
by Jules Verne
Having assured the members of London's exclusive Reform Club that he will circumnavigate the world in 80 days, Fogg - stiff, repressed, English - starts by joining forces with an irrepressible Frenchman, Passepartout, and then with a ravishing Indian beauty, Aouda. Together they slice through jungles, over snowbound passes, even across an entire isthmus - only to get back five minutes late. Fogg faces despair and suicide, but Aouda makes a new man of him, able to face even the Reform Club again. Around the World in ...
bookishwench
Apr 3, 2007
Around the World in Eighty Days is my favorite novel. Ever. Jules Verne has written some ripping good yarns, but this one is the top.
A rather foolish wager sets up the action, putting Victorian gentleman Phileas Fogg in motion to prove that man can circle the globe in a mere eighty days. And he's off, by train, balloon or whatever conveyance comes to hand, with only his valet Passepartout for company.
The contrast between the reserved Englishman and the emotional Frenchman gives the reader a stereo view of every locale from Europe to India across the seas and back to London. Add an exotic Eastern princess and the whole thing would make a dandy animated feature film. Are you listening, Disney?
The book does flag a bit during the trek across America, but it finishes with a smart twist. All in all, Around the World is well worth the trip.