Reading the Classics #58: Jules Verne
Anyone who like Science Fiction, will know about the legendary Jules Verne. He redefined Science Fiction in his day, mixing fact and fiction in a masterful way that has delighted generations for years. Personally I’m not huge on this genre, but I do like it, and I found Verne to be very enjoyable. Verne was born in 1828 and died in 1905, and in that time managed to complete over fifty novels that he called the Voyages Extraordinaires. I’ve read several stories by Verne, and I’ll be reviewing those today. Let’s begin.
1. Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
2. Journey to the Center of the Earth
3. The Floating Island
4. The Mysterious Island
5. Around the World in Eighty Days
6. In the Year 2889
7. The Blockade Runners
First up on this list is Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. This is one of Verne’s most popular novels, if not his most famous one. First published in 1870, it follows the fortunes of a French biologist and a Canadian whaler and they search for a mysterious sea monster. The “Monster” turns out to be a very advanced submarine. The crew of this submarine captures the protagonists and take them as captives. The majority of the novel focuses on their experiences aboard the Nautilus with its commander, Captain Nemo. If you haven’t read this story, then this is a must-read, even if you aren’t a big fan of Science Fiction. I absolutely recommend this.
Another contender for the title of most popular Verne novel, is none other than Journey to the Center of the Earth. While the previous novel takes the main characters deep below the surface of the ocean, this story takes its protagonists into the heart of the Earth itself. They begin their expedition in Iceland, and by the end of the story end up in southern Italy. The adventure takes them to volcanoes, underground caves, and treacherous passageways. Farther down, they find giant mushrooms and ancient trees, as well as several dinosaurs (Including a Plesiosarurus). Through it all they almost die, several times in fact, but eventually get safely shot out of a volcano (Yeah, somehow that was safe for them) onto normal land. This book is another example of Verne’s masterful writing. This is a must-read classic.
Next up, we have The Floating Island. Originally titled Propeller Island, this story involves a French string quartet who arrive at the island. Milliard City is not quite a city, but a very large ship that acts like a city, and only millionaires live there. At first glance, the place is an amazing, prosperous, modern Utopia. But as the quartet begins to know the inhabitants on a deeper level, Milliard City reveals itself to be full of division and fighting. I found this story as both a Science Fiction novel, and a commentary on politics and government. While this isn’t the finest of Verne’s writings, it’s still a good read.
This next book is, in fact an unexpected sequel to Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea. The Mysterious Island, first published in 1874, had its inspiration in the popular novels Robinson Crusoe and The Swiss Family Robinson. In the midst of the American Civil War, several prisoners of war hijack a balloon (I mean, why? XD) and get carried away into the Pacific Ocean. Eventually they land on a deserted island, and begin building a small community. The engineer among them greatly helps their advancements, as well as unexplainable gifts that suddenly appear. I won’t give away the surprise twist near the end of the book, but I wasn’t expecting it.
Another of Jules Verne’s popular novels, although not one of my favorites, is Around the World in Eighty Days. The premise of this story is that a rich man named Phileas Fogg ends up trying to get around the world in exactly eighty days, in order to win a large amount of money. Now, 80 days seems like a lot of time, but remember that this was in the 1800s. Planes and helicopters didn’t exist, and boats weren’t the fastest then. 80 days to go around the world was an almost impossible feat. Fogg, along with his valet, goes through a series of adventures through India, China, Africa, and other places. A lot of people love this story. I wasn’t too impressed by it, personally, but I wouldn’t call it bad.
To cap off the reviews for this post, I have 2 of Verne’s short stories: In the Year 2899 and The Blockade Runners. The first is a futuristic story about, reasonably enough, life in the year A.D. 2899. The story was originally written by Jules’ son Michel Verne, and then was adapted by Jules. The second story takes place during the Civil War (Like The Mysterious Island), and is about a British merchant who gets involved in rescuing a captive of the Confederates. Both of these stories didn’t mean much to me, I didn’t really like them.
Well, that’s my take on the Science Fiction author Jules Verne. I hope you enjoyed this post. The next post in the series will be about an American poet, although I won’t say who. That’s for you to guess. Until then, keep on reading!
1831- The Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo
1835- Pere Goriot by Honore de Balzac
1844- The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas
1844-1845- Queen Margot by Alexandre Dumas
1845- The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas
1847- The Man in the Iron Mask by Alexandre Dumas
1862- Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
1864- Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne
1869-1870- Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne
1871- The Blockade Runners by Jules Verne
1873- Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
1874- The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne
1891- In the Year 2889 by Jules Verne
1895- The Floating Island by Jules Verne
1910- The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
