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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
challenging
informative
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a slow read. The author's imagination is inspiring for the time; however, some of the explanations can be almost be call a tangent from the main story.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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:
Yes
I made up my mind a while ago not to revisit any book that I loved in my youth. My experience told me that more often than not, they don’t live up to the heightened expectations created in childhood, and spoils a beautiful memory. 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea was one such book, and I took a huge chance by deciding to read it again.
This time I was not disappointed. The book that opened so many windows of imagination for me when I was very young, did it again after so many decades. When I first read it, I had not seen a single film on underwater life, and television was just a word. This book allowed me to imagine a world, totally unknown to me. Today we are all saturated by underwater imagery, but Verne could still create his magic. Of course I had to constantly remind myself that this was written in 1870 – long before anyone had seen this world.
It was interesting to note how often the characters in this book suffered from nineteenth century ideas of colonial supremacy. It is generously sprinkled with words such as “savages” and “barbaric” when referring to most non-white people. The characters who were desperately eager to escape their imprisonment on this submarine waited until they were near European or American shores. Even Belgians were considered not sufficiently civilized to appreciate philosophical or cultural subtleties. All this made me wonder again, how many things we believe in or do now that will seem absurdly wrong a hundred years from now.
This time I was not disappointed. The book that opened so many windows of imagination for me when I was very young, did it again after so many decades. When I first read it, I had not seen a single film on underwater life, and television was just a word. This book allowed me to imagine a world, totally unknown to me. Today we are all saturated by underwater imagery, but Verne could still create his magic. Of course I had to constantly remind myself that this was written in 1870 – long before anyone had seen this world.
It was interesting to note how often the characters in this book suffered from nineteenth century ideas of colonial supremacy. It is generously sprinkled with words such as “savages” and “barbaric” when referring to most non-white people. The characters who were desperately eager to escape their imprisonment on this submarine waited until they were near European or American shores. Even Belgians were considered not sufficiently civilized to appreciate philosophical or cultural subtleties. All this made me wonder again, how many things we believe in or do now that will seem absurdly wrong a hundred years from now.
adventurous
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
reflective
fast-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
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
This novel drug on and on. It was too scientific for my tastes. However, it is fascinating that he was writing about marine life, submarines, Antarctica, etc before those things had really been explored/invented (subs). I can see how this would have been extremely exciting to read it when it wrote it.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
N/A
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
adventurous
challenging
slow-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
adventurous
informative
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated