Book Review: Around the World in Eighty Days (Verne)
Have I read this before: Indeed! In high school, I think? I can’t remember exactly.
Review: Good lord, I love this book. Jules Verne’s characters are always awesome, but not a single one of them is more awesome than Phileas Fogg. I think he is my favorite literary character (with the possible exception of Captain Queeg).
“He was so exact that he was never in a hurry, was always ready, and was economical alike of his steps and his motions. he never took one step too many, and always went to his destination by the shortest cut.; he made no superfluous gestures, and was never seen to be moved or agitated. He was the most deliberate person in the world, yet always reached his destination at the exact moment.”
“…Mr. Fogg stopped him, and, turning to Sir Francis Cromarty, said, ‘Suppose we save this woman.’
‘Save the woman, Mr. Fogg!’
‘I have yet twelve hours to spare, I can devote them to that.’
‘Why, you are a man of heart!’
‘Sometimes,’ replied Phileas Fogg, quietly; ‘when I have the time.'”
How can you not love a character like that, seriously?
As for the plot itself, it’s pretty much classic Verne. I love how he’s always throwing his characters into seemingly impossible-to-remedy situations and then he’s like “AND SUDDENLY AN ELEPHANT” or something else and it saves the day. I reiterate from past blogs: Verne is awesome. And this is my favorite of his books (though re-reading 20,000 Leagues made me realize just how badass that one was, too).
Favorite part: “Stop the train, we need to have an emergency duel!” Nothing says “defending your honor” like wanting to use a brief stop at a train station to duel to the death. And, failing at that, nothing says “no seriously, I gotta defend my honor!” like ushering passengers out of a train car so that you can utilize said car for a duel to the death. Oh, Jules.
Rating: 9.5/10
Claudia’s Big Blog o’ Books
So I’ve seen about seven of my Facebook friends post something along the lines of “what book should I read next?” as their little status update thingy. Even though maybe two people from Facebook check out this blog on a semi-regular basis, I’m posting here my top 10 favorite/most highly recommended books with little itty bitty one-sentence synopses. I know I’ve done this a couple times before, but the list keeps changing ever-so-slightly and hell, it’s always good to have book recommendations close at hand, right?
Right.
ONWARDS!
10. Waiting for Godot by Samuel Beckett
One-sentence synopsis: Vladimir and Estragon wait…and wait…and wait…
9. Watership Down by Richard Adams
One-sentence synopsis: a colony of rabbits set out in search of a new warren and face many perils on their journey.
8. On The Beach by Nevil Shute
One-sentence synopsis: In a post-WWIII world, we get a glimpse into the slow suffering of those living in Australia as they wait for the atmospheric winds to bring the nuclear fallout down from the north.
7. The Ox-Bow Incident by Walter Clark
One-sentence synopsis: A group of justice-seeking townspeople (and two drifters) set out to find and punish three men presumed to be cattle rustlers and murderers.
6. Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne
One-sentence synopsis: Wealthy (and badass) Londoner Phileas Fogg wagers that he can travel around the world in 80 days.
5. Watchmen by Alan Moore, illustrated by Dave Gibbons
One-sentence synopsis: In this graphic novel, an ex-super hero is murdered, his fellow ex-super heroes speculate about his death, and we are privy to an intricate tale of their past and present lives in an alternate 1980s time.
4. Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov
One-sentence synopsis: through a confessional outpouring, we learn of lit professor Humbert Humbert’s romantic obsession with 12-year-old Lolita.
3. The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
One-sentence synopsis: Nick Carraway becomes a neighbor to the wealthy, party-happy, mysterious Jay Gatsby and learns more about him and those he associates with through a series of social and private encounters.
2. Candide by Voltaire
One-sentence synopsis: A sheltered young man, influenced by his teacher, is convinced he lives in the best of all possible worlds (LEINBIZ REFERENCE ZOMG), even as he experiences all sorts of exciting disasters.
1. The Caine Mutiny by Herman Wouk
One-sentence synopsis: US Navy Ensign Willie Keith finds himself on a WWII US minesweeper ship that has happened to fall under the command of an insane captain.
Now, don’t those sound good? Pick one, dear blog-follower, and read!
OH JESUS IT’S BLOG TIME
I either want to be Phileas Fogg or marry him. With very few descriptions of physical characteristics, he is still the freaking sexiest character I’ve ever read about.
I need to read more Verne. I really like his characters.
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