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3.76 AVERAGE
3.76 AVERAGE
I read Around the World in 80 Days much quicker than expected. It was my goal to finish it by the end of the year so that I could put one French book on my list for 2024. And I finished it on the 30th December! Just in time to write up this review before the New Year.
Read more of my book reviews here: https://tildareads.wixsite.com/tilda-reads
Around the World in 80 Days was a Christmas present. I asked for a few Jules Verne books and then I thought, I’d better like his writing because I’ve now got 4 books to get through!
And luckily, I’m very impressed that I managed to read a whole book in French and enjoy it. I’ve always struggled with French authors being a bit too flowery and pretentious. However, and I may regret saying this as I read more French authors, Jules Verne goes almost too far the opposite way. His descriptions were just lists of stuff. Almost like Phileas Fogg himself wrote the book… I found myself skimming through these lists as I got the idea in the first two or three items.
I would say that the book felt a little slow to start, there is a lot of information about Phileas Fogg. Which seemed a little disjointed as Passepartout seemed to be the main character really. Phileas Fogg was definitely more of a background character once the book got going. This is a bit of a contrast when compared to the Around the World in 80 Days movie with Steve Coogan and Jackie Chan! I did find Passpartout a little annoying with how he managed to get himself into trouble and delay the journey, although at least he realised how he affected the voyage and tried to make up for it. Fix was probably the character that stood out most to me as he was really trying to do the right thing, and he’s definitely very committed to his job. I do feel like I got to know the characters quite well. Their character traits were very pronounced and consistent. And each character was very different. The character development was very pleasing too. Without spoiling the end, each character had a lovely ending and they all seemed to have learnt something to better themselves.
The end of the story was very tidy. And although I knew how it would all fall into place (from the movie), I was still feeling a little anxious wondering how they were going to make it in time. I definitely speed-read the last 30 or so pages because I needed to find out how it ended.
My favourite part of the book was the journey on the elephant (there’s a bit of a theme here between this and my review of Water for Elephants!), I loved reading about them charging through the jungle and the other animals that they saw on the way. And my least favourite was when the train went over the broken bridge… There is no way I’d be doing that!
There were so many adventures, it made me want to take a trip around the world similar to Phileas Fogg, just with boats and trains. I'd like to spend more than 80 days though as I’d want to visit places properly. It made me think that travelling now is really about where you’re going, not the journey of getting there as it’s so quick to just jump on a flight.
Around the World in 80 Days is great fun to read. I really enjoyed following the characters adventures and seeing what they learnt about themselves in their trip around the world. I’m always so surprised about how long ago Jules Verne books were written. Jules Verne seemed to have such a detailed knowledge of the world, almost as if he had taken that trip himself and written the book as he went.
I’m looking forward to reading more Jules Verne in the coming year. Maybe a goal for 2025 is to read at least one book in French every month?
I would highly recommend Around the World in 80 Days to anyone who loves travel and adventure, but in a more matter of fact style of writing.
Read more of my book reviews here: https://tildareads.wixsite.com/tilda-reads
Around the World in 80 Days was a Christmas present. I asked for a few Jules Verne books and then I thought, I’d better like his writing because I’ve now got 4 books to get through!
And luckily, I’m very impressed that I managed to read a whole book in French and enjoy it. I’ve always struggled with French authors being a bit too flowery and pretentious. However, and I may regret saying this as I read more French authors, Jules Verne goes almost too far the opposite way. His descriptions were just lists of stuff. Almost like Phileas Fogg himself wrote the book… I found myself skimming through these lists as I got the idea in the first two or three items.
I would say that the book felt a little slow to start, there is a lot of information about Phileas Fogg. Which seemed a little disjointed as Passepartout seemed to be the main character really. Phileas Fogg was definitely more of a background character once the book got going. This is a bit of a contrast when compared to the Around the World in 80 Days movie with Steve Coogan and Jackie Chan! I did find Passpartout a little annoying with how he managed to get himself into trouble and delay the journey, although at least he realised how he affected the voyage and tried to make up for it. Fix was probably the character that stood out most to me as he was really trying to do the right thing, and he’s definitely very committed to his job. I do feel like I got to know the characters quite well. Their character traits were very pronounced and consistent. And each character was very different. The character development was very pleasing too. Without spoiling the end, each character had a lovely ending and they all seemed to have learnt something to better themselves.
The end of the story was very tidy. And although I knew how it would all fall into place (from the movie), I was still feeling a little anxious wondering how they were going to make it in time. I definitely speed-read the last 30 or so pages because I needed to find out how it ended.
My favourite part of the book was the journey on the elephant (there’s a bit of a theme here between this and my review of Water for Elephants!), I loved reading about them charging through the jungle and the other animals that they saw on the way. And my least favourite was when the train went over the broken bridge… There is no way I’d be doing that!
There were so many adventures, it made me want to take a trip around the world similar to Phileas Fogg, just with boats and trains. I'd like to spend more than 80 days though as I’d want to visit places properly. It made me think that travelling now is really about where you’re going, not the journey of getting there as it’s so quick to just jump on a flight.
Around the World in 80 Days is great fun to read. I really enjoyed following the characters adventures and seeing what they learnt about themselves in their trip around the world. I’m always so surprised about how long ago Jules Verne books were written. Jules Verne seemed to have such a detailed knowledge of the world, almost as if he had taken that trip himself and written the book as he went.
I’m looking forward to reading more Jules Verne in the coming year. Maybe a goal for 2025 is to read at least one book in French every month?
I would highly recommend Around the World in 80 Days to anyone who loves travel and adventure, but in a more matter of fact style of writing.
reread
read this as a child but enjoyed it much more this time, probably because i juet got more of it:)
read this as a child but enjoyed it much more this time, probably because i juet got more of it:)
adventurous
hopeful
fast-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
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
hopeful
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This is somehow Vernes most grounded while being fantastic literary work. Somehow this is also the most casually racist as well, by the time they were in Japan it got real rough. Somehow the main character was the most pompous and least relatable of Vernes lead characters. The ending was just fine like cool they got there a day early.
adventurous
funny
informative
inspiring
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
adventurous
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
relaxing
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
N/A
I absolutely love Jules Verne. His books are very easy to read compared to other authors of his era (possibly because they were translated out of his native French a little while after they were written, but my point still stands). This helps to better understand and enjoy the antics of the characters as they travel all around the world. While it's been a while since I've actually read it, I can still say that this is one of the greatest adventure stories I have read, especially within the classics.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No