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Capitaine Nemo #3
Το μυστηριώδες νησί
Πέντε ναυαγοί καταλήγουν σε ένα ερημονήσι. Εργατικοί και προκομμένοι καθώς είναι, με πολλές τεχνικές γνώσεις και ποικίλες ικανότητες, καταφέρνουν όχι μόνο να επιζήσουν, αλλά και να εκπολιτίσουν εκείνο τον πρωτόγονο τόπο.
Στον αγώνα τους ορθώνονται αξεπέραστα εμπόδια, αλλά κάθε φορά που τους είναι αδύνατον να τα καταφέρουν μόνοι, τους παραστέκεται κάποιος μυστηριώδης προστάτης. Το μυστήριο πυκνώνει ολοένα και περισσότερο, κορυφώνοντας την αγωνία του αναγνώστη, για να ξεδιαλύνει στο τέλος του βιβλίου.
Όσοι απόλαυσαν τα Παιδιά του Πλοιάρχου Γκραντ και τις 20.000 Λεύγες Κάτω από τη Θάλασσα, θα βρουν συναρπαστικό το Μυστηριώδες Νησί και θα μάθουν τι απέγιναν οι ήρωες που τους ταξίδεψαν με τα φτερά της φαντασίας.
Στον αγώνα τους ορθώνονται αξεπέραστα εμπόδια, αλλά κάθε φορά που τους είναι αδύνατον να τα καταφέρουν μόνοι, τους παραστέκεται κάποιος μυστηριώδης προστάτης. Το μυστήριο πυκνώνει ολοένα και περισσότερο, κορυφώνοντας την αγωνία του αναγνώστη, για να ξεδιαλύνει στο τέλος του βιβλίου.
Όσοι απόλαυσαν τα Παιδιά του Πλοιάρχου Γκραντ και τις 20.000 Λεύγες Κάτω από τη Θάλασσα, θα βρουν συναρπαστικό το Μυστηριώδες Νησί και θα μάθουν τι απέγιναν οι ήρωες που τους ταξίδεψαν με τα φτερά της φαντασίας.
352 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1874
About the author
Jules Verne
6,460 books11.3k followersNovels of French writer Jules Gabriel Verne, considered the founder of modern science fiction, include
Journey to the Center of the Earth
(1864) and
Around the World in Eighty Days
(1873).
This author who pioneered the genre. People best know him for Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870).
Verne wrote about space, air, and underwater travel before people invented navigable aircraft and practical submarines and devised any means of spacecraft. He ranks behind Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie as the second most translated author of all time. People made his prominent films. People often refer to Verne alongside Herbert George Wells as the "father of science fiction."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_V...
This author who pioneered the genre. People best know him for Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870).
Verne wrote about space, air, and underwater travel before people invented navigable aircraft and practical submarines and devised any means of spacecraft. He ranks behind Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie as the second most translated author of all time. People made his prominent films. People often refer to Verne alongside Herbert George Wells as the "father of science fiction."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_V...
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 2,503 reviews
November 24, 2020
"Before all masters, necessity is the one most listened to, and who teaches the best."
This book is one of the most complete books I have ever read - literally. One one hand, it contains what we normally look for in a book like this, elements related to a great adventure. Then on the other hand it has so much more what we would never expect: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Geography, Geology, Astrology, Navigation, Cultivation, Food Production, Metallurgy, Biology, Medicine and so many more, not in mere statements, but in very descriptive explanations. I did not at all expected this book to contain so much information. Personally, I found those fascinating, as I love all things Engineering. I also imagined the regular reader might not like this as much. But it's quite a wonder how well this book has been received by many readers, and has not been criticized for being over-descriptive (or boring).
"Civilization never recedes; the law of necessity ever forces it onwards."
Sure, it's a long book, but that does not take away a bit from the sense of adventure and mystery it offers. If you're a big fan of adventure books, living the life of those characters over their long, eventful, and ever thrilling journey is one of the best reading experiences one can have. Well, if I do ever get marooned on an island, I don't think I'll be out of ideas now :)
"Sir, your error was in supposing that the past can be resuscitated, and in contending against inevitable progress. It is one of those errors which some admire, others blame; which God alone can judge."
This book is one of the most complete books I have ever read - literally. One one hand, it contains what we normally look for in a book like this, elements related to a great adventure. Then on the other hand it has so much more what we would never expect: Mathematics, Physics, Chemistry, Geography, Geology, Astrology, Navigation, Cultivation, Food Production, Metallurgy, Biology, Medicine and so many more, not in mere statements, but in very descriptive explanations. I did not at all expected this book to contain so much information. Personally, I found those fascinating, as I love all things Engineering. I also imagined the regular reader might not like this as much. But it's quite a wonder how well this book has been received by many readers, and has not been criticized for being over-descriptive (or boring).
"Civilization never recedes; the law of necessity ever forces it onwards."
Sure, it's a long book, but that does not take away a bit from the sense of adventure and mystery it offers. If you're a big fan of adventure books, living the life of those characters over their long, eventful, and ever thrilling journey is one of the best reading experiences one can have. Well, if I do ever get marooned on an island, I don't think I'll be out of ideas now :)
"Sir, your error was in supposing that the past can be resuscitated, and in contending against inevitable progress. It is one of those errors which some admire, others blame; which God alone can judge."
January 8, 2022
سؤال يدور في أذهان كل محبي القراءة. .اذا تم الالقاء بي في جزيرة مع كتاب واحد..ماهو هذا الكتاب؟؟لاول وهلة ساقول هاري بوتر..وستقول انت ما تفضله
لكن انصحنا جميعا ان تكون"الجزيرة الغامضة " في نسختها الكاملة هي ما نصحبه معنا لانها الأكثر فائدة
هي تنتمي لسلسلة رحلات فوق العادة لجول فيرن
منذ زمن وانا احب هذه الروايات التي تجمع بين المتعة والفائدة ولا ينقصها سوي ان تتوحد مع الشخصيات لانها لمستك بشكل شخصي
و هذا ما نفتقده في أدب المغامرات عادة
. .ولكن جميلة هي تلك الروايات التي تنفعك إحدى حيلها أثناء تواجدك في رحلة سفاري او معسكر
الأبطال الخمسة جمعوا بين مهن مختلفة يمثلون العلم والأخلاق معا..في البداية أيقن ابطالنا ان المنطاد العجيب ألقى بهم التهلكة..و لكن بالبحث الممنهج وجدوا الخيرات
..ولذا أحببت المهندس بشكل خاص...بل وزاد تقديري لهذه المهنة التي تجعل الحياة أفضل وأكثر احتمالا
..ويظل أسلوب فيرن المشوق المليء بالعلم والخيال له مكانة خاصة ..و كان لظهور كابتن نيمو تأثير رائع لكل من يكمل الرواية
لكن انصحنا جميعا ان تكون"الجزيرة الغامضة " في نسختها الكاملة هي ما نصحبه معنا لانها الأكثر فائدة
هي تنتمي لسلسلة رحلات فوق العادة لجول فيرن
منذ زمن وانا احب هذه الروايات التي تجمع بين المتعة والفائدة ولا ينقصها سوي ان تتوحد مع الشخصيات لانها لمستك بشكل شخصي
و هذا ما نفتقده في أدب المغامرات عادة
. .ولكن جميلة هي تلك الروايات التي تنفعك إحدى حيلها أثناء تواجدك في رحلة سفاري او معسكر
الأبطال الخمسة جمعوا بين مهن مختلفة يمثلون العلم والأخلاق معا..في البداية أيقن ابطالنا ان المنطاد العجيب ألقى بهم التهلكة..و لكن بالبحث الممنهج وجدوا الخيرات
..ولذا أحببت المهندس بشكل خاص...بل وزاد تقديري لهذه المهنة التي تجعل الحياة أفضل وأكثر احتمالا
..ويظل أسلوب فيرن المشوق المليء بالعلم والخيال له مكانة خاصة ..و كان لظهور كابتن نيمو تأثير رائع لكل من يكمل الرواية
May 9, 2023
I love survivalist stories. Here stranded characters must use all their knowledge and intelligence to live on a island. It was fun to read how they worked diligently to build a home, finding food and making clothes and tool. The cooperating between the characters was also nice to read about, it shows that with a common goal people can solve problems and find solutions that an individual alone wouldn’t manage.
October 12, 2012
I can't remember the number of times I have re-read this Verne masterpiece and discovered something new every time I had. In fact, my book has become so frayed around the edges over the years that I fear I won't be able to open it anymore without being afraid of ruining the pages or the cover for good.
Trying to recollect my feelings when I read the book for the first time ever seems a bit of a humongous task. But I can't possibly forget the rush of adrenaline and intense emotions, joy and thrill that inhabitants of Lincoln Island and their numerous adventures gave me - be it while hunting game in the forests, or rescuing Captain Harding, building a boat for a voyage to an island close by, fending off an attack by pirates, making priceless discoveries like finding a hint of sulphur in a nearby spring or even a massive block of granite (which was to become their home later on). Every time I have started reading it, I have been sucked right into the core of the tale, the predicament of the castaways and their struggle against the forces of nature and their quest for survival and felt like I was one of them.
This book would've been my most favorite Verne novel without any competition whatsoever if I had not read Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea. But being torn between these two books, wondering which one edges past the other in terms of adventure or plot or characters or backdrop or scientific information is a sweet dilemma to have.
Will read it again and again and again and again....
Trying to recollect my feelings when I read the book for the first time ever seems a bit of a humongous task. But I can't possibly forget the rush of adrenaline and intense emotions, joy and thrill that inhabitants of Lincoln Island and their numerous adventures gave me - be it while hunting game in the forests, or rescuing Captain Harding, building a boat for a voyage to an island close by, fending off an attack by pirates, making priceless discoveries like finding a hint of sulphur in a nearby spring or even a massive block of granite (which was to become their home later on). Every time I have started reading it, I have been sucked right into the core of the tale, the predicament of the castaways and their struggle against the forces of nature and their quest for survival and felt like I was one of them.
This book would've been my most favorite Verne novel without any competition whatsoever if I had not read Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea. But being torn between these two books, wondering which one edges past the other in terms of adventure or plot or characters or backdrop or scientific information is a sweet dilemma to have.
Will read it again and again and again and again....
August 9, 2022
An exciting 19th century heroic adventure!
Five intrepid souls - typical Victorian "men's men" all - imprisoned in Richmond by the North's siege of the city during the American Civil War, band together in a daring escape attempt - the theft of a hot air balloon grounded by a horrific summer storm. The five men - Cyrus Harding, an abolitionist and distinguished captain in Grant's army with Neb, his negro manservant; Gideon Spilett, dauntless war correspondent for the New York Herald; Pencroft, a dashing businessman from the North and former sailor trapped in Richmond by the siege; and his young friend, Herbert Brown - plus Harding's loving dog, Top, are lofted high into the sky by the powerful storm, blown thousand of miles from Richmond and brutally dashed onto the shores of an uncharted island somewhere deep in the southern hemisphere.
The tale unfolds as a straightforward dramatic adventure outlining the trials and tribulations of our five heroes. We are witness to their amazing transformation from prisoners, to castaways, to explorers, to pioneers and, finally, through a combination of intrepid daring, perseverance, cunning, ingenuity, derring-do, and eclectic scientific know-how, to comfortable, established colonists and citizens of their tropical paradise. Quite aptly, they've christened it "Lincoln Island". That Verne allowed himself the luxury of creating characters that were the very model of goodwill and cooperation can be overlooked. That Cyrus Harding, as an engineer, and Herbert Brown, as a young naturalist, had collective instant recall of virtually the world's accumulated scientific knowledge and a great deal of arcana besides was pushing the limits even for a story like this. But, what the heck - The Mysterious Island was intended as a "feel good" adventure, after all. My suggestion to help the reader get past this credibility factor problem is to allow Verne's tale to stand-in as a representative microcosm of the perils facing any group of courageous immigrants colonizing a strange land starting with nothing more than the clothes on their back and their wits. I'm sure you'll set the book down feeling no less than awestruck at the achievements that a successful flourishing colony represents.
As a historical aside, it was with no small amount of horror and disgust that I realized that Spilett's and Pencroft's complete and utter disdain and lack of consideration for the ecology of their island was probably entirely representative of Europe's attitude to these issues in the late 19th century. For example:
" ... Gideon Spilett and Herbert one day saw an animal which resembled a jaguar. Happily the creature did not attack them, or they might not have escaped without a severe wound. As soon as he could get a regular weapon, that is to say, one of the guns which Pencroft begged for, Gideon Spilett resolved to make desperate war against the ferocious beasts, and exterminate them from the island."
And:
"If the island is inhabited by wild beasts, we must think how to fight with and determine how to exterminate them. A time may come when this will be our first duty."
Ironically, despite their crystal clear certainty about their ability to exterminate a species under a planned program of attack, they were completely blind about the potential inability of another species to last forever as a food resource. To wit:
" ... commonly known by the name of American Rabbits. This product of the chase was brought back to Granite House and figured at the evening repast. The tenants of the warren were not at all to be despised, for they were delicious. It was a valuable resource of the colony and it appeared to be inexhaustible."
That said, the book was clearly a child of its times and, as such, the attitudes which we have hopefully left behind us can now be overlooked and accepted as historical artifacts. As an adventure story, it succeeds well and Ray Harryhausen chose well to build an exciting adventure film around it. The Mysterious Island unquestionably deserves a place on your reading list.
Paul Weiss
Five intrepid souls - typical Victorian "men's men" all - imprisoned in Richmond by the North's siege of the city during the American Civil War, band together in a daring escape attempt - the theft of a hot air balloon grounded by a horrific summer storm. The five men - Cyrus Harding, an abolitionist and distinguished captain in Grant's army with Neb, his negro manservant; Gideon Spilett, dauntless war correspondent for the New York Herald; Pencroft, a dashing businessman from the North and former sailor trapped in Richmond by the siege; and his young friend, Herbert Brown - plus Harding's loving dog, Top, are lofted high into the sky by the powerful storm, blown thousand of miles from Richmond and brutally dashed onto the shores of an uncharted island somewhere deep in the southern hemisphere.
The tale unfolds as a straightforward dramatic adventure outlining the trials and tribulations of our five heroes. We are witness to their amazing transformation from prisoners, to castaways, to explorers, to pioneers and, finally, through a combination of intrepid daring, perseverance, cunning, ingenuity, derring-do, and eclectic scientific know-how, to comfortable, established colonists and citizens of their tropical paradise. Quite aptly, they've christened it "Lincoln Island". That Verne allowed himself the luxury of creating characters that were the very model of goodwill and cooperation can be overlooked. That Cyrus Harding, as an engineer, and Herbert Brown, as a young naturalist, had collective instant recall of virtually the world's accumulated scientific knowledge and a great deal of arcana besides was pushing the limits even for a story like this. But, what the heck - The Mysterious Island was intended as a "feel good" adventure, after all. My suggestion to help the reader get past this credibility factor problem is to allow Verne's tale to stand-in as a representative microcosm of the perils facing any group of courageous immigrants colonizing a strange land starting with nothing more than the clothes on their back and their wits. I'm sure you'll set the book down feeling no less than awestruck at the achievements that a successful flourishing colony represents.
As a historical aside, it was with no small amount of horror and disgust that I realized that Spilett's and Pencroft's complete and utter disdain and lack of consideration for the ecology of their island was probably entirely representative of Europe's attitude to these issues in the late 19th century. For example:
" ... Gideon Spilett and Herbert one day saw an animal which resembled a jaguar. Happily the creature did not attack them, or they might not have escaped without a severe wound. As soon as he could get a regular weapon, that is to say, one of the guns which Pencroft begged for, Gideon Spilett resolved to make desperate war against the ferocious beasts, and exterminate them from the island."
And:
"If the island is inhabited by wild beasts, we must think how to fight with and determine how to exterminate them. A time may come when this will be our first duty."
Ironically, despite their crystal clear certainty about their ability to exterminate a species under a planned program of attack, they were completely blind about the potential inability of another species to last forever as a food resource. To wit:
" ... commonly known by the name of American Rabbits. This product of the chase was brought back to Granite House and figured at the evening repast. The tenants of the warren were not at all to be despised, for they were delicious. It was a valuable resource of the colony and it appeared to be inexhaustible."
That said, the book was clearly a child of its times and, as such, the attitudes which we have hopefully left behind us can now be overlooked and accepted as historical artifacts. As an adventure story, it succeeds well and Ray Harryhausen chose well to build an exciting adventure film around it. The Mysterious Island unquestionably deserves a place on your reading list.
Paul Weiss
December 27, 2017
L'île mystérieuse = The Mysterious Island (Extraordinary Voyages, #12), Jules Verne
Published in 1874.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: ماه اکتبر سال 1992 میلادی
عنوان: جزیره اسرارآمیز؛ اثر: ژول ورن؛ مترجم: محمدرضا جعفری؛ تهران، امیرکبیر، کتابهای طلایی 17؛ چاپ دوم 1345؛ در 47 ص؛
مترجم: جواد محیی، تهران، گوتنبرگ، چاپ دوم 1347، در 679 ص؛ چاپ دیگر: 1368؛ چاپ دیگر: تهران، نشر بشارت، 1370؛
مترجم: فخرالدین حسینی تنکابنی، تهران، افشار، 1368، در 124 ص؛
مترجم: حسن توکلی، انتشارات، تبریز، تلاش، 1365؛ در 192 ص؛
مترجم: م. نیازی؛ تهران، ارغوان، 1374؛ در 158 ص؛ چاپ پنجم: 1376؛ شابک: 9646234070؛
مترجم: نادره حصیری، تهران، اکباتان، 1365؛ در 160 ص؛ تهران، راستی نو، 1375؛ در 160 ص؛ شابک: 9645611067؛
مترجم: ناصر ایراندوست؛ تهران، اردیبهشت، 1377؛ در 128 ص؛ شابک: 96460602318؛
مترجم: سپهر حاجتی؛ تهران، دبیر، دادجو، 1384؛ در 108 ص؛ چاپ دیگر: 1387؛ چاپ دیگر: تهران، دبیر، 1388؛ در 108 ص؛ شابک: 9789642621828؛
مترجم: محمد همتخواه؛ تهران، عصر اندیشه، 1391؛ در 59 ص؛ شابک: 9786005550092؛
مترجم: مجید ریاحی؛ تهران، پیمان، 1376، در 128 ص؛ شابک: 9645981123؛ چاپ دیگر: تهران، پنگوئن، 1396؛ در 112 ص؛ شابک: 9786009835515؛
جزیره اسرارآمیز ماجراهای پنج نفر به نامهای: مهندس سایروس اسمیت، ناب برده سیاهپوست، ژدئون اسپیلت خبرنگار، ملوان پنکروف، نوجوانی به نام هاربرت براون را در یک جزیره ناشناخته روایت میکند. این پنج نفر در سال 1865 میلادی و در خلال جنگهای داخلی آمریکا، با یک بالن از زندانی در شهر ریچموند (واقع در ایالت ویرجینیای آمریکا) فرار میکنند و و هفت هزار مایل به وسیله طوفان وحشتناکی بر فراز اقیانوس آرام به پیش رانده میشوند. در آخرین لحظات متلاشی شدن بالن، به ناچار در جزیره ای غیرمسکونی و ناشناخته در جنوب اقیانوس آرام فرود میآیند. وقتی بالن آنها در آستانه رسیدن به خشکی است، مهندس اسمیت به دریا سقوط میکند و در شرف مرگ قرار میگیرد. اما او به شکل معجزه آسا و مشکوکی نجات پیدا میکند. آنها جزیره را به افتخار رئیس جمهورشان لینکلن نامگذاری میکنند و چهار سال از زندگی خود (از سال 1865 میلادی تا سال 1869 میلادی) را در آن جزیره غیرمسکونی سپری میکنند. در این مدت از همه مهارتهای خویش برای ادامه بقا سود میبرند و همه ی ابزارهای لازم برای شکار و دفاع از خود را میسازند، به بهترین شکل مکان ایمنی را برای سکونت خود درست میکنند، دامپروری راه میاندازند، کشاورزی میکنند و شروع به ساختن کشتی برای نجات از جزیره میکنند. آنها در جزیره با ماجراهایی رودررو میشوند. از جمله حمله میمونها و حیوانات وحشی دیگر، آمدن دزدان دریایی به جزیره، مبارزه با آنها و مجروح شدن شدید یکی از آنها. در تمام ماجراهایی که پیش میآید میدانند که نیروی مرموزی به آنها کمک میکند و بارها و بارها نجاتشان میدهد. روزی نوشته ای به دست آنها میرسد و از روی آن آیرتون را (که دوازده سال در جزیره تابور، در همسایگی آنان زندانی بوده و خوی نیمه وحشی یافته) پیدا میکنند و از آنجا نجاتش میدهند. ساکنان جزیره سرانجام با ناشناس مرموز پیش از مرگش آشنا میشوند. این ناشناس مهربان، کاپیتان نمو (یکی از شخصیتهایِ کتابِ بیست هزار فرسنگ زیر دریا) است، که با زیر دریایی معروف خود یعنی ناتیلوس در زیر آبهای اطراف جزیره لینکلن لنگر انداخته است. با ورود پروفسور اسمیت و همراهانش به جزیره، او تصمیم میگیرد آنجا را ترک کند؛ اما در اثر آتشفشان زیردریایی، توده های بازالت راه خروج نوتیلوس را مسدود میکند. کاپیتان نمو که سالهای آخر عمر خود را سپری میکرد، میمیرد و ساکنان جزیره، طبق وصیتش او را در زیر دریایی خودش در زیر دریا دفن میکنند. آتشفشان جزیره نیز شروع به فوران میکند و مسافران در نهایت به وسیله کشتی دونکان نجات مییابند. ا. شربیانی
Published in 1874.
تاریخ نخستین خوانش: ماه اکتبر سال 1992 میلادی
عنوان: جزیره اسرارآمیز؛ اثر: ژول ورن؛ مترجم: محمدرضا جعفری؛ تهران، امیرکبیر، کتابهای طلایی 17؛ چاپ دوم 1345؛ در 47 ص؛
مترجم: جواد محیی، تهران، گوتنبرگ، چاپ دوم 1347، در 679 ص؛ چاپ دیگر: 1368؛ چاپ دیگر: تهران، نشر بشارت، 1370؛
مترجم: فخرالدین حسینی تنکابنی، تهران، افشار، 1368، در 124 ص؛
مترجم: حسن توکلی، انتشارات، تبریز، تلاش، 1365؛ در 192 ص؛
مترجم: م. نیازی؛ تهران، ارغوان، 1374؛ در 158 ص؛ چاپ پنجم: 1376؛ شابک: 9646234070؛
مترجم: نادره حصیری، تهران، اکباتان، 1365؛ در 160 ص؛ تهران، راستی نو، 1375؛ در 160 ص؛ شابک: 9645611067؛
مترجم: ناصر ایراندوست؛ تهران، اردیبهشت، 1377؛ در 128 ص؛ شابک: 96460602318؛
مترجم: سپهر حاجتی؛ تهران، دبیر، دادجو، 1384؛ در 108 ص؛ چاپ دیگر: 1387؛ چاپ دیگر: تهران، دبیر، 1388؛ در 108 ص؛ شابک: 9789642621828؛
مترجم: محمد همتخواه؛ تهران، عصر اندیشه، 1391؛ در 59 ص؛ شابک: 9786005550092؛
مترجم: مجید ریاحی؛ تهران، پیمان، 1376، در 128 ص؛ شابک: 9645981123؛ چاپ دیگر: تهران، پنگوئن، 1396؛ در 112 ص؛ شابک: 9786009835515؛
جزیره اسرارآمیز ماجراهای پنج نفر به نامهای: مهندس سایروس اسمیت، ناب برده سیاهپوست، ژدئون اسپیلت خبرنگار، ملوان پنکروف، نوجوانی به نام هاربرت براون را در یک جزیره ناشناخته روایت میکند. این پنج نفر در سال 1865 میلادی و در خلال جنگهای داخلی آمریکا، با یک بالن از زندانی در شهر ریچموند (واقع در ایالت ویرجینیای آمریکا) فرار میکنند و و هفت هزار مایل به وسیله طوفان وحشتناکی بر فراز اقیانوس آرام به پیش رانده میشوند. در آخرین لحظات متلاشی شدن بالن، به ناچار در جزیره ای غیرمسکونی و ناشناخته در جنوب اقیانوس آرام فرود میآیند. وقتی بالن آنها در آستانه رسیدن به خشکی است، مهندس اسمیت به دریا سقوط میکند و در شرف مرگ قرار میگیرد. اما او به شکل معجزه آسا و مشکوکی نجات پیدا میکند. آنها جزیره را به افتخار رئیس جمهورشان لینکلن نامگذاری میکنند و چهار سال از زندگی خود (از سال 1865 میلادی تا سال 1869 میلادی) را در آن جزیره غیرمسکونی سپری میکنند. در این مدت از همه مهارتهای خویش برای ادامه بقا سود میبرند و همه ی ابزارهای لازم برای شکار و دفاع از خود را میسازند، به بهترین شکل مکان ایمنی را برای سکونت خود درست میکنند، دامپروری راه میاندازند، کشاورزی میکنند و شروع به ساختن کشتی برای نجات از جزیره میکنند. آنها در جزیره با ماجراهایی رودررو میشوند. از جمله حمله میمونها و حیوانات وحشی دیگر، آمدن دزدان دریایی به جزیره، مبارزه با آنها و مجروح شدن شدید یکی از آنها. در تمام ماجراهایی که پیش میآید میدانند که نیروی مرموزی به آنها کمک میکند و بارها و بارها نجاتشان میدهد. روزی نوشته ای به دست آنها میرسد و از روی آن آیرتون را (که دوازده سال در جزیره تابور، در همسایگی آنان زندانی بوده و خوی نیمه وحشی یافته) پیدا میکنند و از آنجا نجاتش میدهند. ساکنان جزیره سرانجام با ناشناس مرموز پیش از مرگش آشنا میشوند. این ناشناس مهربان، کاپیتان نمو (یکی از شخصیتهایِ کتابِ بیست هزار فرسنگ زیر دریا) است، که با زیر دریایی معروف خود یعنی ناتیلوس در زیر آبهای اطراف جزیره لینکلن لنگر انداخته است. با ورود پروفسور اسمیت و همراهانش به جزیره، او تصمیم میگیرد آنجا را ترک کند؛ اما در اثر آتشفشان زیردریایی، توده های بازالت راه خروج نوتیلوس را مسدود میکند. کاپیتان نمو که سالهای آخر عمر خود را سپری میکرد، میمیرد و ساکنان جزیره، طبق وصیتش او را در زیر دریایی خودش در زیر دریا دفن میکنند. آتشفشان جزیره نیز شروع به فوران میکند و مسافران در نهایت به وسیله کشتی دونکان نجات مییابند. ا. شربیانی
August 26, 2014
If The Mysterious Island isn't the biggest novel undertaken by someone conditioned with what we today diagnose as Aspberger's Syndrome, it comes close. Published in 1875, Jules Verne's epic castaway tale is loaded with geography, meteorology, astronomy, hydrography, orography, chemistry, geology and by virtue of appearing first in serialized form (as "The Secret of the Island"), the saga runs 193,266 words. Verne doesn't so much stop as he runs out of natural sciences to explore.
The fanciful adventure begins above the Pacific Ocean on March 23, 1865 as a balloon is ripped apart by a cyclone. Five Americans and one dog are aboard. The men are railroad engineer Cyrus Smith, journalist Gideon Spilett, freed slave Neb (short for Nebuchadnezzar), sailor Bonadventure Pencroff and 15-year-old Harbert Brown, Pencroff's protege and the son of his former captain. The dog is named Top and they are all prisoners of war, having escaped Confederate controlled Richmond by stealing the balloon.
The escapees stay aloft long enough to crash onto the shoreline of a deserted island. After searching for one of their missing mates, the men immediately begin to fortify themselves against the elements. Verne seems positively giddy at the prospect of leaving civilization and using his knowledge of the natural world to build a new one where the footprint of man has never been left. The castaways master the procurement of shelter, fuel, fire, food and tools before exploring their new habitat.
Verne builds his dream ecology on the island, which includes a dormant volcano, thick forests, lakes and streams and abundant plant and animal life, with everything from rabbits and foxes to sheep and jaguars. The men note and name all of the island's geographic features, arriving on Lincoln Island as a name for their new home. Led by Smith's engineering ingenuity, the castaways begin to improvise construction and manufacturing projects immediately.
Strange things are afoot on Lincoln Island. The missing castaway is found with no recollection of how he came to be deposited on the island. When Top is dragged underwater by a manatee, the creature is slain by an unseen predator. After four months marooned, Pencroff discovers a lead pellet in a bird no more than three months old. The castaways later discover a watertight crate washed ashore with rifles, lead, gunpowder, tools, utensils and books, with no wreckage from a ship found.
The Mysterious Island settles between Around the World In Eighty Days and Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, not quite science fiction until the final chapters, but a real attempt by Verne to try his hand at something different: a mystery. The 1961 film adaptation took wild liberties with the material, inserting giant creatures (designed by visual effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen) and lady castaways to sell concessions to 20th century boys like myself.
One of the antiquated qualities of Verne's writing here is that in three years of being marooned, the men never wear on each other's nerves or even disagree how to tackle a problem. The closest they come to Island Drama is when Pencroff lobbies Smith to let him build a skiff and sail to an island 120 miles away to see what's there. Not only are these men the most stoic, resourceful and stout of heart men in fiction, but they're apparently the friendliest as well!
By virtue of Verne publishing this a chapter at a time as a serial, when read in one volume, the novel is a long one. A damn long one. There are far too many chapters devoted to habitat building, exploring, plant cataloging, etc. without any development in the characters or the plot. It's just interesting stuff to Verne. The lead pellet isn't discovered until page 214. It was around that time that I began skimming the book or else I'd still be reading it.
Still, Verne's imagination is never in question. If I ever get marooned on a desert island, I hope that Eva Green is with me, but aside from that, I hope I have a copy of this book with me. While the characters are monochromatic and the plot very slow to develop, Verne is clearly a geek for the ages when it comes to the natural sciences and he communicates that ardor clearly, and across many different fields of study.
This edition of The Mysterious Island features a 2001 translation by Jordan Stump, associate professor of French at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and 1875 illustrations by Jules-Descartes Ferat. These are the work of A-class artisans and add tremendously to the pleasure of the book. I recommended it for anyone fascinated by tests of man versus nature. Fans of Verne are in for a treat in the final chapters, while those too young to have read Verne's work should have a good time as well.
The fanciful adventure begins above the Pacific Ocean on March 23, 1865 as a balloon is ripped apart by a cyclone. Five Americans and one dog are aboard. The men are railroad engineer Cyrus Smith, journalist Gideon Spilett, freed slave Neb (short for Nebuchadnezzar), sailor Bonadventure Pencroff and 15-year-old Harbert Brown, Pencroff's protege and the son of his former captain. The dog is named Top and they are all prisoners of war, having escaped Confederate controlled Richmond by stealing the balloon.
The escapees stay aloft long enough to crash onto the shoreline of a deserted island. After searching for one of their missing mates, the men immediately begin to fortify themselves against the elements. Verne seems positively giddy at the prospect of leaving civilization and using his knowledge of the natural world to build a new one where the footprint of man has never been left. The castaways master the procurement of shelter, fuel, fire, food and tools before exploring their new habitat.
Verne builds his dream ecology on the island, which includes a dormant volcano, thick forests, lakes and streams and abundant plant and animal life, with everything from rabbits and foxes to sheep and jaguars. The men note and name all of the island's geographic features, arriving on Lincoln Island as a name for their new home. Led by Smith's engineering ingenuity, the castaways begin to improvise construction and manufacturing projects immediately.
Strange things are afoot on Lincoln Island. The missing castaway is found with no recollection of how he came to be deposited on the island. When Top is dragged underwater by a manatee, the creature is slain by an unseen predator. After four months marooned, Pencroff discovers a lead pellet in a bird no more than three months old. The castaways later discover a watertight crate washed ashore with rifles, lead, gunpowder, tools, utensils and books, with no wreckage from a ship found.
The Mysterious Island settles between Around the World In Eighty Days and Twenty-Thousand Leagues Under the Sea, not quite science fiction until the final chapters, but a real attempt by Verne to try his hand at something different: a mystery. The 1961 film adaptation took wild liberties with the material, inserting giant creatures (designed by visual effects pioneer Ray Harryhausen) and lady castaways to sell concessions to 20th century boys like myself.
One of the antiquated qualities of Verne's writing here is that in three years of being marooned, the men never wear on each other's nerves or even disagree how to tackle a problem. The closest they come to Island Drama is when Pencroff lobbies Smith to let him build a skiff and sail to an island 120 miles away to see what's there. Not only are these men the most stoic, resourceful and stout of heart men in fiction, but they're apparently the friendliest as well!
By virtue of Verne publishing this a chapter at a time as a serial, when read in one volume, the novel is a long one. A damn long one. There are far too many chapters devoted to habitat building, exploring, plant cataloging, etc. without any development in the characters or the plot. It's just interesting stuff to Verne. The lead pellet isn't discovered until page 214. It was around that time that I began skimming the book or else I'd still be reading it.
Still, Verne's imagination is never in question. If I ever get marooned on a desert island, I hope that Eva Green is with me, but aside from that, I hope I have a copy of this book with me. While the characters are monochromatic and the plot very slow to develop, Verne is clearly a geek for the ages when it comes to the natural sciences and he communicates that ardor clearly, and across many different fields of study.
This edition of The Mysterious Island features a 2001 translation by Jordan Stump, associate professor of French at the University of Nebraska at Lincoln and 1875 illustrations by Jules-Descartes Ferat. These are the work of A-class artisans and add tremendously to the pleasure of the book. I recommended it for anyone fascinated by tests of man versus nature. Fans of Verne are in for a treat in the final chapters, while those too young to have read Verne's work should have a good time as well.
December 7, 2012
This is a story about the artist – not his art. The plot is practically nonexistent, contrived purely so Jules Verne can demonstrate his extensive scientific knowledge.
Four men are air-balloon wrecked on an uncharted, uninhabited island in the pacific ocean. The island has every vegetable, animal, and mineral resource to be found anywhere else in the world. The four castaways, who never once disagree with each other or say a cross word, colonize the island with nothing more than their knowledge, intelligence, empty pockets, and bare hands. Within a couple of years they manufacture metal, glass, bricks, animal farms, windmills, boats, a telegraph, batteries; gun powder, you name it – they got it!
And by the time you reach the end of this long tedious book, after having learnt the names of all the hills, rivers, lakes, bays, forests; botanical names for all the trees, animals and insects; mineral and chemical names for every lump of rock they trip over – the whole island blows up and vanishes into the ocean.
A waste of time…
Four men are air-balloon wrecked on an uncharted, uninhabited island in the pacific ocean. The island has every vegetable, animal, and mineral resource to be found anywhere else in the world. The four castaways, who never once disagree with each other or say a cross word, colonize the island with nothing more than their knowledge, intelligence, empty pockets, and bare hands. Within a couple of years they manufacture metal, glass, bricks, animal farms, windmills, boats, a telegraph, batteries; gun powder, you name it – they got it!
And by the time you reach the end of this long tedious book, after having learnt the names of all the hills, rivers, lakes, bays, forests; botanical names for all the trees, animals and insects; mineral and chemical names for every lump of rock they trip over – the whole island blows up and vanishes into the ocean.
A waste of time…
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
January 11, 2016
Passionnant et palpitant jusqu'à la toute fin, avec un style érudit mais vivant. Mon premier coup de coeur de l'année 2016, et certainement pas mon dernier Jules Verne !
January 9, 2015
As with many of my pre-Goodreads books, the date read for this one is a best guess, but probably roughly accurate. Although I liked it overall, I didn't rate it as highly as my Goodreads friend Bruce recently did.
Simply put, the premise here is that in March 1865, five Unionists (one the black former slave of one of the white escapees, and another a 15-year-old boy) escape from Richmond by stealing a balloon that's been prepared and provisioned for a Confederate mission; but are quickly blown WAY off course by a massive hurricane, and five days later wind up on an uncharted island. By the time of the Civil War, of course, balloon flights were not science-fictional. This novel's science fiction element is actually a tie-in with Verne's earlier novel, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea; but I would say that much of the plot is a descriptive fiction tale of adventure and survival under adverse conditions. (In that respect, it has a lot in common with Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, and readers who like the one might like the other.) That's not out of character for Verne; he didn't think of himself as a writer of "science fiction" (the concept as such didn't exist then), but as a writer of "Extraordinary Voyages," of which this is one, and he was as interested in describing the extraordinary wonders of the actual world as in speculating about the extraordinary marvels he believed science could achieve.
Verne was a practicing Roman Catholic. To a greater extent than in his other works (at least the ones I've read), he speaks here in his third-person narration about the providential care of God; and our castaways here several times both pray to God for help and acknowledge and thank Him for blessings received. Bruce, in his review, discerns a deliberate symbolism here in which the island stands for the world, whose inhabitants are watched over and supplied by a beneficent Deity. As an intentional symbolism, I wouldn't rule it out, though it's subtle enough that it didn't suggest itself to me when I read the book. In any case, it could certainly be a legitimate reader-response criticism. (And given the geological instability of the island, one could extend this symbolism to include Christian eschatology --but no spoilers here!) But this doesn't imply that the castaways are or can be passive; on the contrary, for them as for the inhabitants of this terrestrial island in space, benefiting from the resources they're blessed with takes cooperation, hard work, courage, and technological know-how and ingenuity. Fortunately, they have these in abundance!
Despite the Goodreads reference to their needing to build a "society," this isn't really sociologically-oriented science fiction. Our characters have to work together, pull their weight and share; but you don't develop much of a "society" with five people in it. Their conflicts and challenges are basically with nature and with physical processes, rather than interpersonal. Verne is part of a literary tradition that tends to be more gadget-oriented than people-oriented; and this shows here. My literary preferences are more drawn to the human element, rather than the physical-technological. That accounts for my lower rating for this than for other SF works that focus more on character. For me, this was often a less than riveting read, though readers more fascinated by learning about survival techniques and do-it-yourself technology might react differently. The prose style per se wasn't problematical; I found this more readable than some of the author's other works in that respect. Of course, this requires a caveat: international copyright didn't exist in Verne's day, so many English-language editions of his work were pirated, and he was very poorly served by most of the unauthorized translators, who took vast liberties. So with most 19th-century translations, you're never 100% sure that you're actually reading anything very similar to Verne's original. :-( (The Airmont edition I read provides no information about what translation was used.)
As a History major, I was put off by the inaccuracies in the way the Richmond setting of March 1865 was depicted. Verne was writing about nine years after the war; but he obviously either didn't follow the contemporary accounts of it very closely, didn't remember them well, or both. (And he didn't take time to research the subject, either!) Richmond was never "besieged" by Grant or anybody else; and a Union prisoner would not have been free to walk around the city. (Union officers were held in Richmond; but they were confined to Libby Prison.) Also, the tie-in with Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea which I mentioned above has some chronological inconsistencies with the earlier book that I noted at the time I read this one, but which are hard to explain without a spoiler. But on the positive side, I don't recall anything invidious or derogatory in the portrayal of the black character, Neb; and that's a plus not always found in the literature of that era!
Simply put, the premise here is that in March 1865, five Unionists (one the black former slave of one of the white escapees, and another a 15-year-old boy) escape from Richmond by stealing a balloon that's been prepared and provisioned for a Confederate mission; but are quickly blown WAY off course by a massive hurricane, and five days later wind up on an uncharted island. By the time of the Civil War, of course, balloon flights were not science-fictional. This novel's science fiction element is actually a tie-in with Verne's earlier novel, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea; but I would say that much of the plot is a descriptive fiction tale of adventure and survival under adverse conditions. (In that respect, it has a lot in common with Defoe's Robinson Crusoe, and readers who like the one might like the other.) That's not out of character for Verne; he didn't think of himself as a writer of "science fiction" (the concept as such didn't exist then), but as a writer of "Extraordinary Voyages," of which this is one, and he was as interested in describing the extraordinary wonders of the actual world as in speculating about the extraordinary marvels he believed science could achieve.
Verne was a practicing Roman Catholic. To a greater extent than in his other works (at least the ones I've read), he speaks here in his third-person narration about the providential care of God; and our castaways here several times both pray to God for help and acknowledge and thank Him for blessings received. Bruce, in his review, discerns a deliberate symbolism here in which the island stands for the world, whose inhabitants are watched over and supplied by a beneficent Deity. As an intentional symbolism, I wouldn't rule it out, though it's subtle enough that it didn't suggest itself to me when I read the book. In any case, it could certainly be a legitimate reader-response criticism. (And given the geological instability of the island, one could extend this symbolism to include Christian eschatology --but no spoilers here!) But this doesn't imply that the castaways are or can be passive; on the contrary, for them as for the inhabitants of this terrestrial island in space, benefiting from the resources they're blessed with takes cooperation, hard work, courage, and technological know-how and ingenuity. Fortunately, they have these in abundance!
Despite the Goodreads reference to their needing to build a "society," this isn't really sociologically-oriented science fiction. Our characters have to work together, pull their weight and share; but you don't develop much of a "society" with five people in it. Their conflicts and challenges are basically with nature and with physical processes, rather than interpersonal. Verne is part of a literary tradition that tends to be more gadget-oriented than people-oriented; and this shows here. My literary preferences are more drawn to the human element, rather than the physical-technological. That accounts for my lower rating for this than for other SF works that focus more on character. For me, this was often a less than riveting read, though readers more fascinated by learning about survival techniques and do-it-yourself technology might react differently. The prose style per se wasn't problematical; I found this more readable than some of the author's other works in that respect. Of course, this requires a caveat: international copyright didn't exist in Verne's day, so many English-language editions of his work were pirated, and he was very poorly served by most of the unauthorized translators, who took vast liberties. So with most 19th-century translations, you're never 100% sure that you're actually reading anything very similar to Verne's original. :-( (The Airmont edition I read provides no information about what translation was used.)
As a History major, I was put off by the inaccuracies in the way the Richmond setting of March 1865 was depicted. Verne was writing about nine years after the war; but he obviously either didn't follow the contemporary accounts of it very closely, didn't remember them well, or both. (And he didn't take time to research the subject, either!) Richmond was never "besieged" by Grant or anybody else; and a Union prisoner would not have been free to walk around the city. (Union officers were held in Richmond; but they were confined to Libby Prison.) Also, the tie-in with Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea which I mentioned above has some chronological inconsistencies with the earlier book that I noted at the time I read this one, but which are hard to explain without a spoiler. But on the positive side, I don't recall anything invidious or derogatory in the portrayal of the black character, Neb; and that's a plus not always found in the literature of that era!
September 15, 2024
Най-добрата и най-любимата моя приключенска книга, препрочел съм сигурно десетина пъти копието на баща ми, което вече е мое и ще бъде на сина ми!
Балонокрушение на необитаем остров оставя нашите смели и разумни гер��и в едно незавидно положение - те трябва да се справят със своето оцеляване и го правят по екстравагантен и с вяра в науката и прогреса начин!
Верн е във вихъра си в тази книга и не се спира пред нищо в сътворяването на този паметник на човешките знания и възможности, които се оказват без предел!
Абсолютно настолна трябва да е за момчетата и момичетата от 7 до 15 годишна възраст и вярвам, че ще получим в резултат едно много по-смело и със сигурност по-отговорно и умело човешки поколение!
Оригиналните илюстрации включени в моето издание също са чудесни!
P.S. Както в последствие научих, това е третата част от трилогия. Първите две книги са "Капитан Немо" и "Децата на капитан Грант", но всички те могат да се четат и самостоятелно при желание.
Балонокрушение на необитаем остров оставя нашите смели и разумни гер��и в едно незавидно положение - те трябва да се справят със своето оцеляване и го правят по екстравагантен и с вяра в науката и прогреса начин!
Верн е във вихъра си в тази книга и не се спира пред нищо в сътворяването на този паметник на човешките знания и възможности, които се оказват без предел!
Абсолютно настолна трябва да е за момчетата и момичетата от 7 до 15 годишна възраст и вярвам, че ще получим в резултат едно много по-смело и със сигурност по-отговорно и умело човешки поколение!
Оригиналните илюстрации включени в моето издание също са чудесни!
P.S. Както в последствие научих, това е третата част от трилогия. Първите две книги са "Капитан Немо" и "Децата на капитан Грант", но всички те могат да се четат и самостоятелно при желание.
February 28, 2016
Τι πιο ωραίο να ξαναγίνεσαι έφηβος, διαβάζοντας ένα τέτοιο βιβλίο !
February 1, 2016
3,5/4 Fini dans la nuit hier, je n'arrivais plus à m'arrêter !
Après une première partie douloureuse pour moi (trop de descriptions très, très détaillées, trop scientifiques à mon goût...) le reste s'est lu tout seul, c'était passionnant et palpitant, et le style de Jules Verne est à saluer - quel talent !
Bon, tout ne m'a pas plu à 100% (mais j'y reviendrai à travers un article de blog prochainement) mais c'était une belle lecture et une belle surprise, contre toute attente ! Et ça m'a donné envie de lire d'autres livres de Jules Verne...
Après une première partie douloureuse pour moi (trop de descriptions très, très détaillées, trop scientifiques à mon goût...) le reste s'est lu tout seul, c'était passionnant et palpitant, et le style de Jules Verne est à saluer - quel talent !
Bon, tout ne m'a pas plu à 100% (mais j'y reviendrai à travers un article de blog prochainement) mais c'était une belle lecture et une belle surprise, contre toute attente ! Et ça m'a donné envie de lire d'autres livres de Jules Verne...
March 17, 2011
Finished it a few days ago. This book has restored my faith in reading. It's the second best book I've ever read. I've rarely read anything that has kept me spellbound from start to finish. I think I'd like to start reading it again.
For what is seen as an adventure book, it's mind blowingly in-depth, overly interesting and so well written, it has taught me many lessons in writing. I never new Jules Verne was so good. I already miss each character and even the animals. Poor Jup. Wow wow wow.
For what is seen as an adventure book, it's mind blowingly in-depth, overly interesting and so well written, it has taught me many lessons in writing. I never new Jules Verne was so good. I already miss each character and even the animals. Poor Jup. Wow wow wow.
August 6, 2019
260913: i had to take a break on page 346, as the extensive description of application, recapitulation, celebration, of all industrial engineering resulting in 19th century European technology, by five men, from nothing, on an island which just happens to contain all desired resources, began to make me wonder if this is satire- really have to clarify this: i was not beginning to sense this in his writing, i was beginning to read it myself too much like satire, not taking it seriously- but no, this is sincere, scientific, humanistic, and obviously result of much research and imagination...
this break was a good, because once you leave behind or just ignore all this survival Science, possibility but not plausibility, this is a fun book. even though it is so long, it zips by, and it becomes clear that the protagonist is not any or all of the castaways or even their mysterious benefactor- the protagonist is Science, of all sorts, as presented most forcefully as Engineering. is it possible to have such innocent, unquestioning, all-encompassing, faith in the wonder and moral value of Science, of Engineering?... well perhaps in 1875, when this was published...
there are no women, no natives, no Others of any sort. there are not even any conflicts between the men, no doubts, but that the sincere application of so much, so applicable, so fortunately known Science, that if you are not willing to enter this mindset... i cannot help but be overwhelmed by absurdity of their technological progress throughout the years, their development of everything from iron to glass to an elevator, their construction of a boat, their rescue of yet another castaway, who has not been so fortunate in his exile. unfortunately, i already knew who is their mysterious benefactor, but this knowledge does not diminish the triumphant narrative of Science, and the ultimate appeal to the providence of god seems only kind of tacked on at the end...
this book made me think of several others, particularly other Verne, but the one that surprises me most comes out of nowhere: i think of Samuel Beckett's Trilogy. and no, i have not decided to reappraise those books, but made me wonder why this, which is about as long as those three, is so much easier to read even when i know what/who will be revealed as their mysterious djinni. there must be something, some pleasure, in this deliberate escape to an era, a world, that pre-dates the great horrors our protagonist Science can generate, that makes me think of those who read this in that time, those who could only foresee the wonders and not the terrors, something i do not even recall from childhood when everything from Vietnam on the TV to the unspoken, ever-present, idea of nuclear Armageddon, were only too strong an idea of Science...
but what this has to do with Beckett, i am unsure. have to think about it...
i think about it and recall one of the signal moments early on the island, when they measure the location of this place on something of latitude and longitude- this made me think of the philosophy of the 'life-world' (husserl) and the difference between lived space and the objective space (Cartesian) as measured on the more 'scientific' way, as defined by some arbitrary other scale which has no immediate, human, value. this makes me on reflection think of heidegger's contention we have ‘scientifically’'leveled' all the world as 'resource' rather than 'being'. how tall is that cliff, how can we measure it, how can we discover our place relative to the 'real' world, how can we use our clocks to place us. well, all of this is possible by Science. and how this place has rocks, sand, trees, grass, only in their utility as resources, only in how we humans or rather our avatars the five castaways, may use them...
this understanding of the world according to Science, as resources, instead of facing difficulty of climbing that cliff, rather our five relating on some Science 'stance'- instead of engaging the world as the World- this will be how the book seems to be a parody, a satire, but no, in fact, these educated castaways can be thought of as intelligent men of the industrial world, the island as our entire planet, and this is the romance of Science, that we should enact without doubt or uncertainty that this may be less than entirety of the world. that cliff is measured by calculating angles of trigonometry, whereas the ordinary man would say, Can i climb it? of the beach sand, We can fashion glass, rather than, Damn sand gets in everything! the island, as the World, seems an inexhaustible fount of resources, even as we are given argument about What will we humans do when the coal runs out? by that time we will use hydrogen, of course, simple sea water, and will not face that moment for what, two hundred years!...
Beckett has no arguments of that sort, no Science in fact or dream, only that complex reality each human must face bravely or not, of the absurdity of the World, and, in an almost religious way of thinking, we humans are our own greatest absurdity...
ah, but then, is it possible that humans are both scientific masters and existential clowns, in this world?...
this break was a good, because once you leave behind or just ignore all this survival Science, possibility but not plausibility, this is a fun book. even though it is so long, it zips by, and it becomes clear that the protagonist is not any or all of the castaways or even their mysterious benefactor- the protagonist is Science, of all sorts, as presented most forcefully as Engineering. is it possible to have such innocent, unquestioning, all-encompassing, faith in the wonder and moral value of Science, of Engineering?... well perhaps in 1875, when this was published...
there are no women, no natives, no Others of any sort. there are not even any conflicts between the men, no doubts, but that the sincere application of so much, so applicable, so fortunately known Science, that if you are not willing to enter this mindset... i cannot help but be overwhelmed by absurdity of their technological progress throughout the years, their development of everything from iron to glass to an elevator, their construction of a boat, their rescue of yet another castaway, who has not been so fortunate in his exile. unfortunately, i already knew who is their mysterious benefactor, but this knowledge does not diminish the triumphant narrative of Science, and the ultimate appeal to the providence of god seems only kind of tacked on at the end...
this book made me think of several others, particularly other Verne, but the one that surprises me most comes out of nowhere: i think of Samuel Beckett's Trilogy. and no, i have not decided to reappraise those books, but made me wonder why this, which is about as long as those three, is so much easier to read even when i know what/who will be revealed as their mysterious djinni. there must be something, some pleasure, in this deliberate escape to an era, a world, that pre-dates the great horrors our protagonist Science can generate, that makes me think of those who read this in that time, those who could only foresee the wonders and not the terrors, something i do not even recall from childhood when everything from Vietnam on the TV to the unspoken, ever-present, idea of nuclear Armageddon, were only too strong an idea of Science...
but what this has to do with Beckett, i am unsure. have to think about it...
i think about it and recall one of the signal moments early on the island, when they measure the location of this place on something of latitude and longitude- this made me think of the philosophy of the 'life-world' (husserl) and the difference between lived space and the objective space (Cartesian) as measured on the more 'scientific' way, as defined by some arbitrary other scale which has no immediate, human, value. this makes me on reflection think of heidegger's contention we have ‘scientifically’'leveled' all the world as 'resource' rather than 'being'. how tall is that cliff, how can we measure it, how can we discover our place relative to the 'real' world, how can we use our clocks to place us. well, all of this is possible by Science. and how this place has rocks, sand, trees, grass, only in their utility as resources, only in how we humans or rather our avatars the five castaways, may use them...
this understanding of the world according to Science, as resources, instead of facing difficulty of climbing that cliff, rather our five relating on some Science 'stance'- instead of engaging the world as the World- this will be how the book seems to be a parody, a satire, but no, in fact, these educated castaways can be thought of as intelligent men of the industrial world, the island as our entire planet, and this is the romance of Science, that we should enact without doubt or uncertainty that this may be less than entirety of the world. that cliff is measured by calculating angles of trigonometry, whereas the ordinary man would say, Can i climb it? of the beach sand, We can fashion glass, rather than, Damn sand gets in everything! the island, as the World, seems an inexhaustible fount of resources, even as we are given argument about What will we humans do when the coal runs out? by that time we will use hydrogen, of course, simple sea water, and will not face that moment for what, two hundred years!...
Beckett has no arguments of that sort, no Science in fact or dream, only that complex reality each human must face bravely or not, of the absurdity of the World, and, in an almost religious way of thinking, we humans are our own greatest absurdity...
ah, but then, is it possible that humans are both scientific masters and existential clowns, in this world?...
February 16, 2009
Last year I participated with a group of friends in doing a Secret Santa. This was the book that my Santa gave me (as well as Gulliver's Travels). I think it was because of the fact I was moaning about the lack of any Verne on Maui. I am SOOOOO glad my santa chose this book for me. It was amazing. Yes there were some dry parts, unless you like painstaking detail about how to make Iron or Bricks, but even they were quickly dispatched, and could be skimmed without really mising anything.
Verne's Characters rank in loveability with Characters such as Jim Hawkins,Rhett Butler,Huck Fynn and Tom Sawyer, as a matter of fact there were not many characters I did not like,other than the ones you were supposed to dislike. For me,IMHO, This Classic ranks right up there with The Count of Monte Christo, Great Expectations ETC. I have already read Journey to the Centre of the Earth and again in my humble opinion this outranks it by miles! If you are not familiar with Verne I think this qwould be a great one to start with. And no matter how knowledgeable you are, the end will leave you saying WTF. However, all the Mysteries of said Mysterious Island are dealt with and you are not left with the feeling of ok now what happens.
Verne's Characters rank in loveability with Characters such as Jim Hawkins,Rhett Butler,Huck Fynn and Tom Sawyer, as a matter of fact there were not many characters I did not like,other than the ones you were supposed to dislike. For me,IMHO, This Classic ranks right up there with The Count of Monte Christo, Great Expectations ETC. I have already read Journey to the Centre of the Earth and again in my humble opinion this outranks it by miles! If you are not familiar with Verne I think this qwould be a great one to start with. And no matter how knowledgeable you are, the end will leave you saying WTF. However, all the Mysteries of said Mysterious Island are dealt with and you are not left with the feeling of ok now what happens.
August 6, 2020
Jules Verne fuels the imagination! Verne had a vision of a Hollow Earth. Fascinating topic. Lots of esoteric knowledge out there in the public domain, if one knows where to look. Great books. Tolkien also had Middle Earth in his books and of course Alice went down the rabbit hole. Maybe that is where the elves and dwarves live! Lol!🐯👍
February 27, 2015
ايام نوجواني داشت به سر مي رسيد و با آن ميل به كتاب هاي جزيره هاي گنج و ماجراهاي دزدان دريايي هم كمتر ميشد
چندين داستان در اين مورد خوانده بودم و دوست داشتم با يك كتاب خيلي خوب خاتمه اي به اين دوران بدهم
در كتابخانه آن را پيدا نكردم ولي بعد از يك ماه ،دوستم بهم زنگ زد كه در خانه قديمي شان در روستا، تعدادي كتاب بي جلد و پاره پيدا كرده و براي من آورده بود
چهار پنج كتابی بود كه اين جزيره گنج هم بدون جلد در آنها خودش را پنهان كرده بود
آخه مثل اونموقع خودم، كمي خجالتي بود
اين همه سال كتاب گوشه اي منتظر من مانده بود
و الان پیدایش شده بود
گابریل گارسیا مارکز در مصاحبه ای گفت:این داستان ها هستند که منو برای نوشتن انتخاب میکنند نه من آنها را
بنده هم طبق حرف استاد میگویم شايد اين كتاب ها هستند كه ما را انتخاب ميكنند نه ما آن ها را
در اين داستان است كه شخصيت كاپيتان نمو به دنيا می آید
مردي منزوي و خودخواه و دانشمند،با شخصيتي دوست داشتني،كه براي آرامشش از دنياي آدمها زده بيرون و نزدیک جزیره ای و در زیر آب زندگی میکند
جالب است ژول ورن در اين كتاب با دقت در مورد زير دريايي حرف مي زند در حالي كه هنوز اختراع نشده بود
یکی از خصوصیات نابغه ها همین است: جلوتر از زمان خود بودن
چندين داستان در اين مورد خوانده بودم و دوست داشتم با يك كتاب خيلي خوب خاتمه اي به اين دوران بدهم
در كتابخانه آن را پيدا نكردم ولي بعد از يك ماه ،دوستم بهم زنگ زد كه در خانه قديمي شان در روستا، تعدادي كتاب بي جلد و پاره پيدا كرده و براي من آورده بود
چهار پنج كتابی بود كه اين جزيره گنج هم بدون جلد در آنها خودش را پنهان كرده بود
آخه مثل اونموقع خودم، كمي خجالتي بود
اين همه سال كتاب گوشه اي منتظر من مانده بود
و الان پیدایش شده بود
گابریل گارسیا مارکز در مصاحبه ای گفت:این داستان ها هستند که منو برای نوشتن انتخاب میکنند نه من آنها را
بنده هم طبق حرف استاد میگویم شايد اين كتاب ها هستند كه ما را انتخاب ميكنند نه ما آن ها را
در اين داستان است كه شخصيت كاپيتان نمو به دنيا می آید
مردي منزوي و خودخواه و دانشمند،با شخصيتي دوست داشتني،كه براي آرامشش از دنياي آدمها زده بيرون و نزدیک جزیره ای و در زیر آب زندگی میکند
جالب است ژول ورن در اين كتاب با دقت در مورد زير دريايي حرف مي زند در حالي كه هنوز اختراع نشده بود
یکی از خصوصیات نابغه ها همین است: جلوتر از زمان خود بودن
April 30, 2012
my favorite among 40+ books I've read by Jules Verne. read count = 4 (although not recently) . An example of how scientific knowledge dramatically increases the chances of survival on a deserted island. Probably one of the reasons I've chosen a career as an engineer, I like to take things apart to see how they work, and i also love the satisfaction of fixing something that is broken. The four stranded technology wizards recreate the industrial revolution from scatch among the pristine tropical paradise. At the time I first read it (I was 9 or 10) I didn't miss so much the lack of a feminine character to spice up the plot.
January 24, 2016
J'avais quelques réserves en entamant ce livre (j'avais pas mal d'a priori sur l'écriture très descriptive de Jules Verne), mais j'ai finalement beaucoup aimé L'île mystérieuse !
L'histoire nous accroche assez vite (malgré une première partie un peu longuette), beaucoup de mystères apparaissent les uns après les autres et la fin est vraiment surprenante et ne déçoit pas !
Le seul bémol que j'aurais est que cela manque d'émotion, notamment au niveau des personnages. Ces naufragés sont tellement optimistes, réussissent tout ce qu'ils entreprennent et il est du coup compliqué de s'identifier à eux et de craindre pour leur vie.
L'histoire nous accroche assez vite (malgré une première partie un peu longuette), beaucoup de mystères apparaissent les uns après les autres et la fin est vraiment surprenante et ne déçoit pas !
Le seul bémol que j'aurais est que cela manque d'émotion, notamment au niveau des personnages. Ces naufragés sont tellement optimistes, réussissent tout ce qu'ils entreprennent et il est du coup compliqué de s'identifier à eux et de craindre pour leur vie.
August 17, 2018
Che Verne sia oggi un autore abbandonato mi pare innegabile; lo vedi ancora sbucare qua e là negli scaffali dei libri per ragazzi, ridotto e illustrato, in faticosa competizione con la fornitissima produzione contemporanea. Questo stupendo romanzo di avventura, mistero e ingegno umano ha per fortuna una pubblicazione "adulta" per i tipi di Marsilio, un bellissimo paperback che non mi son lasciato sfuggire. Cosa non piace più di questo autore, perchè ha perduto il suo antico fascino il transalpino Giulio che sfidava Salgari nelle librerie di un tempo? Mah! Mistero più arcano di quello che nasconde la remota isola di Lincoln, luogo fuori dalle rotte conosciute del Pacifico in cui un gruppo di naufraghi atterra con una mongolfiera, in fuga dalla Guerra Civile americana. Le gesta dell'ingegnere Cyrus Smith col suo labrador, il marinaio Pencroff, il giornalista Gedeon Spilett, lo schiavo liberato Nab e il giovane Harbert sono probabilmente uscite dal mito collettivo, restando nello scrigno prezioso dei pochi che ancora oggi ne ripercorrono successi e fallimenti. Se questo è stato un "libro per ragazzi" d'altri tempi beh, mi vien da dire, che ragazzi in gamba si son formati! Oltre al sapore dell'avventura infatti il romanzo è un compendio misurato e attento di biologia, chimica, scienze, ingegneria, medicina, agricoltura, navigazione e chi più ne ha più ne metta, mai prolisso ma fuso e saldato efficacemente alla narrazione. Un capolavoro immortale con piega finale degli eventi ampiamente spoilerata in lungo e in largo nella rete; io non sono troppo sensibile e me ne sono fatto una ragione, ma in effetti può essere fastidioso scoprire il mistero dell'isola già a inizio lettura quindi il mio consiglio è: se volete intraprendere anche voi questa magnifica avventura, fatelo senza cercare troppo sul web, wikipedia inclusa.
March 15, 2022
Toward the end of the Civil War, five northerners escape detention in Richmond, Virginia. The small band takes advantage of a storm to hijack a Confederate balloon with the intention of crossing over to Union lines. But the storm blows them off course—way off course—to a remote uncharted island in the South Pacific.
Led by a brilliant officer of engineers, the group survives, explores, builds and ultimately thrives as “colonists” of Lincoln Island. Among other things, they build a small boat to explore another island where they find a “wild man” who turns out to be a marooned pirate. The colonists respect the man’s humanity, and that respect and offer of friendship result in the ex-pirate’s confession, atonement and transformation into an honored member of the community.
But all isn’t idyllic on Lincoln Island; the challenges of nature come in the form of wild animals, storms and a seemingly dormant volcano, and from humans in the form of a band of escaped convicts turned to piracy. But through all their trials, there is a benevolent force that seems to watch over the colonists, the “mystery” of the island.
I could recommend this novel as a fine example of 19th century adventure stories, but I believe there’s more to it than that. Verne’s story can be read as an allegory, a story of struggle against the forces of evil and the fortifying power of human kindness, faith, hope and charity. It is also a story about sin, repentance, atonement and redemption. In many ways the story is the polar opposite of William Golding’s dark vision of human nature castaway on a remote island, “Lord of the Flies.”
“Mysterious Island” remains an inspiring book for troubled times, and since all times are more or less troubled, I believe Verne’s story will continue to stand the test of time.
Led by a brilliant officer of engineers, the group survives, explores, builds and ultimately thrives as “colonists” of Lincoln Island. Among other things, they build a small boat to explore another island where they find a “wild man” who turns out to be a marooned pirate. The colonists respect the man’s humanity, and that respect and offer of friendship result in the ex-pirate’s confession, atonement and transformation into an honored member of the community.
But all isn’t idyllic on Lincoln Island; the challenges of nature come in the form of wild animals, storms and a seemingly dormant volcano, and from humans in the form of a band of escaped convicts turned to piracy. But through all their trials, there is a benevolent force that seems to watch over the colonists, the “mystery” of the island.
I could recommend this novel as a fine example of 19th century adventure stories, but I believe there’s more to it than that. Verne’s story can be read as an allegory, a story of struggle against the forces of evil and the fortifying power of human kindness, faith, hope and charity. It is also a story about sin, repentance, atonement and redemption. In many ways the story is the polar opposite of William Golding’s dark vision of human nature castaway on a remote island, “Lord of the Flies.”
“Mysterious Island” remains an inspiring book for troubled times, and since all times are more or less troubled, I believe Verne’s story will continue to stand the test of time.
March 28, 2024
As usual in Mr. Verne's stories, there is a mixture of good quality science fiction and adventures, with strong elements of history and geography.
Wonder how many youngsters today would prefer reading such novels, instead of "studying" their mobile phones...
Wonder how many youngsters today would prefer reading such novels, instead of "studying" their mobile phones...
April 27, 2016
Alerte coup de coeur ! Comme je suis heureuse que ce livre ait été choisi pour la lecture de janvier du Club de Lecture MS !
Pourtant, au départ, les 800 pages m'ont un peu effrayée, non pas que je n'aime pas les pavés, au contraire, mais j'avais peur que le style de Jules Verne m'ennuie. Quelle erreur ç'aurait été de me fier à mes craintes ! Je n'aurais troqué la version intégrale pour rien au monde. Je n'ai rien à redire à ce roman, certes il y a de longues descriptions topographiques et scientifiques auxquelles je n'ai pas toujours tout compris, mais ça donne surtout ce côté très naturaliste au livre. Bien que les hommes soient échoués sur une île, on sent vraiment qu'on est au XIXe siècle avec cette passion pour la science, la faune, la flore, l'ingénierie ... Il y a aussi le "mauvais" côté d'être à cette époque, avec parfois des façons de penser qui ne passeraient plus de nos jours et qui choquent les yeux contemporains, mais c'est bien ça qui est intéressant aussi !
L'histoire est passionnante, les héros sont formidables, si courageux, volontaires et bienveillants ! Et le suspens augmente progressivement tout au long du livre jusqu'à être insoutenable, et quelle fin ! Je ne me serais pas attendue à un tel dénouement, quel choc ça a été !
J'ai adoré, c'est le genre de livre que je sers contre moi en le refermant tant il m'a touchée (oui je suis un peu dingue). Je suis vraiment triste de quitter ces formidables colons, et c'est clair et net que je me replongerai dans un Jules Verne en 2016 !
Pourtant, au départ, les 800 pages m'ont un peu effrayée, non pas que je n'aime pas les pavés, au contraire, mais j'avais peur que le style de Jules Verne m'ennuie. Quelle erreur ç'aurait été de me fier à mes craintes ! Je n'aurais troqué la version intégrale pour rien au monde. Je n'ai rien à redire à ce roman, certes il y a de longues descriptions topographiques et scientifiques auxquelles je n'ai pas toujours tout compris, mais ça donne surtout ce côté très naturaliste au livre. Bien que les hommes soient échoués sur une île, on sent vraiment qu'on est au XIXe siècle avec cette passion pour la science, la faune, la flore, l'ingénierie ... Il y a aussi le "mauvais" côté d'être à cette époque, avec parfois des façons de penser qui ne passeraient plus de nos jours et qui choquent les yeux contemporains, mais c'est bien ça qui est intéressant aussi !
L'histoire est passionnante, les héros sont formidables, si courageux, volontaires et bienveillants ! Et le suspens augmente progressivement tout au long du livre jusqu'à être insoutenable, et quelle fin ! Je ne me serais pas attendue à un tel dénouement, quel choc ça a été !
J'ai adoré, c'est le genre de livre que je sers contre moi en le refermant tant il m'a touchée (oui je suis un peu dingue). Je suis vraiment triste de quitter ces formidables colons, et c'est clair et net que je me replongerai dans un Jules Verne en 2016 !
February 10, 2016
4 misteriosas estrellas
¡Qué aventura! Como toda obra de Jules Verne, La isla misteriosa es de otro mundo. Rica en descripciones, y con un misterio omnipresente (como anuncia su título), se regodea en la pericia de cinco naúfragos que llegan a una isla muy peculiar. Con un paraje curioso, repleto de animales y vegetales de todo tipo, Cyrus Smith (ingeniero y líder natural), Gideon Spillet (reportero y confidente de Smith), Pencroff (marino), Harbert (joven protegido de Pencroff), Nab (ex esclavo negro y siervo de Smith) y Top (perro de Cyrus Smith) hacen gala de conocimientos casi alienígenos que les permiten pasar de estar absolutamente desamparados a: contruir barcos, hornear pan, fabricar balas, hacer un telégrafo, practicar la alfarería, metalurgia, caza, química, ciencias varias, etc, etc, etc...
No hay nada que estos hombres no sepan hacer, en serio. Cyrus Smith, ingeniero, es presentado como una enciclopedia humana capaz de resolver cualquier problema.
Dejando a un lado la reticencia natural ante tales especímenes humanos superiores, La isla misteriosa es una lectura sumamente entretenida, y me ha recordado mi época verniana, cuando disfrutaba de Viaje al centro de la tierra o Cinco semanas en globo, con un argumento relativamente sencillo y comprensible. La creatividad del autor es puesta a prueba y sale invicta. He disfrutado, sobre todo, esas incógnitas que, tarde o temprano, son respondidas de forma bastante inusual.
PD: Esta lectura amerita leer dos libros que la preceden.
¡Qué aventura! Como toda obra de Jules Verne, La isla misteriosa es de otro mundo. Rica en descripciones, y con un misterio omnipresente (como anuncia su título), se regodea en la pericia de cinco naúfragos que llegan a una isla muy peculiar. Con un paraje curioso, repleto de animales y vegetales de todo tipo, Cyrus Smith (ingeniero y líder natural), Gideon Spillet (reportero y confidente de Smith), Pencroff (marino), Harbert (joven protegido de Pencroff), Nab (ex esclavo negro y siervo de Smith) y Top (perro de Cyrus Smith) hacen gala de conocimientos casi alienígenos que les permiten pasar de estar absolutamente desamparados a: contruir barcos, hornear pan, fabricar balas, hacer un telégrafo, practicar la alfarería, metalurgia, caza, química, ciencias varias, etc, etc, etc...
No hay nada que estos hombres no sepan hacer, en serio. Cyrus Smith, ingeniero, es presentado como una enciclopedia humana capaz de resolver cualquier problema.
Dejando a un lado la reticencia natural ante tales especímenes humanos superiores, La isla misteriosa es una lectura sumamente entretenida, y me ha recordado mi época verniana, cuando disfrutaba de Viaje al centro de la tierra o Cinco semanas en globo, con un argumento relativamente sencillo y comprensible. La creatividad del autor es puesta a prueba y sale invicta. He disfrutado, sobre todo, esas incógnitas que, tarde o temprano, son respondidas de forma bastante inusual.
PD: Esta lectura amerita leer dos libros que la preceden.
February 1, 2016
Absolument génial ! J'ai bien aimé comment le livre monte en intensité au fil des parties : au début le récit est très descriptif, ce que j'ai par ailleurs trouvé passionnant (toutes ces techniques de survie, toute la description de la faune, de la flore et la géographie, génial !), puis l'action est de plus en plus présente et le livre se termine magistralement ! J'ai dû faire une pause de quelques minutes à la fin de l'avant-dernier chapitre, pour reprendre mon souffle et m'en remettre avant d'entamer le dernier chapitre ! Enfin du coup, j'ai l'impression que Granite-House est aussi un peu ma maison quelque part dans ma tête, j'ai vraiment le sentiment d'avoir vécu avec eux sur l'île... J'adore aussi le style de Verne, tellement savant mais aussi tellement fluide en même temps ! C'est franchement intelligent.
March 2, 2013
If you love steampunk, you owe it to yourself to read Jules Verne. A very resourceful group of men escape in a hot air balloon, only to be swept off course and land on a mysterious island, where they must supply all their own needs using only what they have on them. Excellent read.
October 8, 2019
"Gilligan! Drop those coconuts!"
I can see I'm in a very slim minority here, but I'm not afraid to come right out and say it: this book is terrible.
*Spoilers follow*
The five luckiest fuckers alive end up on a "deserted" Pacific island after their balloon crashes after escaping Confederate Richmond. Yes, you read that right. Not only are they lucky-as-hell, but even better the island happens to basically have every single natural resource that humanity could ever exploit. Even even better, one of the castaways is The Professor from Gilligan's Island, who can invent coconut-milk powered cars but can't get them off the island. That is essentially what happens here. For 600+ pages you're treated to the more and more infuriating and insufferable excesses of the conveniently-traited castaways as they forge with ease a civilization (a convenient teenager who knows everything about plants and animals; the black guy who conveniently cooks well, etc) that would leave the Skipper envious.
The "mystery" crops up every 100 pages or so, so there is no tension whatsoever, you basically forget about the fact that there might be someone else on the island (the reveal the only real interesting part of the whole slog) until it's too late and you want to tear your eyes out after hundreds and hundreds of pages of clever inventiveness.
There is no real danger or threat. The castaways don't even have sex together, I guess because they're all men and we can't have anything interesting be addressed. No, we have to read pages of how the Professor makes nitroglycerin out of monkey urine.
Whatever! The troubling part is I really like Jules Verne, but I'm not sure what the hell he was trying to do here, some statement on sexless utilitarianism, maybe?
I can see I'm in a very slim minority here, but I'm not afraid to come right out and say it: this book is terrible.
*Spoilers follow*
The five luckiest fuckers alive end up on a "deserted" Pacific island after their balloon crashes after escaping Confederate Richmond. Yes, you read that right. Not only are they lucky-as-hell, but even better the island happens to basically have every single natural resource that humanity could ever exploit. Even even better, one of the castaways is The Professor from Gilligan's Island, who can invent coconut-milk powered cars but can't get them off the island. That is essentially what happens here. For 600+ pages you're treated to the more and more infuriating and insufferable excesses of the conveniently-traited castaways as they forge with ease a civilization (a convenient teenager who knows everything about plants and animals; the black guy who conveniently cooks well, etc) that would leave the Skipper envious.
The "mystery" crops up every 100 pages or so, so there is no tension whatsoever, you basically forget about the fact that there might be someone else on the island (the reveal the only real interesting part of the whole slog) until it's too late and you want to tear your eyes out after hundreds and hundreds of pages of clever inventiveness.
There is no real danger or threat. The castaways don't even have sex together, I guess because they're all men and we can't have anything interesting be addressed. No, we have to read pages of how the Professor makes nitroglycerin out of monkey urine.
Whatever! The troubling part is I really like Jules Verne, but I'm not sure what the hell he was trying to do here, some statement on sexless utilitarianism, maybe?
December 18, 2015
This book is so racist and boring. I couldn't even finish it. I stopped around page 150, so I definitely gave it a chance.
First of all, it's a typical Robinson Crusoe castaways-on-a-desert-island story; and while I normally enjoy all those little survival details, this one bored me to tears. The descriptions of each tiny little promontory, hill, river, stream, and divot in the ground go on and on until I want to scream. Then those stupid details are repeated! Actually repeated again, as if I wasn't already bored the first time.
Then the racist comments kept coming. There is one African-American man in this book amongst a bunch of white guys, and he is portrayed as the loyal devoted servant "whom nature has fitted for service". It just made me sick. Granted, the story is set during the American Civil War, and the author probably thought he was being liberal and generous to make the guy a free man instead of a slave, but history is no excuse! Makes me angry. Usually I try to ignore any sexist or racist remarks in old classics, because it was the prevalent attitude of the times in history, and I just try to enjoy the main story anyway. I embrace the good in the story, and reject and ignore the bad. But this time, I just couldn't. bleh.
The plot is drawn out way too much. I don't need a whole chapter to tell me that they climbed to the top of the mountain and found out that they are, indeed, on an island. You could have done that in 5 or 6 sentences. Argh.
It's a pity, because I have enjoyed so many of Jules Verne's other books. This is definitely NOT his best work.
First of all, it's a typical Robinson Crusoe castaways-on-a-desert-island story; and while I normally enjoy all those little survival details, this one bored me to tears. The descriptions of each tiny little promontory, hill, river, stream, and divot in the ground go on and on until I want to scream. Then those stupid details are repeated! Actually repeated again, as if I wasn't already bored the first time.
Then the racist comments kept coming. There is one African-American man in this book amongst a bunch of white guys, and he is portrayed as the loyal devoted servant "whom nature has fitted for service". It just made me sick. Granted, the story is set during the American Civil War, and the author probably thought he was being liberal and generous to make the guy a free man instead of a slave, but history is no excuse! Makes me angry. Usually I try to ignore any sexist or racist remarks in old classics, because it was the prevalent attitude of the times in history, and I just try to enjoy the main story anyway. I embrace the good in the story, and reject and ignore the bad. But this time, I just couldn't. bleh.
The plot is drawn out way too much. I don't need a whole chapter to tell me that they climbed to the top of the mountain and found out that they are, indeed, on an island. You could have done that in 5 or 6 sentences. Argh.
It's a pity, because I have enjoyed so many of Jules Verne's other books. This is definitely NOT his best work.
January 13, 2018
A great read! The best adventure story I have read. The author caught the spirit of the time with this story. I was amazed the writer portrayed American characters in such a positive light.
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