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vanessasmacedo's review against another edition
adventurous
informative
lighthearted
medium-paced
4.0
mark_22's review against another edition
adventurous
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
itsemma's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
funny
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
b3cccaj's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.0
Its a classic, and I can appreciate why it would be for the time.
Personally, I found it to be a bit boring and slow.
Personally, I found it to be a bit boring and slow.
mjgore8's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
tombuoni's review against another edition
A classic of adventure travel, this beloved steampunk novel by Jules Verne has everything that 19th-century Europeans considered exotic and innovative about the world: ludicrous gentleman’s club wagers, long distance train travel, steamships, elephants, a french sidekick, human sacrifices, clowns, polygamy, an Indian love interest, and a detective in hot pursuit!
It’s my first time reading Jules Verne, and this one is a classic for a reason, with a perfectly absurd setup, great episodic pacing, and an incredible ending. As a fan of the show the Amazing Race, which is inspired by this race-around-the-world concept, I loved seeing the backup plans for alternative travel, engaging with different cultures, and all the logistical planning involved throughout the trip around the globe.
Of course, an obligatory grain of salt for a contemporary reader nearly 150 years removed: as much as the steampunks may love him, Jules ain’t perfect. It’s helpful to make sense of this novel as a historical reference and consider that a journey like this at this time would only be possible through the colonialism of the British Empire and facilitated by constant briberies by an Englishman with a mysteriously limitless fortune. It’s still a thrill to join the adventure of the band of explorers traveling the world at a time when this was a fresh new possibility for humankind, but unfortunately, some of this imperial mindset and odes to European male supremacy comes out in the writing. Unfortunately I read an older translation that had descriptive passages that mention for example that a whole group of people is on the “lowest scale of humanity”, and that a place is “infested by (a group of people) and wild beasts”.. and more asides like that which really add nothing but historical context and distracts from the fun of the adventure.
Some selections:
“The world has grown smaller, since a man can now go round it ten times more quickly than a hundred years ago.”
“You see, a man of sound sense ought not to spend his life jumping from a steamer upon a railway train, and from a railway train upon a steamer again, pretending to make the tour of the world in eighty days!”
“If to live in this style is to be eccentric, it must be confessed that there is something good in eccentricity.”
“These dates were inscribed in an itinerary divided into columns, indicating the month, the day of the month, and the day for the stipulated and actual arrivals at each principal point Paris, Brindisi, Suez, Bombay, Calcutta, Singapore, Hong Kong, Yokohama, San Francisco, New York, and London—from the 2nd of October to the 21st of December; and giving a space for settinhg down the gain made or the loss suffered on arrival at each locality. This methodical record thus contained an account of everything needed, and Mr. Fogg always knew whether he was behind-hand or in advance of his time.”
“The island of Singapore is not imposing in aspect, for there are no mountains; yet its appearance is not without attractions. It is a park checkered by pleasant highways and avenues.”
“Everything, it said, was against the travellers, every obstacle imposed alike by man and by nature. A miraculous agreement of the times of departure and arrival, which was impossible, was absolutely necessary to his success. He might, perhaps, reckon on the arrival of trains at the designated hours, in Europe, where the distances were relatively moderate; but when he calculated upon crossing India in three days, and the United States in seven, could he rely beyond misgiving upon accomplishing his task? There were accidents to machinery, the liability of trains to run off the line, collisions, bad weather, the blocking up by snow—were not all these against Phileas Fogg? Would he not find himself, when travelling by steamer in winter, at the mercy of the winds and fogs? Is it uncommon for the best ocean steamers to be two or three days behind time? But a single delay would suffice to fatally break the chain of communication; should Phileas Fogg once miss, even by an hour; a steamer, he would have to wait for the next, and that would irrevocably render his attempt vain.”
“You are a Frenchman, aren’t you?” “Yes; a Parisian of Paris.” “Then you ought to know how to make grimaces?” “Why,” replied Passepartout, a little vexed that his nationality should cause this question, “we Frenchmen know how to make grimaces, it is true but not any better than the Americans do.” “True. Well, if I can’t take you as a servant, I can as a clown. You see, my friend, in France they exhibit foreign clowns, and in foreign parts French clowns.” “Ah!” “You are pretty strong, eh?” “Especially after a good meal.” “And you can sing?” “Yes,” returned Passepartout, who had formerly been wont to sing in the streets. “But can you sing standing on your head, with a top spinning on your left foot, and a sabre balanced on your right?” “Humph! I think so,” replied Passepartout, recalling the exercises of his younger days. “Well, that’s enough,” said the Honourable William Batulcar. The engagement was concluded there and then. Passepartout had at last found something to do.”
“Phileas Fogg had won his wager, and had made his journey around the world in eighty days. To do this he had employed every means of conveyance—steamers, railways, carriages, yachts, trading-vessels, sledges, elephants. The eccentric gentleman had throughout displayed all his marvellous qualities of coolness and exactitude. But what then? What had he really gained by all this trouble? What had he brought back from this long and weary journey? Nothing, say you? Perhaps so; nothing but a charming woman, who, strange as it may appear, made him the happiest of men! Truly, would you not for less than that make the tour around the world?”
— Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
https://a.co/azIe470
It’s my first time reading Jules Verne, and this one is a classic for a reason, with a perfectly absurd setup, great episodic pacing, and an incredible ending. As a fan of the show the Amazing Race, which is inspired by this race-around-the-world concept, I loved seeing the backup plans for alternative travel, engaging with different cultures, and all the logistical planning involved throughout the trip around the globe.
Of course, an obligatory grain of salt for a contemporary reader nearly 150 years removed: as much as the steampunks may love him, Jules ain’t perfect. It’s helpful to make sense of this novel as a historical reference and consider that a journey like this at this time would only be possible through the colonialism of the British Empire and facilitated by constant briberies by an Englishman with a mysteriously limitless fortune. It’s still a thrill to join the adventure of the band of explorers traveling the world at a time when this was a fresh new possibility for humankind, but unfortunately, some of this imperial mindset and odes to European male supremacy comes out in the writing. Unfortunately I read an older translation that had descriptive passages that mention for example that a whole group of people is on the “lowest scale of humanity”, and that a place is “infested by (a group of people) and wild beasts”.. and more asides like that which really add nothing but historical context and distracts from the fun of the adventure.
Some selections:
“The world has grown smaller, since a man can now go round it ten times more quickly than a hundred years ago.”
“You see, a man of sound sense ought not to spend his life jumping from a steamer upon a railway train, and from a railway train upon a steamer again, pretending to make the tour of the world in eighty days!”
“If to live in this style is to be eccentric, it must be confessed that there is something good in eccentricity.”
“These dates were inscribed in an itinerary divided into columns, indicating the month, the day of the month, and the day for the stipulated and actual arrivals at each principal point Paris, Brindisi, Suez, Bombay, Calcutta, Singapore, Hong Kong, Yokohama, San Francisco, New York, and London—from the 2nd of October to the 21st of December; and giving a space for settinhg down the gain made or the loss suffered on arrival at each locality. This methodical record thus contained an account of everything needed, and Mr. Fogg always knew whether he was behind-hand or in advance of his time.”
“The island of Singapore is not imposing in aspect, for there are no mountains; yet its appearance is not without attractions. It is a park checkered by pleasant highways and avenues.”
“Everything, it said, was against the travellers, every obstacle imposed alike by man and by nature. A miraculous agreement of the times of departure and arrival, which was impossible, was absolutely necessary to his success. He might, perhaps, reckon on the arrival of trains at the designated hours, in Europe, where the distances were relatively moderate; but when he calculated upon crossing India in three days, and the United States in seven, could he rely beyond misgiving upon accomplishing his task? There were accidents to machinery, the liability of trains to run off the line, collisions, bad weather, the blocking up by snow—were not all these against Phileas Fogg? Would he not find himself, when travelling by steamer in winter, at the mercy of the winds and fogs? Is it uncommon for the best ocean steamers to be two or three days behind time? But a single delay would suffice to fatally break the chain of communication; should Phileas Fogg once miss, even by an hour; a steamer, he would have to wait for the next, and that would irrevocably render his attempt vain.”
“You are a Frenchman, aren’t you?” “Yes; a Parisian of Paris.” “Then you ought to know how to make grimaces?” “Why,” replied Passepartout, a little vexed that his nationality should cause this question, “we Frenchmen know how to make grimaces, it is true but not any better than the Americans do.” “True. Well, if I can’t take you as a servant, I can as a clown. You see, my friend, in France they exhibit foreign clowns, and in foreign parts French clowns.” “Ah!” “You are pretty strong, eh?” “Especially after a good meal.” “And you can sing?” “Yes,” returned Passepartout, who had formerly been wont to sing in the streets. “But can you sing standing on your head, with a top spinning on your left foot, and a sabre balanced on your right?” “Humph! I think so,” replied Passepartout, recalling the exercises of his younger days. “Well, that’s enough,” said the Honourable William Batulcar. The engagement was concluded there and then. Passepartout had at last found something to do.”
“Phileas Fogg had won his wager, and had made his journey around the world in eighty days. To do this he had employed every means of conveyance—steamers, railways, carriages, yachts, trading-vessels, sledges, elephants. The eccentric gentleman had throughout displayed all his marvellous qualities of coolness and exactitude. But what then? What had he really gained by all this trouble? What had he brought back from this long and weary journey? Nothing, say you? Perhaps so; nothing but a charming woman, who, strange as it may appear, made him the happiest of men! Truly, would you not for less than that make the tour around the world?”
— Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
https://a.co/azIe470
sophiaweasleyda's review against another edition
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
springhoneybees's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.0
ines138's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25