Reviews
With all this sea talk I feel like I鈥檓 a seaologist! 馃槀Honestly I don鈥檛 know how to feel about it. It鈥檚 definitely not my favorite genre I only bought the book because it looked nice 馃槄I鈥檓 kind of conflicted. I know it鈥檚 a classic but I didn鈥檛 really enjoy it that much. Would I recommend it to someone? NoHowever while listening to the ending I weirdly felt sad. Sad for Captain Nemo. And M. Aronnax鈥檚 last words about him are filled with so much feeling for this man we鈥檒l never truly know anything about.
Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is an incredible read that tells the tale of many fascinating characters but is told from the perspective of Pierre Aronnax, a professor of Marine Biology who along with his loyal assistant, Conseil is tasked with finding a monster who is causing havoc beneath the waves. A monster that seems able to travel faster than any marine inhabitant that Aronnax has encountered and his curiosity is spiked and his ego fit to burst to be known as the man who found the anomaly. But of course, things do not go to plan and everything Aronnax, Conseil and the hunter, Ned Land have known when they sink beneath the waves turns out to be wrong and they see the world anew.The Nautilus becomes their new prison and Verne's creation sounds incredible and truly shows just how ahead of his time he was with his ideas and concepts of what is possible in his tales. It's 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea that also tells me that a man who would pass away in 1905 had an almost impossible ability to see what we would do to this planet and what we would need to survive due to his fictional creations. I would love to see the Nautilus come to life just to see what Verne's ideas would look like because the descriptions in this tale are so vivid and imaginative.Aronnax, Conseil and Ned Land's encounter with the enigmatic Captain Nemo is unsettling and whilst they are surrounded by wonders that many of their counterparts wouldn't believe, the three are wary and I found myself torn between loving Nemo for his imagination and ways of seeing the world or rather those on land and wanting to shake him and demand he free these men who have unwittingly found themselves at his mercy. After all, the Nautilus may have everything you could want but they were still at his mercy and Nemo seems to balance on a knife-edge with his moods. I cannot help but imagine Jules Verne researching so much before writing this classic tale that initially was serialised in a French periodical so that he was able to blend the fiction with the factual and legend seamlessly - something that Verne does perfectly. It's a tale of adventure, of disillusionment, of loss, mystery and Verne gives us a book that has lasted from 1870 and I don't think Nemo and his love of the Ocean are going anywhere. I just wish I had re-read it sooner as the last time I did I was a child and so much went over my head.To imagine travelling so far around the world and remain for the most part beneath the waves sounds incredible and perhaps it's my lifelong love of the ocean and swimming but I would have loved to be upon the Nautilus. Nemo deserves so much more than he has, and I do think it's sad to not have Verne explore more about how his tragedy had shaped Nemo as a man as we only see glimpses near the end of the book and it almost feels too little too late to fully understand just why Nemo has lost his faith in humanity.One can only imagine how Jules Verne would react to how much people still love his writing, his imagination and the characters he gave us.
Around the World in Eighty Days is a true classic and has remained a favourite of mine after I first read it when I was around ten.I have always loved that no one knows anything about Phileas Fogg or where he car from and how his wealth is amassed. He is an enigma before he and his friends at the Reform Club make their bet, and as the adventure unfolds I can imagine it on the broad pages of The Times of London along with ’Where did the money go?’Fogg’s new and yet, faithful servant and companion; Jean Passepartout joins Fogg as he travels throughout the world. I cannot help but find myself caring about the characters, whether it be the almost stoic Fogg, to the nervous and yet brave Passepartout as they take on a journey unlike anything you see in books written at the same time (the book was first published in French in 1872)The duo travel from London, and Verne tells the story of Fogg and Passepartout in China, India, Japan, Hong Kong, America and my own home port of Liverpool. The adventures of the two men are incredible and give you a brief look at what the world was like for explorers who due to revolutionary technology could travel faster and further - the premise for the bet in the first place.Unbeknown to the adventurers, they are being followed by Fix, a police officer intent on apprehending the Bank of England thief who has fled England. I love how determined and yet absurd Fix’s attempts to catch the culprit it - if it can go wrong? It does. Perhaps in its own way (spoiler warning), it is fate’s way of trying to tell Fix he is following the wrong man. I always wished that the hot air balloon part that takes place in the movie was a part of the book but Verne gives us other magical experiences. My favourite is no doubt the same as many others when Fogg and Passepartout are forced to travel by elephant and encounter Aouda the Indian princess who will accompany the two men and inadvertently Inspector Fix on their journey from India to England.Knowing Phileas is based off a real person adds something to the book and I love that even through fiction, an element of his adventure is told.I would honestly recommend this as a book to read from 10/11 depending on reading age right through till when you've read it a hundred times!A classic in every way.
Gosto, mas no comparativo ao Volta ao mundo em 80 dias, eu acho esse mais demorado de me conectar e desenvolver a aventura.