Journey into the fire!! (Journey to the Centre of the Earth - Jules Verne)

Member Name: MI9to5

Product:	Journey to the Centre of the Earth - Jules Verne
Date:	09/07/08 (146 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Interestibg story

Disadvantages: Not exactly compelling from the start

Journey to the Centre of the Earth by Jules Verne is another book that you will find in my top-ten favourite reads. To be honest though when I first picked up the book I wasn't too sure about it and even after reading the first couple of chapters I still wasn't sure I was going to like it. But the more I read on the more I became hooked and eventually I fond it extremely difficult to put the book down.

When Professor Lindenbrock discovers an ancient parchment bearing cryptogram maps that he believes will show him the way Dante took to the centre of the Earth he knows straight away that he must follow them. With his nephew Axel, who is the narrator of the novel, alongside him Lindenbrock travels to Iceland where he enlists the help of brutally strong guide Hans who is to aid them on their journey.

The journey in questions begins on the summit of a volcano and continues through secret passages and across deserted underground masses of water. This journey of discovery however isn't without it's problems, which include suffering from alack of water and life threatening injuries. On more than one occasion it seems more than likely that this journey will be the last that any of them ever undertake.

Like I have mentioned earlier I wasn't too sure about this novel as to be quite fair the writing style isn't the most gripping I have ever read. However as I delved deeper into the novel the writing style brought the characters and their situation to life. Verne has taken a lot of consideration when writing the novel to include vast amounts of description in order to embellish the world they are in. At the same time though he ahs taken great care to ensure that the descriptive sections do not overpower the story being told and that the actions and conversation between the characters also plays a vital role in the way the novel progresses.

The characters within the novel are also extremely well written, they are unique yet not unbelievable and from early on in the novel firm ideas about them are set enabling some sort of constant to be achieved throughout the novel. This isn't to say however that the characters do not progress because they do, the situations they find themselves in questions their reasoning and make them dig deeper inside themselves than some of them ever thought possible. They also blend together extremely well, on one hand there's the quiet and hardworking Hans, on the other the Professor who has the ultimate vision and then Axel who is outspoken yet ultimately willing to do what it takes to help his Uncle achieve the vision.

The first person narrative style of the novel also suits the flow of the story being told. The novel isn't however in any shape of form diary like and doesn't simply narrate what Axel has done that day or that week, it actually allows the other characters become alive through him. The reason for this is because he is the most outspoken person in the group and so gives the reader the ability to delve into the minds of the other characters within the novel.

The book itself is broken down into manageable chapters, which for me is always a bonus and this makes the story flow easier than it would if it were all in one chunk.

My copy of the book has been published by Penguin Popular Classics and retails at £2.00 although it can be picked up cheaper online if you look around. For this price therefore I would definitely recommend this book, as one for the collection.

Summary: A brilliant book that is a definate for the library