Monday 25 July 2016

"Around the World in Eighty Days" by Jules Verne

   I'm sure that everyone has heard of this book- or at least the movie. Belonging to a book club that includes classics makes sure that you read all those books that have just been titles in the past.
   This really is a classic that is worth reading if you enjoy travel and adventure.
   Phileas Fogg accepts a bet that he can travel around the world in 80 days.  And so, he begins the adventure with his servant, Passepartout.  Adding to the adventure is the fact that a bank has been robbed and a detective follows Phileas Fogg, believing that he is the bank robber.
   The story reads like a farce: comic drama with slapstick aspects and very improbable situations.  As they travel by ship, train, sledge, and even elephant, there is one setback after another- each more comic than the last.
  In the end...well, I won't tell you if they make it in 80 days or not.  But Phileas Fogg does end up with the love of a beautiful woman.  One of our readers felt that this love was a reward for his great treatment of people along the way.


Jules Vern was born in 1828 and trained to be a lawyer.  He was born in a seaport, with ships arriving and departing.  This sparked his interest in travel and adventure.  



   In his thirties, he became a playwright and then started writing novels.  He wrote more than 70 books and was a great influence on the new genre of science fiction, as he wrote about innovations and technological advances years before they were a reality.
   The series that has remained the most popular includes:
Journey to the Centre of the Earth
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
Around the World in Eighty Days

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