Around the World in Eighty Days (Books of Wonder)

Rating:
Summary: Nice ending, a wonderful book journey
Review: Actually, this book is more of a 3.5 stars for me. I was a little handicapped reading it because I was actually reading the book on my palm (Zire 71), therefore I'm limited with just words. My imagination wasn't aided by visuals from paperback materials. Nevertheless, I enjoyed the journey with Mr. Fogg and Passepartout.

Although there were a lot of boring scenes, the part where Mr. Fogg rescued Aouda and when Passepartout got lost because of Mr. Fix, these episodes were enough to keep the story moving.

I like that Jules Verne didn't make the book very linear. His way of storytelling does not leave its reader in the dark. Everything has an explanation for what is happening. For me, I believe the ending was the best part in this book. I was almost disappointed because I thought their journey failed but the author just tricked us a little. And although Mr. Fogg did not gain financially with the wager, it was more than material possession that he has gained. And that is a lovely lady whom he shared an exciting adventure.

This book is well-recommended.

Rating:
Summary: Great Adventure
Review: Around the World in 80 Days continues to be an entertaining read even as world travel has become so common place. It also provides a snap shot of the countries as they were when Verne wrote the book.

Rating:
Summary: Fun Reading
Review: I picked up this book at 8:00 PM and it was finished the next night. The book is short, but the story is fascinating and easy to follow. Here are some things I liked about the book....

1.) The characters are well-developed (except for Auoda, the female of the story) and lovable. Even Detective Fix, the antagonist of the hero, is found to be respected in his obligation to duty. Phileas Fogg is a worthy hero to cheer for, and his French sidekick is humorously appreciated.

2.) The different places of the world were written about in a way that must have been experienced by the author. I don?t know if Verne ever traveled the world, but his book paints a vivid picture of the different culture.

3.) As an American, it was amusing to read how the author portrayed our country and its people. The rashness of the train engineer, the passion of the political mob, and the arrogance of the colonel reflect an interesting (though probably true) caricature of an American.

4.) The ending was super, (don?t read on if you haven?t read the book!) he lost the bet and then he won the bet! How could the author make that happen? He did, and it was a great conclusion to a great book.

Rating:
Summary: Jules Rules
Review: Sorry for the tilte of my review but I could not help it. This is a great work. Of course it does not hold the same facination today as it would in 1872. Nonetheless it is a great work and a lot of fun to read.

One thing that I found very interesting is that many of the things that we take for granted today required explaining in 1872. For example, the author felt it was important to describe to his readers what a banna was like. What author would need to do that today ? Of course mu8ch of the style etc etc is very differnet than today's. But the writing is similar enough that the book is an easy read.

I am not sure if I would grant this status as a classic but I would definitly recommend the book. I would especially recommend the book to younger readers.



Rating:
Summary: Very Good Even If No Balloon Rides
Review: The story is about an eccentric Englishman named Phileas Fogg who makes a twenty thousand pound bet with five of his rich country club friends to travel around the world in eighty days with his trusty servant Passepartout a Frenchman. Along the way they have to overcome many obstacles. Fogg spends most of his fortune overcoming these obstacles and if they don't win the bet he will be ruined. There are some things however that even money can't overcome and several times Fogg is faced with a moral decision that if he pursues the right thing to do will significantly set him back on time.

Their travels take them through England, Paris, the Suez Canal, Egypt, India, Hong Kong, Japan, America, and Ireland. In India they rescue a princess who stays on with them throughout the rest of their journey and a love interest grows between her and Fogg. There is also another subplot involving a bank robbery in England where 55 thousand pounds have been stolen, and Fogg is considered to be the main suspect. A detective Fix is assigned to follow Fogg and to arrest him once he sets foot on English territory.

This book seems to be split into two parts. During the first part of the book when things are going smoothly the servant Passepartout seems to be the main character. At each port Fogg stays in his cabin and just focuses on the next leg of the trip while Passepartout ventures out and gives you a description of the land. It would seem a shame to travel all around the world and not pause to take in any of the sights as Fogg does. I found most of these early chapters pretty mundane and uneventful.

The subplot with Fix at times becomes annoying, and it isn't until they are all working towards the same goal, that this line of the story improves. I also found the exchange rate between dollars and pounds confusing at times. The pound must have been about four or five times greater than the dollar at the time this story was written. Fogg leaves England with around twenty thousand pounds and spends it seems over a hundred thousand dollars on the trip.

Later on as the story progresses and things start to go wrong the focus changes over to Fogg. Passepartout still does some heroic things, but Fogg takes charge and shows some redeeming qualities. The pace of the story quickens and becomes more enjoyable with a few skirmishes taking place in India and America. Fogg seems a different person upon returning to England, and his life is changed forever.

My wife has a framed poster that hangs on one of our walls with a collage of all of the movies that have won the best picture of the year award. "Around The World In Eighty Days" won the award in 1956, and the picture is represented in the collage with the main character Phileas Fogg and his trusty servant Passepartout taking a balloon flight. Based on this picture for years I always assumed the book was about a trip in a balloon around the world. I was surprised then to find out once I finally got a chance to read the actual book that they travel by boat, train, car, sled, and even elephant, but that they never travel by balloon. It turns out that the most memorable scene from the movie was made up by the director and added on to the story. The director seemed to have come to same conclusion that I did, that the written story itself was very good, but I was expecting something a little more.

The book was written in 1873. Jules Verne the author is a Frenchman. In this day and age it was pleasing to see both England and America looked upon in such a favorable light. Englishmen were portrayed as noble and Americans were portrayed as wild and adventurous.

Rating:
Summary: Around the world in eighty days
Review: They don't make travel novels like this anymore, unfortunately. It has adventure and you get to find quite a bit about the native peoples of the land where travel is done. This is a classic and certainly a guide for all other travel novels.

Rating:
Summary: by David Laing
Review: This book is the quintessential action story - quick pacing, light characterization, implausible scenarios, comic relief, and lots of fun. Verne was ahead of his time; he could have been a action flick screenwriter.

It was a quick, enjoyable read. The `romance' left me a little flat - particularly in that it manifested itself in a way that didn't fit the character of Fogg up to that point. The ending was great, though I was a little confused about the clocks in London - why do they chime at ten till the hour? I liked the suggestion of another amazon reviewer to utilize this book as a bedtime story. The chapters are short, self-contained units that should capture the attention of most children.

Rating:
Summary: Around the World in 80 Days
Review: This book was interesting and I couldn't put it down. Of course, this was written by Jules Verne and was filled with exciting moments. Philleas Fogg, an Englishman, bets 20,000 pounds that he can travel around the world in 80 days with his companion and sevant named Jean Passepartout. After betting this money at the reform club, he departs soon from London and travels all the way around the world. After arriving in many different countries by many different means of transportation, he lands in India and runs into a enchanting young princess who is about to be killed. Fogg and Passepartout come to the rescue and keep moving right along. And soon, they fell in love. But this whole time, there was trouble right behind him. Detective Fix thinks Fogg was a bank robber and this detective is following him everywhere so he can arrest him in London. Passepartout ends up thinking this man is a member of the reform club, and thinks he's trying to stop them from getting there. After many close calls through transportation and an arrest, Fogg arrives. But you'll have to read it yourself to find out what happens. It's a wonderful book and if you haven't read it, it's a good book to read.

Rating:
Summary: A great adventure in space and time.
Review: This is Verne's classic story of the trip of Phileas Fogg (who is obsessed with time), Passeportout, Aouda, and Detective Fix around the world on a wager. The book is filled with beautiful time and space imagery throughout (I would bet that one could write an entire thesis on all the time and space references in the novel). Thirty-three years after its publication, the world first learns of the space/time continuum (although I'm certain Verne was not anticipating Einstein). Fogg bets his fellow club members that he can circumnavigate the globe in a mere eighty days. He leaves immediately with his valet Passeportout and is pursued by Detective Fix, who thinks he is a bank robber. Through many adventures, including the rescue of Aouda from immolation, they all return to London. Interestingly, a few years later, after a number of improvements had been made in railways and roads, a U.S. journalist named Nellie Bly (the pseudonym of Elizabeth Cochrane) decided to attempt to break Fogg's "record." Leaving New York on November 14, 1889, she was able to circumnavigate the globe in 72 days, 6 hours, 11 minutes, and 14 seconds. But, she didn't rescue a Hindu princess! It should be noted, however, that one has to be very careful concerning the translations of this novel. There are some terrible ones being sold. Perhaps that's the reason for the few poor comments by earlier reviewers. There is an excellent translation by William Butcher that appeared in 1995.