Title: Around the World in Eighty Days Author: Jules Verne
First Published: 1873
No. of Pages: 163
Synopsis (from B&N): "On a wager, the eccentric English gentleman Phileas Fogg accepts a challenge to circle the globe in eighty days. Follow Phileas and his faithful valet Passepartout, in this classic fantastic adventure."
Fiction or Nonfiction: Fiction
Comments and Critique: Oh how I wish I had read this one as a kid! It's not up to my adult standards -- it's pure plot moving forward at top speed, and character development is minimal at best -- but it was fun. I can see how a child's imagination would be roused by tales of trekking through the Indian jungle on the back of an elephant and having a shootout with American Indians on the plains. I just wish the author had given us more insight into Phileas Fogg. Despite being the protoganist, he's one-dimensional and comes across as practically non-human, and the reader has no idea why he engaged on his round-the-world jaunt. His companions are better drawn and, partially through their devotion to Fogg, you want them all to succeed. My overall feeling is that this was a story with unrealized potential; the result was average but enjoyable.
Challenges: 999 ("Decades"); A to Z (author "V"); (Another) 1% Well-Read; Decades '09 (1870's)
2 comments:
I never read this one either as a kid. But it sure looks fun!!
Like the new look, by the way!!
Oh, reading it as a kids book would have made a difference! I'm with you in that the characters were horribly disappointing. It made it kind of boring for me.
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