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Francis's Reviews > Journey to the Center of the Earth
Journey to the Center of the Earth
by Jules Verne
by Jules Verne
I'm not going to go into a description of the plot because the title says it all. I will only give my overall opinion.
In picking this book up from the library I had fantastic preconceived images burned into my mind of what I might expect to read (prehestoric animals, humanoids, battles, escapes, etc.). I was more than a little disappointed to find it lacking most of those mentioned. I have read books like "Snowcrash" that blow my preconceived notions away with more than expected surprises, but "Journey to the Center of the Earth" left me wanting. Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels are supposed to expand your imagination and leave you with a sensation of awe,... not here. There are points in the story that are attention grabbing, such as discussing AS's book and the battle between the sea beasts, but for the most part it is just a story about the off-beat travels of three men. Another problem is the writing style. I would parallel it to "The Invisible Man" and "Catcher in the Rye" in the use of over-description and general wordiness. At times you just skip pages to get on with the journey. Verne describes in two pages what could have said in two sentences. Of course, if you are being paid by the word...
I question the use of 'classic' for the above mentioned books because first and foremost, they must be enjoyable reads and I didn't find any of them can't-put-the-book-down-good. Second, they must be applicable to more than just the day they were written. Unless 'classic' is meant to mean 'old' the term just doesn't apply to these books. But,... feel free to disagree.
In picking this book up from the library I had fantastic preconceived images burned into my mind of what I might expect to read (prehestoric animals, humanoids, battles, escapes, etc.). I was more than a little disappointed to find it lacking most of those mentioned. I have read books like "Snowcrash" that blow my preconceived notions away with more than expected surprises, but "Journey to the Center of the Earth" left me wanting. Sci-Fi/Fantasy novels are supposed to expand your imagination and leave you with a sensation of awe,... not here. There are points in the story that are attention grabbing, such as discussing AS's book and the battle between the sea beasts, but for the most part it is just a story about the off-beat travels of three men. Another problem is the writing style. I would parallel it to "The Invisible Man" and "Catcher in the Rye" in the use of over-description and general wordiness. At times you just skip pages to get on with the journey. Verne describes in two pages what could have said in two sentences. Of course, if you are being paid by the word...
I question the use of 'classic' for the above mentioned books because first and foremost, they must be enjoyable reads and I didn't find any of them can't-put-the-book-down-good. Second, they must be applicable to more than just the day they were written. Unless 'classic' is meant to mean 'old' the term just doesn't apply to these books. But,... feel free to disagree.
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Golfer Willie Park won the first British Open, the American and Japanese Civil Wars were waged, slavery was outlawed, the repeating rifle was patented, the submarine was used in warfare for the first time, roller skates and dress patterns were first marketed, the French invaded Mexico City, Karl Marx organized the International Workingmen's Association in London, Louis Pasteur discovered how to retard the spoilage of various unstable beverages aka pasteurization, daily weather forecasts begin in Great Britain, the Red Cross was established, Sarah Bernhardt made her acting debut at the Comedie Francaise, first permanent transatlantic cable was laid, Alfred Nobel invented dynamite, the first paperback book (Faust) was sold in Germany, debtors' prisons were abolished in Great Britain, the Suez Canal opened for traffic, the air brake was invented, and Charles Darwin published On the Origin of Species (actually in 1859).
Britain was engaged in world wide warfare – the Crimean and Opium Wars as well as war in Indian, Persian, Bhutan, Africa, even Japan. It was the time of the industrial revolution, wide-spread social upheaval, travel by steam rail and boat, accelerated population growth, the rise of a moneyed middle-class, urbanization, and public education.
Life expectancy for most people was about 40 years – that spent working had during daylight hours for wages barely enough to survive, much less better your life. Infancy mortality was high, Children started working in factories as young as 9, and death from measles, scarlet fever and tuberculous was common.
This was the world for which Jules Verne wrote.