Reviews with content warning for Colonisation - Around the World in Eighty Days

A short adventure, which for the time must have been exhilarating to read. Current reflections on the British empire and the peoples of non-European nations will reveal a less favorable perspective.

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kndllcr's review against another edition

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adventurous 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? It's complicated

2.0

jfc that was slow and boring. wouldnt you know they travel the world in as short a time as they can, so its basically just 'woAh when will the next boat be [and then they are on the boat]. woAh we gove goota wait hOW LLONG for the next boat??? [and then they are on the bost] with s o m e hijinks in between. the main guy is written intentionally drab and boring so the sidekicks can shine brighter, but theyre also quite broing and annoying. also nonstop praising of colonialism which. makes sense for the time but just reads today as 'dear god shut up about britains hold on hong kong I GET IT you think colonialism was good'. racism around indigenous americans. indian damsel in distress who gets whitewashed faster than you can say Aouda. less than barely any talk of the great sights they are seeing, bar comments of how relieved Passepartout is to be in the English Part of Town™ (or how scared he is to be in the Native Part of Town™)

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literaryrevisited's review against another edition

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adventurous inspiring medium-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

4.5

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kiwialexa's review against another edition

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adventurous funny informative lighthearted reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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m4rtt4's review against another edition

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adventurous funny medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Plot
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.75

interesting dive into the means of traveling in the 1800s, the plot was witty and original as well. Obviously it is also written from a very colonialist perspective point of view — the descriptions of white Americans were pretty funny, though, and accurate despite being over 150 years old!

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ninamanon's review against another edition

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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

3.75

What a fun story! It was easy to like the eccentric characters, and I really rooted for Mr Fogg. I think in our day and age, he might’ve been labeled neurodivergent.

The prose was fairly simple, which made it easy to read. Sometimes, it felt like Verne was listing off facts from an encyclopedia, which could get boring. I was especially delighted by his description of a mango (strangest mango I’ve ever heard of) and his insistence that somehow betting was more civilized and respected than gambling.

Obviously, considering the time period, there was racism and white supremacy in this novel, but that was to be expected. While it’s of course horrible to paint Native Americans and some Indian tribes as murderous cannibals, I must confess I found the picture Verne paints of Americans (rash, corrupt, violent daredevils) hilarious. I was suprised he at least seemed to respect the beauty of other countries, and that he added a female character, who not only seemed to have a little influence and more lines than you’d expect, but also was Indian herself (though, only acceptable because of he European education, so yeah, white supremacy).

This book made me laugh on multiple occasions, though sometimes it might’ve not been the writer’s intention but my modern knowledge making some “facts” very funny to read.

It also made me appreciate how much more accessible the world has gotten, and how much we’ve learned from that (and destroyed).

All in all, I believe this truly deserves the title of classic, and what I have learned is: if you’re rich, male and white, anything is possible.

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