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Journey to the Center of the Earth

Jules Verne

Start date: July 1, 2013

Finish date: July 31, 2013

Discussion leader: Katy

Why we're reading this: Revisit the Shelf Group Read, July 2013
Previous Group Reads:
- Old School Classic Group Read, June 2012
[close] Revisit the Shelf Group Read, July 2013
Previous Group Reads:
- Old School Classic Group Read, June 2012

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What Members Thought

Feb 23, 2010 Gaijinmama rated it liked it

Shelves: classics, science-fiction

This was just OK for me. The first two-thirds were slow-paced, but I kept going because the complicated relationship between the narrator and his uncle was interesting. I also really enjoyed the descriptions of Iceland and would totally LOVE to visit.
The last third of the book was a lot more exciting and I liked the way it ends, although it's completely out of the realm of scientific possibility.
Things that really bothered me: Verne was sexist, or just not all that interested in women. He also w ...more

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Sep 20, 2020 Maggie rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: boxall-1001, adventure, fiction, european, classics, science-fiction, guardian-1000

Jules Verne wrote science fiction stories, in a series known as Voyages extraordinaires ("Extraordinary Journeys"), that were published by a man named Hetzel in biweekly chapters in a magazine. These stories were edited by Hetzel. Verne was not allowed to depict France, and all his stories had happy endings, with no complex male-female relationships. Essentially, they were science fiction adventure stories for boys.

That’s what the introduction to my Penguin edition of the book says. So when read Jules Verne wrote science fiction stories, in a series known as Voyages extraordinaires ("Extraordinary Journeys"), that were published by a man named Hetzel in biweekly chapters in a magazine. These stories were edited by Hetzel. Verne was not allowed to depict France, and all his stories had happy endings, with no complex male-female relationships. Essentially, they were science fiction adventure stories for boys.

That’s what the introduction to my Penguin edition of the book says. So when reading Jules Verne's stories, it's with the caveat that they were highly edited to suit the business strategy of a publisher. Journey to the Centre of the Earth is about Professor Lidenbrock who discovers a runic message by the 17th century explorer Arne Saknussemm about going to the centre of the earth. Bringing along his unwilling nephew Axel and an impassive Icelandic guide Hans, Lidenbrock travels to Iceland and descends into a crater. The three explore a series of underground tunnels. At one point they face extreme thirst before discovering water. Then Axel gets lost. When he finds his friends, they are next to a sea. They travel across the sea in a raft, get shipwrecked in a storm, discover Arne Saknussemm's initials engraven on a rock, and in an enthralling turn of events, are blasted out of a volcano back to Earth in Italy.

You can tell Jules Verne meant for the scientific theories to be taken seriously. He goes into detail about scientific theories, the instruments used to calculate where the travellers are, and how the type of soil or rock formations indicate which era in history the travellers are exploring. Axel repeatedly talks about the theory of central heat, in which the earth's temperature gets increasingly higher the deeper you go into its core, so that the core would be over a thousand degrees celsius. Axel believes the theory, but Professor Lidenbrock does not, and Axel ponders about it right through to the end of the book. I can imagine the novel being good science education material for kids in the 19th century. Of course science has progressed since Verne's time, and Verne's theory of our earth being hollow with a second sphere within the earth, complete with a sea, a sky, trees, animals and people living under us, is nonsensical, but quite creative and rather hilarious.

If the book was all about adventures and science, it could have been quite boring. But there is a human aspect to it. Professor Lidenbrock, an impatient man obsessed with his work and with the progress of science, worries and cares for Axel when the travellers almost die from thirst and when Axel gets lost in the darkness. These are touching moments in the story, and because of them I liked the Professor a lot more. Hans is the opposite to the Professor - he is calm and he takes everything in his stride, but while likeable, his lack of emotion makes him a difficult character to connect with. Axel is opposite to the Professor in a different way. Whereas the Professor is recklessly eager to explore the wonders in the earth, Axel worries about every possible danger. They complement each other. The Professor is the driving force behind the expedition, and Axel is his balancing and grounding force. ...more

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Jun 12, 2013 Nola Tillman rated it liked it

Shelves: 1001-books-to-read, classics, fiction-science-fiction

Started off somewhat dry but then picked up. The antics and impatience of Professor Liedenbrock often made me chuckle. Although the environment beneath Earth's crust comes nowhere close to Verne's imagination, the journey described still remains compelling.

The writing feels a bit more stilted than the last Verne novel I read, 'Around the World in 80 Days,' which left me enjoying it slightly less. Still, the tale is enjoyable, and the characters plausible...and I confess my heart clenched up a bi ...more

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Aug 10, 2018 Ellen Librarian rated it liked it

This was my favorite movie when I was a kid (the original, with Pat Boone and James Mason). I watched it a zillion times on TV for years. I've been racking my brain trying to remember exactly what I found so fascinating as I'm not normally much of a science fiction fan.

I found the book rather charming as well as engaging. A bit less exciting than the movie, as I remember it. However one read is enough, I think. :)

I was disappointed to see that there was no Gertrude in the book, though! For those ...more

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Apr 14, 2022 superawesomekt rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: science-fiction, atwi80b-challenge

2.5 / 3 stars

Tim Curry is awesome. This story.... I definitely liked Around the World in 80 Days better. The narrator is such a whiner! His uncle is awesome, tho.

This book is interesting in part because it's a little time capsule of what was believed and speculated about when Jules Verne wrote it. I feel like some of my enjoyment was in thinking about what we take for granted or speculate about now and how dated and strange and wrong it may be in the future. It's good to have a little humility, ...more

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Nov 09, 2013 Heather L rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, group-read, 2013, book-to-movie

Finally finished! I had some difficulty getting into this one at times, and really had to push to the end. An okay read, I guess. Not really a fan of sci-fi, and I had some trouble suspending my disbelief, particularly at the end.

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Apr 07, 2013 Julia rated it really liked it

Shelves: nook, ya, history, scifi-fantasy, science, classics, 2013-alphabet-challenge

Surprisingly enjoyable, despite the hero being a cowardly twit. I'm surprised this hasn't been turned into a YA adventure movie. ...more

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Mar 03, 2008 Laura rated it really liked it

Shelves: french-literature, 1001-books-you-must-read-before-you, book-and-movie

Le professeur Lidenbrock est persuadé d'avoir découvert le chemin qui mène au centre de la Terre. Accompagné de son neveu Axel, l'impétueux géologue part en Islande. Là, au fond d'un volcan, les deux explorateurs et leur guide s'enfoncent dans les entrailles mystérieuses du globe. ...more

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