Around the World in Eighty Days / Five Weeks in a Balloon

Phileas Fogg must be the most confident and calm man in literature. So many times he fell behind schedule but he did not panick at all. You cheer for him when he realised he had miscalculated the days and managed to dash to the gathering point in time to prove that he got back from traveling around the world in 80 days.

This volume contains both “Around the World in Eighty Days” and “Five Weeks in a Balloon,” which I did not realize until after I had bought it. Of the two novels, I liked the former better. Both books contained adventure and humor, but I think some of the things I found funny in “Five Weeks in a Balloon” were not meant to be funny. At the start of the story, Dr. Fergusson’s buddy Kennedy tries to talk his friend out of the crazy trip, and Fergusson basically shuts him down, saying that he has thought of all possible obstacles and already overcome them with science. Then, about halfway through, things start to go downhill and the plot twists quickly become ridiculous as unforeseen obstacles pop up with a vengeance. In show more “Around the World in Eighty Days,” I guessed the last plot twist early on, but that was okay. I enjoyed the characters in that book better, too. Fogg’s stoicism was much more intriguing than Fergusson’s sentimentality. Also, the rampant racism in “Five Weeks in a Balloon” greatly offended my modern sensibilities. In “Around the World in Eighty Days,” the prejudices of the time were quite apparent, but you could forgive them because of Fogg’s kind treatment of Aouda. In “Five Weeks in a Balloon,” there was no such redeeming factor, and the racism was much more pervasive and persistent. Overall, I found “Around the World in Eighty Days” to be a much more enjoyable read than and “Five Weeks in a Balloon.” show less

I have always loved classic children's literature and have read much of it. This particular book is one of my favorites and I think it is equally good when you it as an adult or as a child. The characters are engaging and realistic and the story draws you in.

This book brought back memories :-) As a child I watched the cartoon of Around the world in 80 days, the tune still lingers in my head...
The booknis a nice read, just as nice as the series were to watch. Ibreturned to it because it's on the 1001-list, not because I'm such a huge Verne's fan.

I never read this story in youth so it was a real pleasure to pick it up and enjoy it as much as I did. The characters of Phileas Fogg and Passepartout are accompanied by Detectice Fix and Aouda on the Fogg's world wide trip on a bet.

Title: Around the World in 80 Days
Author: Jules Verne
Genre: Young Adult
Challenges: 101 Books in 1001 Days, TBR *Lite* Challenge 2009, A to Z Reading Challenge, Numbers Challenge, 2009 Audiobook Challenge, 20 Books in 2009, Pages Read Challenge 2009, 2009 YA (Young Adult) Challenge, The Year Of Readers - 2009

Rating: 4/5
No. of Pages: Audio ( 304 pgs. )
Published:
From the back:
English gentleman Phileas Fogg wagers half his fortune so he can travel around the world in only 80 days. Along the way he meets a beautiful princess, rides an elephant through the jungle, and survives an Indian attach. Meanwhile, his arch enemy Detective Fix does his best to keep up with and deter Fogg from his itinerary. Will Phileas Fogg overcome these obstacles show more to fulfill his destiny? Only the calendar will tell in this exciting tale.

Mine:
The race is one – will Fogg make it in time with all the interruptions? He has staked half of his wealth on a bet to make it around the world in 80 days or less. He meets many interesting people along the way – the princess he must rescue, the owner of the elephant he must ride to catch up ( I recommend not riding a elephant in shorts – very bristly hairs. Found out by doing so), Detective Fix who is determined that he his the guilty party of a robbery that has taken place. show less

I thought it would be fun to read this book after reading [b:Captain Nemo|376663|Captain Nemo|Kevin J. Anderson|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1174289381s/376663.jpg|366510]

I was right! It made the very dry writing style a bit more interesting because you felt like you knew the secret behind the words.