20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Puffin Graphics)

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea (Puffin Graphics)

published	2006 by Puffin
first published	1870
binding	Paperback
isbn	0142406643 (isbn13: 9780142406649)
pages	176
description	Professor Aronnax and his team set out on a mission to rid the seas of a giant monster. Yet when they are captured by the "monster" itself, ...more [close] Professor Aronnax and his team set out on a mission to rid the seas of a giant monster. Yet when they are captured by the "monster" itself, the Nautilus, an amazing submarine commanded by Captain Nemo, the prisoners are whisked away on an adventure like no other. The wonders of the underwater world—and the dangers—are nothing if not captivating in this stunning new graphic novel adaptation of the classic Jules Verne novel. [close]
date added	01-09-07 edit book

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Jason Pettus

Jason rated it:

03/14/08

Read in March, 2008

(Reprinted from the Chicago Center for Literature and Photography [cclapcenter.com]. I am the original author of this essay, as well as the owner of CCLaP; it is not being reprinted here illegally.)

The CCLaP 100: In which I read a hundred so-called "classic" novels, then write reports on whether or not I think they deserve the label
Book #8: Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, by Jules Verne (1870)

The story in a nutshell:
Writing in the same Victorian ...more

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Kanchan

Kanchan rated it:

(review of isbn 076072850X)

08/22/07

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is a classic science fiction novel by French writer Jules Verne (1828–1905), published in 1870 under the title Vingt mille lieues sous les mers. The original edition, published by Hetzel, contains a number of illustrations by Alphonse de Neuville and Edouard Riou. The novel is about the fictional Captain Nemo and his submarine, Nautilus, as seen by one of his passengers, Professor Pierre Aronnax.

The title refers to the distance travelled under the sea,...more Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea is a classic science fiction novel by French writer Jules Verne (1828–1905), published in 1870 under the title Vingt mille lieues sous les mers. The original edition, published by Hetzel, contains a number of illustrations by Alphonse de Neuville and Edouard Riou. The novel is about the fictional Captain Nemo and his submarine, Nautilus, as seen by one of his passengers, Professor Pierre Aronnax.

The title refers to the distance travelled under the sea, not to the depth, as 20,000 leagues is 20 times the radius of the earth. If the title is more literally translated from the French as "20,000 Leagues under the Seas", not "under the Sea", this becomes clearer.

The story was written before modern sea-going submarines were a reality. It is narrated by Professor Pierre Aronnax, a noted marine biologist, who is accompanied by his faithful assistant Conseil and by a Canadian harpooner named Ned Land. As the story begins, a mysterious "sea monster", theorized by some to be a giant narwhal, is sighted by ships of several nations; an ocean liner is also damaged by the creature. The United States government finally assembles an expedition to track down and destroy the menace. Since Aronnax happens to be in New York City at the time and is a recognized expert in his field, he is invited at the last minute to go along, and he accepts. Master harpoonist Ned Land and Aronnax's faithful assistant Conseil were also brought on board.

The expedition sets sail from Long Island aboard an American warship, the Abraham Lincoln, which travels down around the tip of South America and into the Pacific Ocean. After much fruitless searching, the monster is found, and the ship charges into battle. During the fight, the ship's steering is damaged, and the three protagonists are thrown overboard. They find themselves stranded on the "hide" of the creature, only to discover to their surprise that it is a large metal vessel. They are quickly captured and brought inside the vessel, where they meet its enigmatic creator and commander, Captain Nemo. ("Nemo" means "no one" in Latin)

The rest of the story follows the adventures of the protagonists aboard the submarine, the Nautilus, which was built in secrecy and now roams the seas free of any land-based government. Captain Nemo's motivation is implied to be both a scientific thirst for knowledge, and a desire for revenge on, and self imposed exile from, civilization. Captain Nemo explains that the submarine is electrically powered, and equipped to carry out cutting edge marine biology research; he also tells his new passengers that while he appreciates having an expert such as Aronnax with whom to converse, they can never leave because he is afraid they will betray his existence to the world. Aronnax is enthralled by the vistas he is seeing, but Land constantly plots to escape.

Their travels take them to numerous points in the world's oceans, some of them which were known to Jules Verne from real travelers' descriptions and guesses, while others are completely fictional. Thus, the travelers witness the real corals of the Red Sea, the wrecks of the battle of Vigo Bay, the Antarctic ice shelves, and the fictional submerged Atlantis. The travelers also go to expeditions under the sea, where they hunt sea creatures with special-designed guns and they make a funeral to a crew member who died when an accident occurred inside the Nautilus. Back in the Atlantic Ocean, a group of giant squid (cuttlefish in the usual English translation) attacks the Nautilus, and kills a crew member. Nemo is plunged into deep depression, and allows the submarine to wander into an encounter with the Moskstraumen whirlpool off the coast of Norway. This gives the three prisoners an opportunity to escape; they make it back to land alive, but the fate of Captain Nemo and his crew is not revealed.

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fatemeh

fatemeh rated it:

(review of isbn 0000000000)

03/19/07

bookshelves: literatrue-story-novel

Read in January, 2003

این رمان دنباله فرزندان کاپیتان گرانت است و پس از آن جزیره اسرارآمیز میآید. حیوان دریایی عجیبی با هیکل غولآسا در بعضی از سواحل دیده شده است. یک گروه تحقیق در کشتی امریکایی «آبراهام لینکلن» تشکیل میشود. آروناکس ، دانشمند طبیعیدان فرانسوی، و نوکر او، کونسی ، جزو این گروهند....more این رمان دنباله فرزندان کاپیتان گرانت است و پس از آن جزیره اسرارآمیز میآید. حیوان دریایی عجیبی با هیکل غولآسا در بعضی از سواحل دیده شده است. یک گروه تحقیق در کشتی امریکایی «آبراهام لینکلن» تشکیل میشود. آروناکس ، دانشمند طبیعیدان فرانسوی، و نوکر او، کونسی ، جزو این گروهند. کشتی برای شکار آن حیوان دریایی حرکت میکند. هنگامی که موفق به مشاهده آن نهنگ میشوند، موج عظیمی برمیخیزد و کشتی را تقریباً به تمامی زیر آب فرو میکشد و آروناکس و کونسی و ند لند ، نیزهافکن کشتی، را بر پشت نهنگ پرتاب میکند. ولی این شئ غول آسا نهنگ نبوده بلکه زیردریایی عظیمی به نام تاتیلوس است. سه مرد را به درون ناتیلوس میبرند و نزدیک ده ماه در آنجا میمانند. کاپیتان نمو ، که نقشه ناتیلوس را کشیده است، و نیز دیگر سرنشینان «ناتیلوس» ظاهراً از آمیزش با مردم به شدت احتراز میکنند. سه قهرمان ما در معیت این شخصیت مرموز از زیر برزخ سوئز میگذرند، قاره مفقود و اسرارآمیز آتلانتید و گنجهای مدفونش را میبینند، با آدمخواران و اختاپوسهای غولپیکر میجنگند، در جنگلهای زیر دریا به شکار میپردازند و در یک گورستان مرجانی در تشییع جنازهای حضور مییابند ولی همواره در حسرت بازگشت به روی زمین به سر میبرند، خاصه که نفرت از میزبان نیز بر این حسرت افزوده میشود؛ و آن از روزی است که میبینند چگونه او با کمال خونسردی یک کشتی را با همه سرنشینانش غرق میکند. آنگاه هویت حقیقی کاپیتان نمو را کشف میکنند: او شاهزادهای هندی است که انگلیسیها در روزگار گذشته خانه و ملکش را گرفته و او را از عزیزترین علایق زندگیش محروم ساختهاند و او از آن زمان دشمنانش را با کینه و نفرت تعقیب میکند. سرانجام ند لند و آروناکس و کونسی تصمیم به فرار میگیرند. سوار زورقی میشوند، جریان گرداب زورق را از تنه زیردریایی جدا میکندولی به شکل معجزه آسایی نجات مییابند و به یکی از جزایر لوفوتن میروند و از آنجا خود را به فرانسه میرسانند. این رمان، یکی از بهترین رمانهای ژول ورن است. شخصیت کاپیتان نمو، که دستور غرق یک کشتی را میدهد و خود با خونسردی به تماشای آن میپردازد و سپس در برابر تصویر زن جوان و دو کودک میگرید و برای شورشیان یونانی طلا تهیه میکند و پرچم سیاهش را در قلب منطقه قطبی مینشاند؛ در حقیقت قهرمانی رمانتیک است و تا اندازهای یادآور «ابرمرد»ی است که مورد علاقه ادبیات آن عصر بوده است.

ابوالحسن نجفی. فرهنگ آثار. سروش.

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Erikwithak

Erikwithak rated it:

05/05/08

Read in May, 2008

recommends it for: Everyone, especially boaters

Jules Verne
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
New York: Bantoms Books, 1962
p.p. 371 $ 7.21
0-553-21063-7

A book that can captivate it's reader so much that they do not know when they are approaching the end, is a very special thing. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne a one of those books. This classic novel covers adventure, mystery, and even a very powerful message of how you cannot fight change, even when change is worth stopping.
As the title, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea ...more Jules Verne
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
New York: Bantoms Books, 1962
p.p. 371 $ 7.21
0-553-21063-7

A book that can captivate it's reader so much that they do not know when they are approaching the end, is a very special thing. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne a one of those books. This classic novel covers adventure, mystery, and even a very powerful message of how you cannot fight change, even when change is worth stopping.
As the title, 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea suggests, the story mainly takes place under the mwater. The story follows a scientist, Dr. Aronnax who is also our narrator and Ned, a brutish whaler. Our two main protagonists are captured by the antagonist of the story Captain Nemo and brought on board of his personal submarine, The Natalus. This is where much of the mystery element comes into play. The reader does not know what Nemo is going to do with his prisoners or how he even obtained such an incredible submarine. The reader soon learns that Nemo is an incredible rich man. Nemo has gone slightly mad and in an attempt to hide from society built a multi-million dollar submarine. Verne does a very good job of explaining the many nautical terms used in the text, since he used to be a sailor himself. The plot develops quickly from this point making the book very exciting page turner.
Nemo takes, the doctor and Ned on a world tour covering over 20,000 leagues (about 60,000 miles). As the story progresses Dr. Aronnax learns that Nemo has a slightly demented habit of sinking ships for pleasure. He does this because of his fear of change. This is where a slightly sad sympathetic tone is introduced into the writing. Verne does a great job of showing how Nemo's soul is tortured from the many tragic events of his past life. The book takes many sharp, unexpected turns before the end leading the reader to have many guesses on the final resolution. Nemo wants escape the change in society and knows in his heart that the change in the morals of society is for the worst. Nemo desperately tries to stop change at all costs, but soon learns change happens, even if it for the worst.
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is a great book. It has adventure, mystery and even a very powerful message that everyone can learn from. The theme carries a very powerful punch that not every reader can sympathize with. Either way 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea will still continue to go down in history as one of the most powerful and interesting books ever written. ...less

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Soomanaat

Soomanaat rated it:

04/22/08

ناگهان توجه جهان به اعماق آبها جلب می‌شود.مردم جهان متوجه موجود ناشناسی می‌شوند، که در اعماق آب‌ها زندگی می‌کند. عده‌ای گمان می‌کنند او یک کوسه بزرگ است، عده دیگری هستند، که معتقدند، او نوعی هیولای دریایی ناشناخته است. اما کمتر کسی می‌تواند تصورش را بکند،‌ که آن موجود، و�...more ناگهان توجه جهان به اعماق آبها جلب می‌شود.مردم جهان متوجه موجود ناشناسی می‌شوند، که در اعماق آب‌ها زندگی می‌کند. عده‌ای گمان می‌کنند او یک کوسه بزرگ است، عده دیگری هستند، که معتقدند، او نوعی هیولای دریایی ناشناخته است. اما کمتر کسی می‌تواند تصورش را بکند،‌ که آن موجود، وسیله‌ایست ساخته دست بشر.

پروفسور آروناکس به همراه ندلند که صیاد نهنگ است، و یک دوست دیگر، با یک کشتی تحقیقاتی به جستجوی این هیولای زیر آب می‌روند. اما کشتی در اثر برخورد با آن موجود آسیب می‌بیند و پروفسور آروناکس و همراهانش،‌از یک زیردریایی سر در می‌آورند. چیزی که تا کنون مانندش را ندیدن و حتا تصورش را هم نکرده‌اند.

آنها با ناتیلوس سفر می‌کنند و شگفتیهای دنیای آب را می‌بینند، ودر همین حین با کاپیتان نمو، ناخدا و مالک ناتیلوس آشنا می‌شوند. پرفسور در عین حال که کاپیتان را تحسین می‌کند، اخلاقیات او را رد می‌کند، و فکر می‌کند برخورد او با مسائل دنیا درست نیست. پرفسور و همراهانش متوجه می‌شوند، چون از راز ناخدا نمو آگاه گشته‌اند، در واقع در ناتیلوس اسیر شده‌اند و دیگر نمی‌توانند به دنیای روی آب باز گردند، اما آنها حاضر نیستند، تا آخر عمر در ناتیلوس بمانند.

در این داستان ناخدا نمو را بیشتر از زاویه دید و قضاوت پرفسور آروناکس و همراهانش می‌بینیم. آنها کاپیتان نمو را مردی کمابیش دیوانه و دنیا گریز می‌بینند...less

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Justin

Justin rated it:

(review of isbn 076072850X)

02/04/08

recommends it for: anyone

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

So, I just finished 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne. It was pretty good. The book is mostly about Captain Nemo showing the wonders of the deep sea to Prof. Arronax, on board the Nautilus by mistake. The sub goes to different parts of the ocean depths, including the world's biggest oyster bed, sunken Spanish gold fields and the lost continent of Atlantis - all under water. Two or three pages of each chapter are devoted to a catalog of the various underwater life observed by Arronax ...more

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Brooke

Brooke rated it:

(review of isbn 076072850X)

04/02/08

bookshelves: 2008, classics

Read in April, 2008

Two stars is almost generous; given his importance in the history of the science fiction genre, it really seems like Jules Verne should have produced something that stood the test of time. Twenty Thousand Leagues is a chore to read; I read in another review that a total of 75 pages are devoted to lists of fish. This explains why it didn't take me very long to read this book, after the first few fish passages, I began jumping over them whenever I noticed they were starting again.

Capta...more

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Werner

Werner rated it:

(review of isbn 076072850X)

05/05/08

bookshelves: classics, science-fiction

Read in January, 2000

Verne's works are difficult for an English-speaking reader to evaluate fairly, because he wasn't well-served by the English translations of his day --which are still the standard ones in print, which most people read. The translators changed plots and character's names in some cases, excised passages they considered "boring," and generally took a very free hand with the text; so you never know how much of the plodding pacing, bathetic dialogue, and stylistic faults (for instance, what...more

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Jen

Jen rated it:

(review of isbn 076072850X)

05/23/08

bookshelves: recentlyfinished

Read in May, 2008

recommends it for: anyone interested in the sea

Well, this isn't the exact edition I read (mine was a Signet classic paperback) but... what does that really matter, in the end, so long as it's not abridged?

Anyway, even though I totally love 19th century literature, I really wasn't expecting to like this book so much as I did. It was fast-paced (...er... for a Victorian novel, that is), and not nearly as politically incorrect as I'd feared. Seriously, there is scolding when the main character refers to some pacific island natives as sa...more

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Andrew

Andrew rated it:

(review of isbn 076072850X)

07/12/07

Read in July, 2007

recommends it for: Everyone

A classic in every sense of the word, and well worth a read if you have never done so.

The particular copy I had (one of the Barnes and Nobles Classics Paperbacks, with notations) was doubly fascinating as a cultural barometer; Verne goes to a lot of trouble to work detailed explanations of the technology that Nemo has created (like electric lights and motors, the use of electricity as a weapon [think tasers], and the workings of a submarine and scuba gear) into the narrative, so that his rea...more

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Faustess

Faustess rated it:

(review of isbn 076072850X)

05/07/08

bookshelves: fiction-megalist

Read in July, 2005

I just finished Verne's masterpiece today. I would have liked to have had a 19th century dictionary (or a very good current one!) with me while reading it, as some of the old words for different marine life were confusing for me. The ship-talk was a little dull, but I would have probably enjoyed it more if I'd been plotting the Nautilus's course on a map with latitude and longitude.

That being said, however, I really enjoyed 20,000 Leagues. I read it as part of a Barnes & Noble online dis...more

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Chris

Chris rated it:

(review of isbn 076072850X)

06/13/08

Read in February, 2008

recommended to Chris by: My own interests
recommends it for: Adventure book readers

This book ties with my top spot on my list (other being Treasure Island). Adventure, intreague and suspense all while exploring the unknown depths of the sea await you.
In the year of 1866 a mysterious "Monster" of the sea has wreaked havoc in the shipping world. Eager to solve the problem a voiage is set out to slay the beast, which in fact, turns out to be a futuristic submarine run by the enigma who calls himself Captain Nemo (Nemo means no man in Latin). The main character, Prof...more

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Ali

Ali rated it:

(review of isbn 076072850X)

04/02/08

bookshelves: fantasy-fictions

ya, I would say I've read it some day, and I enjoyed it a lot, as much as my daydreams!
اغلب آثار ژول ورن با ترجمه هایی عجیب غریب توسط مترجمانی گمنام به فارسی برگردانده می شد و بیشتر جزو کتاب های کیلویی گوتمبرک در ابتدای دهه ی چهل به فروش می رسید. نسل ما هم مثل همه ی نسل های جوان، ژول ورن را به تخیلات دور و درازش دوست...more

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Matthew

Matthew rated it:

(review of isbn 076072850X)

01/05/08

A pleasant little adventure with quite a few loooooong-winded lists of aquatic life and now-irrelevant scientific notions. I was never very captivated by the story, but Captain Nemo is definitely an intriguing and iconic character, as is his submarine, the Nautilus. It was one of those works that I wanted to like better because of its originality and inventiveness and it's iconic place in literature, but I just never found myself drawn deeply into the narrative. It's certainly one thin...more

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Devon

Devon rated it:

(review of isbn 076072850X)

07/18/08

god this book was awful
ok i hear people complain about tolkien saying that he describes things too much, that he writes about all the flowers and bushes and trees(and most people are pissed because they dont know what those things actually look like and it screws up their ability to visualize the story)
and i see where they are coming from, but verne does it in this book, only with the fish.
he catalogs every species of fish they see, and you know what it felt like he was writing to say. i ...more

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Sondra

Sondra is currently reading it (review of isbn 076072850X)

03/24/08

bookshelves: currently-reading

Read in October, 2007

I'm not really enjoying this but I'm trying to get through it ... on my Blackberry. I revert to it whenever I'm stuck in a line-up, which is probably why I'm not enjoying it. What's interesting about it is that it was written so long ago, prior to the invention of submarines and before the knowledge we now have about the oceans. The worlds described are fabulous; I just want it to end soon. I don't see where it's going. I downloaded it for free on Project Gutenburg. I think I will go for &...more

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Quinn

Quinn rated it:

(review of isbn 076072850X)

08/15/07

It's an amazing book but weirdly difficult to get through because of all the pseudo-scientific jargon he packs into it, which I seem to remember reading later Verne admitted to totally making up. So just when you're getting interested by Nemo, thinking what the hell ethnicity is this guy anyway? or what is this energy he can produce? you get swamped by thirty pages on the architecture of urchin skeletons. I'm tempted to make the rare call that the movie might be better, definitely more easil...more

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David

David rated it:

(review of isbn 076072850X)

06/26/08

bookshelves: classics

A science textbook and a legal document had a baby that thinks it's a novel.

I read about 2/3 of it, and every bit of it was a chore. At first i didn't think anything would ever happen. then i decided things were happening, but it still wasn't worth it. The characters are boring and unbelievable and the tone of the entire book (and everything the characters say) is pompous. the interest in truth through scientific explanation, while charming the first couple times, gets incredibly boring, as i...more

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David

David rated it:

(review of isbn 076072850X)

09/27/07

I love Jules Verne but there are too many boring parts in this book. He has a bad habit, which really bugs me, of trying so hard to make his heroes seem brilliant that he has them reciting dictionaries. It's not believable, and seems a little lazy. For example, the characters will see plants in the ocean and they will converse for several chapters on all of the menial trivia involving the plants and their close relatives. It's not interesting information, it's just show-off data. He falls i...more

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Nathan

Nathan rated it:

(review of isbn 076072850X)

06/18/08

It has been said that Captain Nemo is the worst villain in classic literature. I disagree. I submit that Verne's intimate knowledge of marine biology, which he thrusts upon the reader in chapter after painful chapter, is TRULY the worst villain in classic literature, though it could be argued that Melville's familiarity with the whaling industry is right up there. Overall, too much of the book told me too little. I was hoping for a better character sketch of Captain Nemo, and I was left want...more

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book data (includes all editions)

avg rating (all editions): 3.54 (3523 ratings)
avg rating (this edition): 3.67 (167 ratings)
number of reviews: 230

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