Round the World in Eighty Days

by Jules Verne, translated by Irene R. Gibbons

Round the World in Eighty Days

book data

4064 ratings, 3.67 average rating, 252 reviews (more data...)

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published

1 (first published 1873) by Bridlington, England: Peter Haddock

binding

Decorative Hardcover, 238 pages

setting

Unknown

isbn

0710502176 (isbn13: 9780710502179)

description

Tor Classics are affordably-priced editions designed to attract the young reader. Original dynamic cover art enthusiastically represents the excitemen...more

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All ratings | 5 stars (787) | 4 stars (1418) | 3 stars (1401) | 2 stars (339) | 1 star (84) | avg 3.67

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Eva

Eva rated it:

(review of isbn 014044906X)

01/04/08

Read in January, 2008

The writing in this book was quite bad, although it may be unfair to blame Jules Verne for that since he wrote it in French and this was an English translation. But the story was totally ridiculous and quite upsetting. Verne's portrayal of Native Americans and South Asians borders on lunacy. His characters are all ridiculous stereotypes and are completely unbelievable. But the twist at the end...loved it. I thought it was really smart and surprising, especially for the target audience, which I'v...more

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Kurtis

Kurtis rated it:

(review of isbn 014044906X)

12/20/07

bookshelves: all-time-faves

Jules Verne is best known for Science Fiction, and is often called the father of that genre… he was one of the first authors to write about trips to the moon, to the center of the earth, and to the bottom of the sea. A trip around the world may seem tame by comparison, but at the time Verne was writing, a rapid expedition of this magnitude was a modern and high-tech adventure

The voyage involves three men: Phileas Fogg, a staid Englishman who takes a bet he can complete the voyage, ...more Jules Verne is best known for Science Fiction, and is often called the father of that genre… he was one of the first authors to write about trips to the moon, to the center of the earth, and to the bottom of the sea. A trip around the world may seem tame by comparison, but at the time Verne was writing, a rapid expedition of this magnitude was a modern and high-tech adventure

The voyage involves three men: Phileas Fogg, a staid Englishman who takes a bet he can complete the voyage, primarily to prove his trust in modernity and the British empire (for the journey passes primarily through current and former English colonies). In sharp contrast to Fogg’s cool and calculating persona is the passionate and foolish valet, Passepartout, who is easily fooled, likes to drink, and stubbornly refuses to set his watch to anything but London time. Passepartout is a clownish figure (and is indeed a former circus performer, which career he briefly resumes in the text), but also a noble one: he is loyal to Fogg, brave, and heroic. Fogg’s calm disposition makes him something of a cipher, while Passepartout is the character readers most follow and identify with. The third man is the earnest policeman Fix, who believes that Fogg has robbed a bank, and aspires to apprehend him, but can’t seem to quite catch up with him, at least not at a time when he has warrant in hand is on British soil, where the warrant is legal. Fix isn’t a bad guy so much as a foil. Indeed, he almost becomes friends with Fogg along the way. The three characters each seem to represent an archetype: Fogg is reasonable, Passepartout romantic, and Fix beaurocratic. As a former graduate student in English, I can’t help but start outlining critical interpretations of their personas and interpersonal dynamics.

The journey proceeds Eastward across four continents and is primarily carried out by trains and steamships… other vessels are occasionally put to use when the men need to make up a missing length of rail or catch up to a missed steamer, including an elephant and a kind of sailing sled called a sledge. To my shock, no balloons are involved–the movies introduced that impractical vehicle into the story, and they are now so much associated with the book that they sometimes appear on the cover of some editions.

Of course the trip has setbacks and trials, including blizzards, Indian raids, and so forth — but none seem to be insurmountable to the steadfast Fogg. He even takes time off his busy itinerary to save a damsel in distress, and more than once to rescue his hapless valet. The story is necessarily fast-paced; our heroes are never waylaid for long, but it’s fun an interesting to see them overcome their obstacles. Of course such a journey also give Verne the chance to work in plenty of local color, but the story is too swift to get bogged down in descriptions. Verne is very good at finding just a few details to paint a portrait of a place. Given the need for high adventure, he works in scoundrels and villains a-plenty, but he seems to be a true internationalist and overall seems to appreciate and respect the cultures he describes; the various villains are fortunately not the kind of stock characters we encounter in other period novels. I couldn’t help but picture the adventures as being drawn by Herge–the international scenes, the mixture of action and comic highjinx, and the slightly cartoonish characters all seemed right out of Tintin books. Herge must have been heavily influenced by Jules Verne, and his pen would have been perfect for illustrating this wonderful story.

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Karen

Karen rated it:

(review of isbn 014044906X)

12/21/08

bookshelves: 12-books-for-christmas-2008, classic

Read in December, 2008

This is the first time I've actually read this book and I am very much influenced by the movies! I was expecting hot air balloons and kept looking for the 'balloon ride' part in the book. I was very much surprised when I reached the end of the book and there was ONLY 1 mention of 'balloon'. It was only mentioned in passing. Well...

I did enjoy the book. Phileas Fogg is totally & completely OCD however I like the ending where he does show that he is not completely absent of fee...more

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Mark

Mark rated it:

(review of isbn 0307206424)

05/29/08

Really neat story. It was a fun view into life about a century ago.

My only nit with it was with the particular audio book I heard: an annoying afterward that publisher felt he had to append. In it, he explained to us how Mr. Verne's views of other cultures are simply not acceptable to modern people such as ourselves, and although he has transgressed and used stereotypes of different cultures the book still has some value.

I found it unfair and unnecessary. Verne's depiction...more

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Miranda

Miranda rated it:

(review of isbn 014044906X)

11/22/08

Fabulous read! I actually laughed out loud on a regular basis while reading. It's slightly anti-climatic but it fits the character of Phileas Fogg.

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Shannon

Shannon rated it:

(review of isbn 014044906X)

01/24/08

Read in January, 2008

I randomly picked this book up and was really presently surprised. It is about a man in England in the 1870s who attempts to travel around the world in 80 days. It takes you through Calcutta, India, Hong Kong, Japan, then across the ocean to San Francisco, passes through good old Utah (It was really interesting hearing a description of Mormons at the time) and finally ends back in England. A very entertaining book with a sweet (meaning sentimental not cool) ending. Tyler stole the book from me w...more

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C.C

C.C rated it:

(review of isbn 342313545X)

12/19/08

Read in July, 2007

recommends it for: Everyone

No, there isn't a hot air balloon... at all. So stop asking.

This is my favourite book ever. Every time i tell someone it's my favourite book i IMMEDIATELY tell them, "No it's not about the guy in the hot air balloon." Because except for a throwaway line, there was no balloon at all. This usually confuses people because they swear there's one in it.

Despite this, it still never dampens my feelings of extreme wanderlust at having my own Around the World in 80 Days...more

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Olivia

Olivia rated it:

(review of isbn 014044906X)

02/10/08

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Svitlana

Svitlana rated it:

(review of isbn 014044906X)

11/24/08

Read in April, 2007

recommended to Svitlana by: My cousin
recommends it for: Everyone

This book is so exciting, because it contains so many wonders all at the same time!!!! It all started with a bet of Englishmen… No one thought it was even possible except one, who followed his own principles, and whose life was based on the strict schedule of the clock. I never stop from wondering what made Phileas Fogg so confident. Was it his timing and perfect calculations? The book didn’t include any boring parts, which made it fantastic!!! Each country visited by two men included a litt...more

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Russell

Russell rated it:

(review of isbn 014044906X)

11/18/08

Read in October, 2008

I had read this a long time ago when I was just knee high to a grasshopper (steam powered!). I liked then, I liked it now. It isn't a deep or complex story, the characters are not much more than sketches, but it is a ripping yarn, and who doesn't like charging around the world using what then was just maturing technology. Steamer ships, steam trains, elephants, wind powered sledges, any thing Phileas Fogg could buy, borrow, or incite a mutiny to commandeer. (As an aside, when I first read ...more

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Travis

Travis rated it:

(review of isbn 014044906X)

04/15/08

bookshelves: classics

One of my all time favorites, ever since I first read it in high school.

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Leigh

Leigh rated it:

(review of isbn 014044906X)

10/20/08

Read in October, 2008

It reads quickly. I find most authors intending to pen a voyage as epic as that of our methodical Mr. Fogg err by divulging almost too much detail. Verne escapes this pitfall by moving the narrative along, adding to the sense of urgency present throughout the entire novel, making it very clear to those of us in the age of aeroplane travel, that eighty days is no time at all. What's more, you spend the duration of the three-months schedule in the company of the most fastidious Englishman on pa...more

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Jeana

Jeana rated it:

(review of isbn 014044906X)

11/12/08

bookshelves: classics

Read in November, 2008

Bianca and I have been reading this book--one chapter each night--for the last couple months. The story is interesting--there was a bet placed to see if Phileas Fogg could, in fact, make it around the world in 80 days. The story is filled with adventure and mishaps in them trying to reach their goal and win the money.

The best part of the book for me was following their journey along in a map. Bianca was very interested in how they were getting where and what was coming next. I thi...more

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bup

bup rated it:

(review of isbn )

10/06/08

bookshelves: 2008, audio

Read in October, 2008

Spoiler: he makes it.

This book is on Peter Boxall's "1001 Books You Must Read Before You Die," and for the life of me I don't know why. It's a light, almost madcap, shallow adventure story/armchair travelogue for 18th-century Europeans who wanted to read about India and the U.S.

I can see wanting Verne on the list; he's the father of science fiction. This book ISN'T SCIENCE FICTION. Besides, "Journey to the Center of the Earth" is also on the list.
...more

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Arezo....

Arezo.... rated it:

(review of isbn )

09/23/08

یک جنتلمن انگلیسی به نام فیلاس فوگ با رفقای خود در باشگاه شرط می‌بندد که دو دنیا را در 80 روز بپیماید و به همراهی خدمتکار وفادارش به نام ژان، معروف به پاسپارتو، عازم سفر می‌شود. اما چون مظنون به سرقت از یکی از بانکهای انگلیس است، زیر نظر یک پلیس قرار دارد که او را طی سیر و سیاحت�...more یک جنتلمن انگلیسی به نام فیلاس فوگ با رفقای خود در باشگاه شرط می‌بندد که دو دنیا را در 80 روز بپیماید و به همراهی خدمتکار وفادارش به نام ژان، معروف به پاسپارتو، عازم سفر می‌شود. اما چون مظنون به سرقت از یکی از بانکهای انگلیس است، زیر نظر یک پلیس قرار دارد که او را طی سیر و سیاحت‌هایش لجوجانه تعقیب می‌کند. فوگ در سرزمین هند فرصت می‌یابد تا زن جوانی به نام اود را، که بیوه مهاراجه وفات‌یافته‌ای است و طبق سنت هندوان باید زنده در آتش سوخته شود، از مرگ نجات دهد. پس از آن حوادث دیگری در چین برای او روی می‌دهد. در این مدت، مأمور پلیس همچنان به دنبال اوست و مسافر ما نیز با اود و نوکرش راه خود را ادامه می‌دهد. مأمور پلیس نمی‌تواند او را بازداشت کند، زیرا برگ جلب به سبب تغییر مکان مداوم هنوز به دستش نرسیده است. در امریکا، در قطاری که ساحل شرقی را به ساحل غربی آنجا می‌پیوندد، فوگ موفق می‌شود که حمله عده‌ای از سرخپوستان را دفع کند. در ساحل شرقی، توفان شدیدی به پا می‌شود و کشتیهای عازم اروپا را در بندر متوقف می‌سازد، ولی فوگ تردید به دل راه نمی‌دهد و با پول خود یک کشتی کرایه می‌کند و راه دریا را در پیش می‌گیرد. در راه، سوخت کشتی به پایان می‌رسد و فوگ ناچار دکل را به جای سوخت به کار می‌برد. در پایان سفر، مأمور پلیس که سرانجام برگ جلب را به دست آورده است او را دستگیر می‌کند. فوگ بی‌گناهی خود را ثابت می‌کند و آزاد می‌شود. سپس با یقین به اینکه یک روز دیرتر از وقت مقرر به وعده‌گاه رسیده است،‌خود را بازنده می‌پندارد و تسلیم نومیدی می‌شود. اما زود به اشتباهش پی می‌برد و متوجه می‌شود که سفر از غرب به شرق کره زمین باعث شده است تا 24 ساعت اضافه بیاورد و بنابراین شرط را نباخته است. در اوج شادمانی از اود خواستگاری می‌کند و او را به عقد ازدواج خود درمی‌آورد. در این رمان عنصر خنده (مثلاً سماجت مأمور پلیس در تعقیب فوگ و کارهای جالب پاسپارتو) با عنصر حادثه‌پردازی به هم می‌آمیزد....less

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Scurra

Scurra rated it:

(review of isbn 0812504305)

09/20/08

Read in January, 1980

Jules Verne has much in common with one of my favourite authors, Piers Anthony. You don't read him for the literary or stylistic qualities, you read him for the cool ideas. And 130 years later, this is still a seriously cool idea - a race against time based on a plausible real-world scenario.

It's very difficult not to get caught up in the story, which rattles along almost as quickly as Phileas Fogg pursues his journey with a single-mindedness that puts most other action heroes to ...more

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Loay

Loay rated it:

(review of isbn 1584723807)

09/12/08

Around the world In 80 days

The story begins with a background about Mr. Phileas Fogg. He is an English gentleman that is not well known in they area. Moreover, Fogg was a rich man and a member of the Reform Club. He has a well organized schedule and strict rule; he dismissed one of his servants because of a little mistake. Mr. fogg got new French server. There was an argument in the reform club about an article that state new open railway in India. Fogg made his mind to trave...more

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Ian

Ian rated it:

(review of isbn 1853260908)

08/02/08

bookshelves: fantasy-sci-fi, literature

Read in July, 2008

recommends it for: Travel lit fans

Jules Verne is hailed (or perhaps pilloried) as one of the forerunners of the science fiction novel. I picked up this book out of curiosity, having read of the inventions he had imagined in some of his writing that, at least as general concepts, turned out to be feasible many decades later. It's actually two short novels, Around the World in Eighty Days and Five Weeks in a Balloon.

Primarily, these stories are adventure stories, and so are a light read. Some have considered Verne's...more

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Kristen

Kristen rated it:

(review of isbn 014044906X)

06/26/08

bookshelves: classics

Read in June, 2008

There is something to be said about the writing of Jules Verne… he is direct, concise and minimalist which seems so opposite of the stories he is writing, which are always huge fantastic tales. Though many of his novels are more Science Fiction, this is simply an Adventure novel. The problem with reading this novel now, is that it is very difficult to go into it without having seen one of the many movies that were made from the book. I believe that by the time I read this, I had seen almost...more There is something to be said about the writing of Jules Verne… he is direct, concise and minimalist which seems so opposite of the stories he is writing, which are always huge fantastic tales. Though many of his novels are more Science Fiction, this is simply an Adventure novel. The problem with reading this novel now, is that it is very difficult to go into it without having seen one of the many movies that were made from the book. I believe that by the time I read this, I had seen almost every movie ever made on it (include the newest “Jackie Chan” version which my kids love). That being said… even though the movies and the book are very different, the ending is still the same, which detracts a bit from the reading of the book. I would have loved to have read this back in the time when it was written, I am sure that the little boys and girls laying in their beds reading this were exhilarated by the ending, and then spent many an hour planning their own trip around the world. Something in Verne’s writing does that… it opens up your belief that somewhere out there is a grand adventure waiting for you.

This tale is told mainly from the perspective of Passepartout, the manservant of Phileas Fogg. Fogg is and has always been a punctual man whose life is run like clockwork. Each second of the day is structured, pre-planned and no great adventure ever befalls Mr. Fogg. Passapartout, a Frenchman looking for a new start on life is very excited to find such a calm, respectable, and orderly man to work for. Unfortunately on his very first day on the job, Fogg makes a strange bet. Fogg bets his friends that it is indeed possible to round the world in 80 days. After much arguing, they take the bet, half of Fogg’s fortune is at stake. When he returns home, Fogg informs Passepartout of their mission and they begin to pack. Meanwhile, the Bank has been robbed of 50k pounds (a huge amount back then) and Inspector Fix is on the case… hearing about Fogg’s plan to circle the globe, he assumes that he is the thief and is using the bet to run from the law.

Heading Eastward, Fogg and Passepartout travel by train, ship and elephant, with Fix always on their trail. The descriptions of the places they travel through are very minimalist, and the reader learns very little about the different cities and countries they cross. Since the travelers spend most of the time on trains or ships there is very little description, and much more on the planning and tracking of their trip. The most descriptive and interesting part of the story for me was the part where they were forced to take an elephant to continue the journey. Because they were then outside and traveling more slowly there was some additional detail and the action increased.

On the whole this is a brilliantly thought out book, though I don’t consider it one of Verne’s best. I only say that because I found that people riding on a boat or a train are not particularly exciting. There was never the sense of danger that “Journey to the Center of the Earth” or some of his others contained. Still it was a very fun and quick read. I highly recommend it to the 13 and up crew. Much younger than that and I believe they would enjoy having it read to them, because due to the differences in the world back then versus now, I feel that it would require some discussion for true appreciation. On the whole I think everyone should sit down at some point and read this book, along with many of his others.
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Madame Charlotte

Madame Charlotte rated it:

(review of isbn 2877142132)

03/21/08

bookshelves: _romans

Read in September, 2007

Je n’avais encore jamais lu un seul Jules Verne. La honte ! Il était donc temps de m’y mettre, car c’est quand même un précurseur de la SF ! Et je ne suis pas déçue par cet illustre visionnaire et talentueux conteur. Les aventures de Phileas Fogg sont rocambolesques, dépaysantes et pleines de surprises. Jules Verne décrit des personnages à la psychologie bien définie, Phileas Fogg est le type même de l’anglais excentrique et flegmatique, Passepartout est le français dégourdi,...more Je n’avais encore jamais lu un seul Jules Verne. La honte ! Il était donc temps de m’y mettre, car c’est quand même un précurseur de la SF ! Et je ne suis pas déçue par cet illustre visionnaire et talentueux conteur. Les aventures de Phileas Fogg sont rocambolesques, dépaysantes et pleines de surprises. Jules Verne décrit des personnages à la psychologie bien définie, Phileas Fogg est le type même de l’anglais excentrique et flegmatique, Passepartout est le français dégourdi, Fix le détective obstiné. Notre anglais “sans nerfs” tente de gagner le pari de parcourir le monde en 80 jours. Une occasion pour l’auteur de faire l’inventaire des moyens de transports de l’époque, alors en expansion, et d’ébaucher une peinture rapide de différentes cultures rencontrées par les protagonistes durant leur voyage. Chemin de fer, bateaux de commerce ou paquebot, traîneaux, éléphant, voitures, toutes les inventions de la révolution industrielle et les moyens plus classiques sont bons pour gagner le pari insolite et impossible. Fogg, imperturbable, suit son itinéraire avec conviction, tandis que de multiples contretemps vont jouer en sa défaveur, jusqu’à ce qu’il trouve une parade efficace, pour la plus grande stupéfaction de son fidèle Passepartout. Sauvetage d’une jeune hindoue sur le point d’être sacrifiée, attaque du train par les Sioux, Fogg pisté par Fix qui le prend pour un voleur, l’anglais parvient malgré tout à poursuivre sa route. C’est drôle, énergique, intelligent, agréable à lire.

“On ne connaissait à Phileas Fogg, ni femme ni enfants,- ce qui peut arriver aux gens les plus honnêtes -, ni parents ni amis, - ce qui est plus rare en vérité.”

“Passepartout eut comme une sensation d’humidité autour de la prunelle. Son maître avait fait un pas dans son cœur.”

“Quant à voir la ville il n’y pensait même pas, étant de cette race d’Anglais qui font visiter par leur domestique les pays qu’ils traversent.”...less

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