Gulliver's Travels

«Gulliver's Travels» — a satirical travel novel about ship's doctor Lemuel Gulliver, who, after a shipwreck, finds himself in worlds with an unusual scale of life and foreign laws. Jonathan Swift combined adventure, fantasy, and a scathing mockery of human weaknesses, so behind the external lightness, there is always a deeper meaning. This edition includes the first two parts of the novel in a shortened retelling by M. Mikhailov: the story of the land of Lilliput and the story of the land of giants. For teenagers and schoolchildren, this is a convenient way to get acquainted with the classics, where dangerous journeys, the hero's observance, and satire on social orders stand side by side.

After the shipwreck, the hero ends up in Lilliput, where everything is arranged according to different rules, and his unusual size immediately makes him both a prisoner and an important figure in a foreign political game. Returning home, he sets off again and this time finds himself in Brobdingnag — the land of giants, where the usual view of strength, vulnerability, and dignity is turned upside down. In both parts, not only adventures are important, but also the clash of a person with a foreign way of life. Through these encounters, the author writes about vanity, power, greed, and the oddities of society without direct moralizing.

Before you is not just an adventure story, but a classic satirical work, first published in 1726. This edition includes only the first two parts of the novel, so the reading focuses on the most famous journeys of the hero. The text is easy to read, but behind the simple plot lies irony, a philosophical perspective, and mockery of social orders. Many films and cartoons have been made based on «Gulliver's Travels», and the novel itself has long been among the most famous books of world literature.

Illustrations by Vladimir Dovgyalo