From the Bookshelf of The Steampunk, Cyberpunk, and Other Fictitious and Non-Fictitious Works Group…

Around the World in Eighty Days

Jules Verne

Start date: July 1, 2012

Finish date: August 1, 2012

Discussion leader: Laszlo

Why we're reading this: This book is by one famous author having to do with the Victorian Eras, the main center of this group, so…more
[close] This book is by one famous author having to do with the Victorian Eras, the main center of this group, so we should definitely read it.

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Aug 17, 2015 Steven rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

I re-read this, after several earlier reads. I am, perhaps, one of the biggest Jules Verne fans in the world, so don't look for an unbiased review. I notice some reviewers are angry at Verne for being so pro-British and pro-European, and for looking down on other races and nationalities. I'm not defending that feature of his writing, but people ought to remember that his audience was the French population of the early 1870s. He had no idea his book would last so long in popularity.

In fact, the I re-read this, after several earlier reads. I am, perhaps, one of the biggest Jules Verne fans in the world, so don't look for an unbiased review. I notice some reviewers are angry at Verne for being so pro-British and pro-European, and for looking down on other races and nationalities. I'm not defending that feature of his writing, but people ought to remember that his audience was the French population of the early 1870s. He had no idea his book would last so long in popularity.

In fact, the real question is, why does the book remain so appealing, so long after the basic concept has become obsolete. Today, astronauts circle the world in 80 minutes! An average citizen could fly around the world, with less preparation than Fogg, in 80 hours.

Why the remaining popularity, then? The tension may be part of it--is Fogg ahead or behind? Will Fix arrest him and end the journey? The adventure may be part of it--storms, elephant rides, a duel, a gunfight, a train racing across a collapsing bridge, a search for a missing man, a ride in a wind-powered sledge, and the need to burn all the wood in a ship when the coal gives out. The romance may be a bit of it; although not much of a romance story, it is Verne's only real romantic story. But I think the biggest appeal is the characterization, especially Fogg and Passepartout.

Fogg is meant to be an entertaining character to Verne's French audience--the epitome of a stuffy pompous, emotionless, precise Englishman. Passepartout represents France itself, and it's through his eyes that we see the journey. He conveys the emotional ups and downs; he is the one amazed at all the sights of the journey; he gives the energy and liveliness and most of the fun in the story.

Strangely, Fix is the most complex character of the book. Whether that's intentional on Verne's part, or whether Fix's behavior is altered to fit the plot and just comes off as complex, I don't know.

Verne could have done so much more with the character of Aouda. She's the only major female character in any of Verne's novels, and she's really only there to look beautiful, adore Fogg, and marry him. That diminutive role set the stage for science fiction for decades. Perhaps Verne shied away from doing more with her because of his own strained relationship with his wife (hinted at in the Mormon scenes in the book, where a character observes that being married to one woman is more than enough). Or maybe Verne didn't want to stretch matters too far with Aouda because, after all, Fogg's marriage to her was essentially an interracial one, at a time when such marriages were very unusual.

Still the book is amazing. So long as you remember its intended audience, you'll love it. ...more

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Feb 15, 2013 Bradley Verdell rated it it was amazing

Absolutely loved the setup of Phileas Fogg's clockwork lifestyle, the description of the Victorian Reform Club, and the suddenness when they depart. It has such a thick air of adventure about the whole thing. I love that Victorian solemnity and determination to keep a wager for the sake of honor, or duel with pistols over the slightest insult, and generally the grand sense of adventure that a long journey around the world entails. The train journey across America was a big highlight, as was the ...more

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