Around the World in Eighty Days

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It's a hit!

'Around The World In Eighty Days' is, of course, one of Jules Verne's most famous books. I'd be willing to bet, however, that the vast majority of ... (show more)

'Around The World In Eighty Days' is, of course, one of Jules Verne's most famous books. I'd be willing to bet, however, that the vast majority of people are familiar with it due to the movie and television versions rather than the original novel. If this is the case for you, the novel would probably hold quite a few surprises, as all the adaptations differ wildly from the novel. I first read this book when I was about ten years old and I remembered loving it so I thought I'd give it another go as an adult. I'm ever so glad I did, as I enjoyed it a great deal and there was a fair amount of it that I think I must have missed the first time around. I remembered it being a straightforward action-adventure tale, for example; the fact that this is not only a comedy but actually a rather funny satire of various social and racial stereotypes went completely over my head when I was ten. At the grand old age of thirty-four, I have to say that I thoroughly enjoyed this romp of a book and was laughing throughout (although, it has to be said, the laughter was more of the internal chuckle variety rather than the uncontrollable outburst kind). The novel isn't perfect, though. The main problems I have with it are structural in nature. Verne really creates a rod for his own back with the very concept and allows himself very little wiggle room to create any serious kind of drama or threat to his characters. Their timetable is simply far too tight to allow for anything but the most perfunctory deviations. After all, the 'twist ending' notwithstanding, I don't think anybody is ever fooled into thinking that Phileas Fogg and company won't succeed in their wager.
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by Paul D. Selman

No, it's a flop!

May I be heretical? It's enjoyable, but not great - Verne is not good at narrative tension, setting up situations and then resolving them before yo... (show more)

May I be heretical? It's enjoyable, but not great - Verne is not good at narrative tension, setting up situations and then resolving them before you've had time to get excited (the bridge section and the rescue from the Sioux are just two of the terribly rushed set pieces) and all too often Phileas Fogg solves the problem not through ingenuity, but by getting his wallet out (which may be realistic, but doesn't necessarily make for good popular fiction). There are lots of journalistic facts, but not a great sense of place, as if Verne got his settings from an encyclopedia, and even then there are some really careless anomalies (characters whose nationalities change; the references to San Francisco and then (correctly) Sacramento as being the capital of California; and the newspaper report that starts the whole thing off failing to take into account the fact that allows for the 'twist' ending). Fogg is superb in his impeturbability and Passepartout is amusing, but Aouda is an almost complete absence who doesn't even get to speak directly for most of the novel (Verne clearly not great at writing women). Entertaining and at points very funny, but I don't quite see how it's managed to become so famous. (show less)

 

 

by Christopher Pittard

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  A really enjoyable book, written when travel was difficult and adventurous, that reminds us that there was a time when you would have to work pretty hard to reach far-away lands not just jump on a Boeing 747. It says alot about the nature of people being so intent on going somewhere wonderful that they get caught up in the going, not the being there...or when they are there making it as much like home as possible. The narrative can be quick and sometimes you feel you want it to slow down and ... (show more)

  A really enjoyable book, written when travel was difficult and adventurous, that reminds us that there was a time when you would have to work pretty hard to reach far-away lands not just jump on a Boeing 747. It says alot about the nature of people being so intent on going somewhere wonderful that they get caught up in the going, not the being there...or when they are there making it as much like home as possible. The narrative can be quick and sometimes you feel you want it to slow down and describe the surroundings more but this wasn't the nature of Fogg's journey...you end up running with him to keep time and win his bet. Definately one of my favouite books! (show less)

   

   

  by Sarah Best on Aug 31, 2009 at 01:23PM

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  This is a fun "classic" that I am using with a 6th grade class I am teaching. I think it is great from an "integration" standpoint in that it can be used to create a unit including literature (duh), language arts (it has excellent vocabulary that will even challenge the teacher but not take away from the flow of the story), science, social studies, geography, technology, culture - your (or rather your students') imagination is the only limit! The title even inspired our m... (show more)

  This is a fun "classic" that I am using with a 6th grade class I am teaching. I think it is great from an "integration" standpoint in that it can be used to create a unit including literature (duh), language arts (it has excellent vocabulary that will even challenge the teacher but not take away from the flow of the story), science, social studies, geography, technology, culture - your (or rather your students') imagination is the only limit! The title even inspired our multi-cultural fair this year at IQA: "Around the World in 80 Minutes". I would not say that this book penetrates any especially deep insights - in fact I am imagining a parody of Phileas Fogg being confronted by all his "associates" on an episode of Dr. Phil for his "eccentric" behavior. But that is definitely a 21st century world apart from Jules Verne! Otherwise, a good way to introduce good literature to students. (show less)

   

   

  by Matthew Moes on Feb 28, 2009 at 05:46PM

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