A review by kadyofbooks
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

adventurous mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

So, this one… I have read another one of Jules Verne’s books before and liked it. I also would say that I liked this one - I just found it to be a bit boring and dragging its feet at times. Apart from the descriptions (or rather listings) of plant and animal life underwater that Professor Arronax makes, this book is actually a quite fun underwater adventure. I just would’ve wished for a more engaging writing style (not to say that it was a bad one - I just could’ve lived with less listings and a more concise story). And the characters acted like everything was in perfect order even when they were in grave danger - they had time for ‘civilised’ communications even when they knew their lives were at stake. I think I would’ve enjoyed this more if they actually acted according to the situation and not as though they were stuck in their ways even in the most difficult situations. The ending felt like a cop out to me as well.

It would’ve been more interesting to actually read about their survival than to just be told that they survived and that Arronax had no recollection of how. That felt a bit underwhelming.