Stockton fills out a conventional "Robinson Crusoe" plot with humor derived from action, characters, and language. For example, Mr. Craig and Mrs. Leeks are shown tugging on the reluctant Mrs. Aleshine as she hangs over the lifeboat, afraid to let go of the ropes that tie her to the ship. In another scene, the three castaways stand solemnly in their sinking skiff until the water level is high enough for them to float free. The story's humor is accentuated by the author's deliberately understated description of absurd situations, and his use of a mock heroic style that overstates the importance of even the most trivial subjects, such as the widows' lengthy calculations of the precise amount of rent due the absent house owners.

At the beginning of the novel, the reader shares the perceptions of the narrator, Mr. Craig, who struggles to hide his amusement at...