Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.9 AVERAGE
3.9 AVERAGE
inspiring
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
A little while ago, I picked up The Mysterious Island mainly because it was one of the only books by Jules Verne that I knew almost nothing about. I took great care not to learn in advance what made the island so mysterious or really, anything about the plot at all.
This book is at its heart a standard "shipwrecked" adventure. The main characters are not really shipwrecked per se, but may as well be. The majority of the story deals with their trials and tribulations surviving on the island.
Where I was intrigued by, say, The Swiss Family Robinson's trials to survive, The Mysterious Island felt rather absurd. These castaways not only were able to survive very comfortably with almost nothing (they did not have a ship of supplies to start with, as the Swiss Family did), but were able to manufacture nicely advanced pieces of technology in short periods.
When they started a fire with a couple of lenses from watches, I thought them clever. When they created a forge and manufactured crude steel, I was a bit skeptical. When they created nitroglycerine safely using only natural materials found on the island, I openly scoffed. And when they created a working telegraph (starting by building batteries from scratch), I just laughed. This was not the sort of book you could read and fantasize yourself doing the same in their position. Instead you find yourself wondering if people have somehow degenerated that much intellectually since Verne's time. I felt comfortably reassured to find Isaac Asimov scoffing over the same points in the afterword.
Despite the absurdity of it, and the lack of any character conflict (all of the castaways are almost insipidly cheerful throughout), Verne does a good job in putting together a mystery that is intriguing, and kept me turning pages despite the rather dense writing style. Unfortunately, without giving any spoilers, I felt the payoff to the mystery to be unfulfilling and ultimately distracting from the plot of the book.
The ending of the book was the most disappointing part. It wrapped up reasonably, but it was extremely abrupt and felt very rushed after the previous pace of the book.
Overall I did enjoy reading this. But I would not recommend it to others without noting its flaws, as some are likely to be disappointed.
This book is at its heart a standard "shipwrecked" adventure. The main characters are not really shipwrecked per se, but may as well be. The majority of the story deals with their trials and tribulations surviving on the island.
Where I was intrigued by, say, The Swiss Family Robinson's trials to survive, The Mysterious Island felt rather absurd. These castaways not only were able to survive very comfortably with almost nothing (they did not have a ship of supplies to start with, as the Swiss Family did), but were able to manufacture nicely advanced pieces of technology in short periods.
When they started a fire with a couple of lenses from watches, I thought them clever. When they created a forge and manufactured crude steel, I was a bit skeptical. When they created nitroglycerine safely using only natural materials found on the island, I openly scoffed. And when they created a working telegraph (starting by building batteries from scratch), I just laughed. This was not the sort of book you could read and fantasize yourself doing the same in their position. Instead you find yourself wondering if people have somehow degenerated that much intellectually since Verne's time. I felt comfortably reassured to find Isaac Asimov scoffing over the same points in the afterword.
Despite the absurdity of it, and the lack of any character conflict (all of the castaways are almost insipidly cheerful throughout), Verne does a good job in putting together a mystery that is intriguing, and kept me turning pages despite the rather dense writing style. Unfortunately, without giving any spoilers, I felt the payoff to the mystery to be unfulfilling and ultimately distracting from the plot of the book.
The ending of the book was the most disappointing part. It wrapped up reasonably, but it was extremely abrupt and felt very rushed after the previous pace of the book.
Overall I did enjoy reading this. But I would not recommend it to others without noting its flaws, as some are likely to be disappointed.
Written in 1874. I find Verne to have a brilliant imagination. I know he loved details which I appreciated but a shorter book would have still been enjoyable. The last 25% was the best. A Small group of civil war political prisoners escaped in a balloon and land on a mysterious island. 4 years and they thrive using their intelligence and talents. It's a tale of perseverance, friendship, adventure. And no spoiler ( as in title it is listed as Captain Nemo book three ) Captain Nemo makes an appearance . That was one of my favourite parts. I really enjoyed the characters and how they were a perfect combination of people who came together with their own strengths and knowledge to build a viable little community on this very mysterious world. The more they explore the more there are questions than answers as to what is this island . It’s definitely worth the read. Some of his explanations( for me ) Got a little bit dry, and “wordy” but picked up as it moved along. There are aspects of it that feels modern and other times it definitely shows of being written in the late 1800s.
This just isn't what I'm looking for right now.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
2.9/5 stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Colonisation
This is one of those books I always meant to read many years ago. It did not disappoint me. I found the book totally engrossing and the story line was so exciting. I loved how the author Jules Verne described and developed the characters at the beginning and it was interesting to see how they developed a plan to survive on the island....it showed leadership and team skills even though it was written so long ago. The mystery of how the strange life saving situations were happening was intriguing and kept me in suspense. When it was revealed that Captain Nemo of the Nautilus from 20,000 leagues under the sea was the mystery it showed me how Jules Verne had crafted the story and its connection with that book. 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea is another of those books I meant to read.....so I will seek that one out soon. I would never want to be marooned like they were.....but I’ve picked up some good tips from them on how they did it......saying that.....how they managed to make explosives made me a bit skeptical....but I did enjoy the book totally.