Extraordinary Voyages – Carol's Notebook

Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne

March 9, 2020March 6, 2020 by Carol4 Comments

I've read three of Verne's books now, the three biggies, Around the World in 80 Days, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, and I just finished Journey to the Center of the Earth. As far as I can tell, here's what they all have in common, aside from the "journey" plot. Each has a lot of really boring parts interspersed with some thrilling, brief adventures. And I'm not sure the exciting parts outweigh the mind-numbing bits. A geologist finds a hidden scrap of paper, deciphers what it says with the help of his nephew, and decides to follow what it says and make the journey to the center of the earth. They don't actually get there by the way. The geologist takes his nephew with him and they find a guide in Iceland. What they do discover is a vast subterranean cavern. This underground world is lit by electrically charged gas at the ceiling and is filled with a very deep subterranean...

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

January 31, 2018February 12, 2018 by Carol5 Comments

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea alternates between positively boring and absolutely fascinating. At the story's opening, the seas are (maybe) being terrorized by (maybe) a giant monster. Professor Pierre Aronnax, a French marine biologist and narrator of the story, and his servant Conseil join an expedition leaving from New York to hunt the creature. Also among the crew is a Canadian whaler and master harpoonist, Ned Land. The ship finds the creature after a long search. It attacks, but the creature damages its rudder and our three protagonists are thrown into the water, only to be rescued by the monster, which, as we all know, turns out to be the Nautilus, created and commanded by Captain Nemo. Thus begins their journey of exploration under the seas, during which they travel the titular 20,000 leagues, or over 69,000 miles. First the boring. Aronnax is a biologist and Conseil is gifted at classification and they are both entranced with all the fish and sea creatures...

Around the World in 80 Days by Jules Verne

June 7, 2017 by Carol4 Comments

Around the World in 80 Days was pretty much what I expected. Phileas Fogg makes a bet with his friends that he can travel around the world in 80 days and sets off with his newly-hired servant, Passepartout. Fogg is a calm, organized, rich man, and nothing throws him. It's basically his money that lets him accomplish his aim. Passepartout has most of the adventures. It's really more about the race against the clock than experiencing the countries they were travelling through. The story was first published in 1872 and it's attitudes toward native cultures are definitely dated. It was interesting to see the view of the America West at that time, though. The blurb makes it sound a bit more exciting than it is. Fogg is a bit too reserved, while Passepartout worries about everything that comes up, we know Fogg will make it work. He is too unflappable. In all honesty, Passepartout is my favorite character. He's the one out in...