Book Review: Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

 

Been a while since I looked at a Verne book...which I have done only once before if memory serves. Oh, well. Spoilers ahead. 

We meet an English gentleman named Mr. Fogg and his servant, the Frenchman Passepartout. Due to Fogg taking on an seemingly impossible bet of having to travel around the world in eighty days, he and Passepartout are thrust into an adventure with a ticking clock. To boot, Fogg is meanwhile being hunted by a cop named Fix, who suspects him of robbing a bank but is waiting for the right moment and place to arrest him.

I didn't particularly go into this thinking I'd love this based on me not really liking Verne's Journey tot he Center of the Earth, but this was still an overall fun read. I do like reading about journeys and traveling to other countries, so this definitely filled that quota and we had a cast of pretty colorful and likable characters to boot. You do really admire Fogg and his constant persistence that no matter what he is going to win that bet, even being willing to risk several delays. Passepartout was also a fun companion for him and I also enjoyed Fix and Aouda, a woman he rescues in India who would eventually go on to be Fogg's beloved wife by the end of the book. The ticking clock is also a nice addition. I already enjoy traveling stories (at least, when done right), but the fact that we also have a deadline as well as a cop hunting down our main character it does add even more stakes to the story.

One aspect I guess I wasn't as into was the fact that this is very obviously a book written by a white guy in the 1800s. A lot of the native people to the lands he visits (not counting Auoda and a few helpful side characters) are not described in the most flattering ways and it does to favor colonialism. This definitely held me back from fully enjoying it. 

I also just didn't fully connect with the story (the racism and imperialism aside) like I'd hoped to. Don't get me wrong, I like the journey and I enjoy the characters, but never at any point was I really into the story. It was fine, but not my favorite.

Overall I'd still say this was a solid book, I still didn't completely connect with it and while the journey is grand there's also the unfortunate racism and pro-colonialism. It's a fun read, but nothing I really could get into. Just solid, I guess.

Rating: 3.5/5