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goodreads ([personal profile] goodreads) wrote2008-01-07 06:42 pm

Around the World in 80 Days - Jules Verne

Title: Around the World in 80 Days
Author: Jules Verne
Genre: Classics
Rating: 6/10
# pages: 82 installments at DailyLit
Date read: January, 2008


Summary: Phileas Fogg rashly bets his companions £20,000 that he can travel around the entire globe in just eighty days, and he is determined not to lose. Breaking the well-established routine of his daily life, the reserved Englishman immediately sets off for Dover, accompanied by his hot-blooded French manservant, Passepartout. Traveling by train, steamship, sailboat, sledge, and even elephant, they must overcome storms, kidnappings, natural disasters, Sioux attacks, and the dogged Inspector Fix of Scotland Yard to win the extraordinary wager. Combining exploration, adventure, and a thrilling race against time, Around the World in Eighty Days gripped audiences upon its publication and remains hugely popular to this day.

Review: I read this first when I was young - no more than 10'ish I'd say - and loved it. Hadn't read it for years though, so I felt it was time for a reread. ... I'm thinking it must have been an abridged version I read back then, because though this version was short too, I felt it dragged terribly. I think the main problem was that Jules Verne told most of the story instead of showed it, which became quite tedious after awhile. I wonder if that's his usual writing style, or if it was just this one.

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(Anonymous) 2009-04-15 07:19 pm (UTC)(link)
So many people mention loving it as kids. I guess kids don't look for characterization so much. I agree as to the tediousness, but I'm glad I read it in the end...

Rebecca
http://reviews.rebeccareid.com