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literary_bub 's review for:
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea
by Jules Verne
3.5 stars.
[Edit: It appears that not all English translations of this book are accurate to the original French text, so that may explain some things.]
The first thing that stands out about this novel is that Jules Verne loves describing animals with completely inaccurate measurements. For example, dugongs are not, in fact, over twenty feet long, nor do they weigh four tonnes. Narwhals, similarly, do not grow to the length of sixty-five feet. I don't know if he exaggerated the sizes of some of these animals intentionally or not. If not, it's strange that M. Aronnax, a natural historian specializing in marine life, would describe these animals so inaccurately when whalers and sailors had been hunting them for some time by the 1860s. Obviously, there was still a lot of fanciful speculation at this time in history, so whatever.
Moving on...
The characters in this story seem to have photographic memories (rattling off dozens of fish species and their classifications as well as recounting the names, dates, and coordinates of endless maritime events), but they also lack a lot of common sense. How did M. Aronnax not realize they could dive under a glacier to pass it after spending months in a SUBMARINE vehicle?
It was still a fun read, though. Also, M. Aronnax and Conseil are definitely boyfriends.
[Edit: It appears that not all English translations of this book are accurate to the original French text, so that may explain some things.]
The first thing that stands out about this novel is that Jules Verne loves describing animals with completely inaccurate measurements. For example, dugongs are not, in fact, over twenty feet long, nor do they weigh four tonnes. Narwhals, similarly, do not grow to the length of sixty-five feet. I don't know if he exaggerated the sizes of some of these animals intentionally or not. If not, it's strange that M. Aronnax, a natural historian specializing in marine life, would describe these animals so inaccurately when whalers and sailors had been hunting them for some time by the 1860s. Obviously, there was still a lot of fanciful speculation at this time in history, so whatever.
Moving on...
The characters in this story seem to have photographic memories (rattling off dozens of fish species and their classifications as well as recounting the names, dates, and coordinates of endless maritime events), but they also lack a lot of common sense. How did M. Aronnax not realize they could dive under a glacier to pass it after spending months in a SUBMARINE vehicle?
It was still a fun read, though. Also, M. Aronnax and Conseil are definitely boyfriends.