of 7 found this review helpful
I was interested in this book because it promised an account by one who was there and not by student historians who make a living by guessing our past. The gripping eye-witness descriptions make up for the often tedious death toll listings which, once you've read one are best skipped over. A symapthetic view - not too dark.
Interesting and at times quite grisly August 7, 1999
1 out of 4 found this review helpful
What I like best about DeFoe is that he is very readable and can hold your attention for hours. Sure, he can contradict himself at times and he does have a flair for repetition and while he is not above pointing out the obvious, DeFoe is extremely interesting. "A Journal of the Plague Year" contains all the things DeFoe is noted for including a sharp eye for detail and sly humour. I liked this book and recommend it mainly because much of what DeFoe observed about human nature in the early 18th century is still relevant today.
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