ilegnealle 's review for:

Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne

---

I won't give this one a star rating because allthough I found it surprisingly entertaining and funny, I can't set aside how deeply colored the book is by the time it was written and it is set in. Colonialism, racism, classism and sexist gender roles are still immensely relevant issues today that we are very far from overcoming completely, I don't think I have to explain that it was an entirely different story in 1873, when this was originally published.

Was it still an enjoyable read? Yes - because as a highly privileged woman in today's time I am hardly personally negatively affected by the problematic aspects of this book, and it is easy for me to push them away far enough to enjoy the silliness, the predictability as well as the plot twists.

The only thing I have left to say was that I was surprised by Verne's apparent anglophilia - the qualities of Phileas Fogg, such as his punctuality, stiffness and resoluteness are highly revered by Verne, whereas Passepartout's spontaneity, roughness and loudness are more so played for laughs.
Seeing as Fogg even passes through France on his journey, it would have been very easy for Verne to have the main character be French as well.