Around The World In 80 Days by Jules VerneMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
The second half of the 19th Century saw the world shrink for those living and fantastic speculation began to be put forth about how long it would take with improved modes of transportation to go around the Earth. Around the World in Eighty Days is one of Jules Verne’s most well-known works that follows the adventurous journey of Phileas Fogg and his servant Passepartout along with Detective Dix and Aouda who join them under various circumstances.
In a short 208 pages, Verne introduces us to our two protagonists, sets up the fantastical journey, and allows us to follow along they and additional companions attempt to get around the Earth within a specific timeframe. I wasn’t expecting the characters to be a layered, but I was surprised we had as much insight into a few of them as we did. The journey itself is filled with cliched scenes of riding an elephant in India, a Native American attack on a train while crossing the Great Plains, as well as characters—well one most of the time—doing things like the locals. The main protagonist is very English, the love interest has a tragic backstory and fawns over her rescuer, the comedic sidekick does funny stuff, and the letter-of-the-law police detective antagonist is honorable though mistaken; all the boxes were checked. Honestly, this was a quick fun read and is a classic for a reason.
Around the World in Eighty Days provides an enjoyable experience when reading, it’s a classic adventure tale chalk full of stock characters and cliché scenes but fit the time and became timeless just for that reason.
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