An underwater adventure
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When you consider that Mr. vernes wrote this undersea adventure about a submarine, when steam engines were the rage. And underwater boat was unheard of. By todays standards the book is not very exciting, but for its time it is very adventerous. The endless cataloging of the undersea life and the operation of the submarine all come out of the autor's head. There is one thing to note that I first read this book in grammer school and just re-read it. It is a shame that what was once considered a childrens book, has vocabulary that most of the Worlds High School students can not understand.
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Explore a new world with Verne
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Jules Verne's chosen narrator writes passionately about the natural world, and his enthusiasm is easily communicated to the reader. Heading off originally on a mission to rid the ocean of a gigantic sea monster, the narrator Aronnax and his companions discover the redoubtable Captain Nemo and his submarine the Nautilus. On the subsequent voyage, Aronnax dwells with the most pleasure on the many varieties of marine life they encounter (and indeed, his manservant functions almost entirely to classify and name the different creatures, this being the majority of his conversation). Their fascination with everything they encounter is no less than inspiring, even with Ned Land as a homesick counterpoint to their delight. Their wonder and delight, throughout their adventures, is a joy to read.
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An Evergreen Classic
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"Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" is a wonderfully constructed science-fiction wherein there's a perfect blend of science and poetry to gift the world a rare genre of literature punctured on various occasions in its narrative flow by philosophical intonations and dark premonition about te future of the world. The first person narrative,a conversational tone and an innocent conincing adeptness lend the novel a touch of soothing feel and that intermingled with the exotic descrptions of not only the undersea world but the submarine itself moulds this novel into a classic. Here Jules Verne illustrates an imaginable picture and indeed the awe in which the great French author is held id made even more amazing by two strange facts. One is that when this novel was composed,no one had conceived the idea of a submarine let alone construct it and the other is that the undersea world was still yet to be explored. Jules Verne thereby becomes a great visonery and a man with a rare gift to write in a unique and pleasing flavour.
But "Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea" isn't just a narration of the undrsea;it's much more subtle in its implication;it's about man's continous wrestle with Nature and his urgency to conquer her;it's about man's conflict with man.
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20000 leagues under the sea
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This is the book that got me started on classic novels. They sure don't write them like this andy more it has adventure, excitement and too much other stuff to put down here. It is based in the 1800's and is a world travelling nautical adventure taking the reader from savage islands all the way to the south pole. One of the best books i have ever read a must read for Verne lovers. Truly brilliant!
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Occasionlly drags but otherwise okay
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As other reviewers have stated, Verne does love to spend pages and pages listing sea life and their properties during the course of this novel and it does become very tiresome. However people need to understand that you can skip these parts of the book without losing out on important plot detail. The characters are well developed and you can indentify with all of them and how they view their effective captivity aboard the Nautilus. Captain Nemo is a wonderful character and Verne gives just enough information about him to keep you enthralled but not enough to remove the mystery. This is a novel that was way ahead of its time and everyone should give it a go at least once. Just learn to skip past the author's lengthy aquatic descriptions.
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