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Tuesday, February 17, 2015

136. Journey to the Centre of the Earth

Journey to the Centre of the Earth
Jules Verne
1864
Around 230 pages

Well, this book was a huge disappointment.  I was imagining some great adventure and all I really got was about two hundred pages of walking in caves.  It was like the part of Lord of the Rings that everybody hates when Frodo and Sam are walking, and then they keep walking, and then they walk some more.  Please have some mercy on us.

Let's start with the characters.  The Professor insists on taking his nephew, Axel, on this journey, even though the journey will be extremely dangerous and Axel doesn't want to go.  In fact, the persistence of the Professor is quite disturbing at times, especially when Axel is on the brink of death during multiple moments during the novel.  Not to mention the fact that the Professor is extremely cranky all the time.  It is hard to feel too sorry for Axel, though, since he is one of the whiniest characters you will ever meet.  Every once in awhile he would declare that he was dying, seemingly just for attention.  Finally, there is their Icelandic guide, Hans, who they pretty much treat as a dog throughout the entire novel.  In fact, when you are reading this, pretend that Hans is a dog.  I promise the story still makes sense.

I was expecting a kind of Alice in Wonderland sort of adventure but nothing at all happens in this novel.  At one point, it looks like they are being attacked by animals but it turns out that it was just a dream.  A total bore.

Interesting Facts:

In some of the English language versions, Axel's name was changed to Henry, Lidenbrock's name was changed to Hardwigg, and Grauben's name was changed to Gretchen.

Trailer for the latest adaptation:
UP NEXT: The Last Chronicle of Barset by Anthony Trollope

1 comment:

Diana said...

Well the trailer looks like there is a lot to yell about...I think I will pass on book and movie. Very entertaining review!