| Product: |
Around the World in Eighty Days - Jules Verne |
| Date: |
10.04.02 (817 review reads) |
| Rating: |
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Advantages: Short, easy to read, Great for adventure lovin' kiddies
Disadvantages: Characters are a little 2-D
Phileas Fogg, that fine purveyor of corn snacks was a star well before you may think.
Yes indeed, before he entered into the world of the 'superior' bar snack, he was apparently a character from a famous novel by Jules Verne, about a man who travels around the world in eighty days in order to win a bet with some gentleman at the London reform club. Or was that Willy Fogg? I seem to be getting confused. I think you are too. I'll clarify.
This op is not about crisps.
This op is not about eighties cartoon adaptations of this most famous of novels. (Although I will no doubt be tempted to refer to said cartoon series throughout the op)
This op IS about Jules, Verne, his novel "Around the World in Eighty days" and IS worthy of a thousand reads and a crown (do subliminal messages work in text form? We will soon find out…….).
What? Oh yes, the book. It's another of these jobbies where the whole plot is given away in the title. They do it. Really. They go around the world in eighty days. Right round. And without a plane! Just boats and trains and elephants and things. (Oh and they do a bit of walking.) Clever isn't it? Let's not beat around the bush, this is a very simple read and will never put you on the edge of your seat. We're not talking adventure thriller here.
Does anything else happen other than the travelling shinanigans, or is it just a Victorian Bill Bryson novel? Well, there are two main sub plots, namely the courtship and eventual marriage of Mr Fogg with a young lady he rescues from the depths of India and also the 'gentlemanly' chase around the globe of one Inspector Fix, who suspects Mr Fogg of a huge Bank robbery in London. These are pleasant diversions and help break up the inevitably tiresome parts of the journey. After all, it takes twenty two days to cross the Pacific Ocean in a Victorian steamer, so we need a bit of light entertainment in
between.
Characters wise, you may be surprised to learn that our main character in the story, Mr Fogg is actually one of the least involved in the story. Verne instead chooses to view the majority of his text through the eyes of Inspector Fix, or from the perspective of Passerpartout, Mr Fogg's ever present and ever loyal French servant. The most we ever learn about Phileas is that he keeps impeccable time and is a dab hand at whist. He doesn't even take an interest in the various places he is visiting for the majority of his journey, staying below deck apparently focussed upon the matter in hand (i.e legging it round the globe as quick as you can).
The absence of Mr Fogg means that the places visited are described by Passerpartout, and thus they are given an air of wonderment, as the French servant is completely amazed by almost everything he sees. As Verne had himself done a lot of travelling (he was a very keen yachtsman) you get the feeling that the book is similar to Mr Bryson's work after all, in that the characters are almost there to justify a quite pleasant, yet ultimately lightweight travelog. It seems Verne new that Michael Palin would be back to fill in the details 150 years later, so wasn't too worried about too much description.
The style is very much for that of the young reader however, so I shall not be too harsh. The chapters are short (at times only three or four pages long) and there are many of them, almost as if it were designed for parents to read to their children in nightly chapters. For me, having come from reading some incredibly heavy fiction recently it was a breath of fresh air, and I zipped through it in a matter of hours.
With the recent passing of the Queen mother and all the pageantry that went along with it, it also became quite topical. There is a very 'English' feel to the novel (a miracle considering it was written by a Frenchman) and there is constant references t
o the empire, the 'British' approach to life and gentlemanly conduct which has not been seen for over a hundred years. If you ignore the fact that the British empire caused a whole load of suffering to three quarters of the globe and put your blinkers on for a bit, the whole thing is quite pleasant.
A refreshing read. A nice one to sit on the beach with for those of you with a bit of adventure in your blood.
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A footnote.
I mentioned earlier the cartoon series 'Around the world with Willy Fogg' which was shown on TV during the late eighties, and featured animals in the place of Mr Verne's characters.
This is for all of you that saw this cartoon series and loved it. (I'd like to meet someone who didn't). I challenge you to read this book without imaging Mr Fogg as a lion!! Try it. It's impossible!!!!
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