Book Report 1 (new semester) - Around the World in 80 Days

Verne, Jules. Around the World in 80 Days. Pleasantville, NY. Reader's Digest Association Inc: 1988.

I chose this book because I read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea for the first time last year and I really liked it. So, I thought I would read this other Jules Verne classic. I guess you could classify it as an adventure novel. It starts out in London in the year 1872.

The novel starts with you meeting Phileas Fogg, a rich Englishman. He hires a Frenchman as a servant, named Passepartout. Later, at the Reform Club, Phileas talks to the other men about an article in The Daily Telegraph that presents the opening of a new railway in India, and how it would now be possible to circumnavigate the globe in 80 days. The men talk about the outside factors (breakdowns, people sabotaging the railways, trouble finding transportation, etc.). So, the men bet that if Phileas can do it in 80 days, he wins 20,000 pounds. He and Passepartout set off. Ok, I hate to get lazy, but many things happen while our friends go from place to place, like the rest of Jules Verne's books. They don't really change the characters, or the plot very much, they are just there to add action. So, I will explain them quickly. In their travels, the two: are watched by an undercover Scotland Yard detective by the name of Fix (who thinks Phileas is a bank robber from London because he fits the description), buy an elephant and ride it for a bit when they find the railway in India is actually not finished, and rescue a woman named Aouda (who they take with them) from a scarificial ritual. Then, Fix has them arrested but they make bail, so he follows them to Hong Kong. On the way, Fix talks to Passapartout (who he has met before on the train through India, where he didn't reveal himself). This time, Fix reveals himself and tells how he thinks Phileas is the bank robber. Passepartout doesn't believe him. The vessel going to Yokohama (in Japan) leaves early and to prevent Pass. from telling Phileas about it, Fix gets him drunk, causing Pass. to catch the vessel by himself without telling him. The next day when they find the vessel left, Phileas, Aouda, and Fix hop a boat to Shanghai to get a vessel to Yokohama. Once there, they find Pass. working at a circus to earn a trip back home. They all then take a boat across the Pacific to the States. In San Fran, they hop a train to New York City. Fix promises Pass. that now they are off British soil, he will not interrupt Phileas's journey and help him get to England ASAP (Fix will just have him arrested there). On the way, Native Americans attack the train and capture two passengers and Passepartout. Phileas goes on a rescue mission with the help of soliders from a nearby fort, and save the hostages. At the fort, they hire a man who pilots a "sledge" which I guess is a sled with a sail on it. Lucky for them, the wind is in their favor and the snow is hardened, so they take a quick trip to Omaha, Nebraska. There, they hop a train to Chicago and one more to New York City. There, they find the ship to Liverpool has left. They find a small steamboat headed for Bordeaux, but the captain won't take them to Liverpool, only to Bordeaux. He won't even take them there until Phileas offers him two thousand dollars for each of them. On board for a while, Phileas bribes the crewmen to mutinize against the captain and they head for Liverpool. They run out of fuel since they go on full steam non-stop for a few days. They need to keep the fires going with the wooden parts of the upper ship, so Phileas buys the ship from the former captain. They arrive in Ireland, hop a train to Dublin, and take a boat to Liverpool. There, Fix shows a warrant and arrests Phileas and throws him in jail. After a while, Fix comes in, out of breath with Passepartout and Auoda, and informs Phileas it was a misunderstanding and the real robber was arrested a few days ealier. He's freed, and he punches Fix right in the face. They miss the train and arrive in London five minutes late, so Phileas is sure he lost. He apologizes to Auoda for putting her through this and tells her he won't be able to support her now. She tells him she loves him and that she wants to marry him. Phileas accepts and he tells Passepartout to go tell the reverend. Once there, Passepartout finds out that it is in fact Saturday instead of Sunday like they thought! He runs back to Phileas and tells him that they gained a day since they travelled constantly east. Phileas Fogg arrives at the Reform Club just in time and wins the bet.
I really enjoyed this novel. Like Jules Verne's other novels, it's just a simple adventure novel. There's no deep meaning or moral or anything that you get from it, but that's ok because you still get something out of it. You get entertainment and when you read his books they just take you on an adventure and it's fun.
Like I said earlier, the other Jules Verne book I read was 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea. I liked that one too. These two compare because both books are pretty much a compilation of adventures the characters have while on a bigger journey. Also, I noticed the main characters in both novel had a lovable, nobel servant. I will read more by this author again. I look forward to read Journey to the Center of the Earth.