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jenmb 's review for:
Around the World in Eighty Days
by Jules Verne
I don't actually remember reading this book as a kid, but the story is so wound into our popular culture that I felt like I'd read it before. Either way, Around the World in Eighty Days was a quick read and rather fun.
I have to say that the writing isn't all that stellar. Verne is really much more adept at offering up the adventure than he is at actually crafting the written story. High prose, this is not. But, the story is a classic despite the writing, which is a true testament to Verne's ability to craft a plot. (Similar to how George Lucas created a great story in Star Wars, but his written dialogue is pretty much crap.)
I understand the criticism about the racism in the story, but I feel it's an unfortunate by-product of having been written in the late 19th century. Even through my much more modern lens, I didn't feel that the characters were too maligned or negatively stereotyped. But, I'm certainly not excusing the racism of the late 1800s and I'm not saying that it's not apparent in Around the World in Eighty Days -- I just didn't find it as distracting as it might have been.
I have to say that the writing isn't all that stellar. Verne is really much more adept at offering up the adventure than he is at actually crafting the written story. High prose, this is not. But, the story is a classic despite the writing, which is a true testament to Verne's ability to craft a plot. (Similar to how George Lucas created a great story in Star Wars, but his written dialogue is pretty much crap.)
I understand the criticism about the racism in the story, but I feel it's an unfortunate by-product of having been written in the late 19th century. Even through my much more modern lens, I didn't feel that the characters were too maligned or negatively stereotyped. But, I'm certainly not excusing the racism of the late 1800s and I'm not saying that it's not apparent in Around the World in Eighty Days -- I just didn't find it as distracting as it might have been.