Summary:
The classic novel by Jules Verne follows Mr. Phileas Fogg of London, a man who is known by all as the most punctual and mechanical man anyone could meet, as he breaks his comfortable mold to satisfy a bet. Fogg is the type of man who rises every day at the exact same time, follows the exact same schedule, and lays his head down in the same fashion day in and day out, only to do it all again tomorrow. His only job is to be so punctual, one could set a watch by him. But on October 2nd, just before seven in the evening, Mr. Fogg lays down a plan of how a traveler could manage a trip around the world in just eighty days. His friends mock the idea, and Fogg takes it on himself to make a wager with each one of them. He will be the man to travel the world in those eighty days, and he will find them again on December 21st at 8:45pm. The novel follows Fogg's adventures and misadventures as he circumvents the world with his trusty servant, Passepartout.
Thoughts:
Wholly enjoyable, even today. Yes, it's been one hundred and thirty-eight years since the publishing of this novel, which celebrated its anniversary just three weeks ago. But while transportation has taken great leaps forward, the idea still stands. In 1872, when Phileas Fogg takes on this laborious journey, he has steamers and trains at his disposal, and little else. The airplane hasn't been invented yet, let alone commercial air flight like we see today. (The first successful powered flight at all, which happened in a glider, came along two years after Fogg's journey, and a year after the book was released. The Wrights didn't show up until the turn of the century.) The closest to that was a hot air balloon, which is hardly a way to sail around the world. And even if all of the transportation issues can be disposed of now, it's still a fun way to see the world, through the eyes of a man from the nineteenth century, with 19th century problems, like having to ride an elephant part of the way, having to save a young woman from certain death, and recovering his servant who got himself kidnapped by Sioux natives in Nebraska. We can tell that Mr. Verne was interested in the delicate intricacies of time and travel and the ways of the world at that time.
This novel is a wonderful way to expand one's mind, and take a trip back in time to the days when we didn't even know the word "airplane," let alone how useful they would turn out to be. If you're interested in expanding your literary knowledge, and getting a little culture in you, read a little Jules Verne. It's not a classic for nothing, after all!
Book 6 of 50
Pages: 245
Genre: General fiction, classics, historical fiction
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: Absolutely. Jules Verne spins a yarn like no one in this century.
Showing posts with label classics. Show all posts
Showing posts with label classics. Show all posts
Sunday, February 19, 2012
Friday, April 8, 2011
Pride and Prejudice and Zombies (Jane Austen and Seth Grahame-Smith)
Summary:
The story of Pride and Prejudice, with Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, and Wickham and Lydia, and Jane and Bingley... Only with zombies. Seriously. The girls in this "adaptation" (for lack of a better word) are expert zombie killers. Still, their mother wants to marry them off as soon as possible, to any man that might come along. Mr. Darcy is as prejudiced as ever at the beginning, and Elizabeth too proud for her own good. It follows the same general storyline that the real Pride and Prejudice does, but with a few undead insertions.
Thoughts:
Funny as hell. Honestly, if you like the old story and have a bit of a sense of humor, you'll enjoy this twisting of the classic. Grahame-Smith weaves the zombies in almost seamlessly, and leaves as much of the classic alone as he can while still giving the feeling of overall foreboding that a zombie flick imparts. Jane and Elizabeth are like Buffy and Faith, masterful killers of the undead and saviors to as many innocents as possible. (Except neither of them took the crazy person pills that Faith did.) It's a little bit silly, but keeps true to Austen's original romance twists. It just has zombies, too.
Pages: 317
Genre: Classic fiction, horror
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: Yes. If you liked the original Austen, and you have room in your mind for a little silliness, you'll enjoy this.
Book 2 of 30 for the year.
The story of Pride and Prejudice, with Elizabeth and Mr. Darcy, and Wickham and Lydia, and Jane and Bingley... Only with zombies. Seriously. The girls in this "adaptation" (for lack of a better word) are expert zombie killers. Still, their mother wants to marry them off as soon as possible, to any man that might come along. Mr. Darcy is as prejudiced as ever at the beginning, and Elizabeth too proud for her own good. It follows the same general storyline that the real Pride and Prejudice does, but with a few undead insertions.
Thoughts:
Funny as hell. Honestly, if you like the old story and have a bit of a sense of humor, you'll enjoy this twisting of the classic. Grahame-Smith weaves the zombies in almost seamlessly, and leaves as much of the classic alone as he can while still giving the feeling of overall foreboding that a zombie flick imparts. Jane and Elizabeth are like Buffy and Faith, masterful killers of the undead and saviors to as many innocents as possible. (Except neither of them took the crazy person pills that Faith did.) It's a little bit silly, but keeps true to Austen's original romance twists. It just has zombies, too.
Pages: 317
Genre: Classic fiction, horror
Grade: A
Would I Recommend?: Yes. If you liked the original Austen, and you have room in your mind for a little silliness, you'll enjoy this.
Book 2 of 30 for the year.
Thursday, February 4, 2010
Sense & Sensibility (Jane Austen)
Summary:
Set in roughly the 1860's-ish, the book follows the love lives (or lack thereof) of the Miss Dashwoods. Elinor, the eldest girl of the family, is the sensible type, who falls for a man who may have other engagements. Marianne, the middle sister, falls deeply for a scoundrel who plays with her affections and brings her to all sorts of illness. Margaret, the youngest, is seen for about 20 pages throughout the whole book... And that's a generous estimate. No one cares about her until page 323. Yeah.
Thoughts:
Wow, that dragged like nothing I've read in a very long time.
A couple of years ago, I read Pride and Prejudice, and loved it. It was a little slow going at first, but once you got to the meat of the story, it was great. I laughed along with it, and loved the whole thing. It made me want to read more Austen. I have always heard that S&S was a great novel, and I should absolutely read it! I started it a little while after I finished P&P because I though it would be just as good, but couldn't get into it like I did P&P. I set it back down to be ignored for a long time.
When I finally picked it up again last month, I found myself regularly falling asleep to it instead of enjoying it like I should. It's slow going, and I found myself wanting to hit someone over the stupidity of the men in the book. Edward's hidden engagement. Willoughby's inconstancy (for lack of a better word). Colonel Brandon's wimpiness. And John Dashwood is an ass. I hated Lucy, and that she gets the best treatment by the end of the book, even after what she does? Ugh.
It's one of those books that people should read for the sole purpose of being able to sound intelligent when they get around to a discussion of literature, as it's a classic, and it's Austen. But so far, between the two, I love P&P far more than this.
Pages: 323
Genre: Classic Literature
Grade: C+
Would I Read Again?: Doubtful.
2 down, 48 to go? And it's already February?? Yikes!
As for my next reading adventures, I've got a few possibilities, mostly unknown stuff. I have a fondness for wandering around Barnes and Noble and reading book jackets in order to find something new and different, so that I might actually like it, and be able to find more from the same author. I picked up a Cabot book on my last trip (If you have checked out the book lists from the last few years, you can tell how much I love me some Meg.) and I have a book by Maureen Johnson, who I've read a couple books of, and whose writing I loved. We'll see how those go...
Set in roughly the 1860's-ish, the book follows the love lives (or lack thereof) of the Miss Dashwoods. Elinor, the eldest girl of the family, is the sensible type, who falls for a man who may have other engagements. Marianne, the middle sister, falls deeply for a scoundrel who plays with her affections and brings her to all sorts of illness. Margaret, the youngest, is seen for about 20 pages throughout the whole book... And that's a generous estimate. No one cares about her until page 323. Yeah.
Thoughts:
Wow, that dragged like nothing I've read in a very long time.
A couple of years ago, I read Pride and Prejudice, and loved it. It was a little slow going at first, but once you got to the meat of the story, it was great. I laughed along with it, and loved the whole thing. It made me want to read more Austen. I have always heard that S&S was a great novel, and I should absolutely read it! I started it a little while after I finished P&P because I though it would be just as good, but couldn't get into it like I did P&P. I set it back down to be ignored for a long time.
When I finally picked it up again last month, I found myself regularly falling asleep to it instead of enjoying it like I should. It's slow going, and I found myself wanting to hit someone over the stupidity of the men in the book. Edward's hidden engagement. Willoughby's inconstancy (for lack of a better word). Colonel Brandon's wimpiness. And John Dashwood is an ass. I hated Lucy, and that she gets the best treatment by the end of the book, even after what she does? Ugh.
It's one of those books that people should read for the sole purpose of being able to sound intelligent when they get around to a discussion of literature, as it's a classic, and it's Austen. But so far, between the two, I love P&P far more than this.
Pages: 323
Genre: Classic Literature
Grade: C+
Would I Read Again?: Doubtful.
2 down, 48 to go? And it's already February?? Yikes!
As for my next reading adventures, I've got a few possibilities, mostly unknown stuff. I have a fondness for wandering around Barnes and Noble and reading book jackets in order to find something new and different, so that I might actually like it, and be able to find more from the same author. I picked up a Cabot book on my last trip (If you have checked out the book lists from the last few years, you can tell how much I love me some Meg.) and I have a book by Maureen Johnson, who I've read a couple books of, and whose writing I loved. We'll see how those go...
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