Around the World in Eighty Days (1873)

Well-paced, familiar adventure yarn, offering also a travelogue and 'ethnologue' of the world of as it was then - or as viewed through a mid-19th century lens. Phileas Fogg travels the world without relaxing his sangfroid, sidekick Passepartout stays agitated throughout. On the way, they rescue an Indian beauty from her widow's pyre, almost fight a duel, dodge arrest by a mistaken detective, etc. Remarkable that they get all the way to Shanghai before actually leaving British territory (except for France and Italy, which are in fact skipped over here; sorry, no balloon ride in the original). At some point, one tires of the formula, and the shallow writing, but the inventiveness remains a pleasure. ( )

This one was a hoot - I loved it to bits. The characters were excellent and absolutely lovable, and the action was definitely seat-edgy all the way through. Such a fun read. ( )

Phlegmatic, punctual Englishman Phileas Fogg believes in progress, science, and intellectual deduction. When a member of the Reform Club challenges him on the impossibility of completing a round-the-world tour in eighty days, he wagers his entire fortune to prove that he can do it. He is accompanied by his valet Passepartout, and followed by Mr. Fix, a detective who believes he is a notorious bank robber.

So I just finished reading Around the World in 80 Days and I have to say I liked it a whole lot and even
more than I thought I would. I have not yet seen the movie and I am not sure if I want to watch it. Now what I would
love to do is go around the world in 80 days. ( )

Despite the idea of a hot air balloon ride being so associated the story in most peoples' minds there is no hot air balloon ride in the actual book.

Phileas Fogg remains completely calm through out the story.

His servant Passepartout is the much more emotional. Passepartout is the person I identified with throughout the story. ( )