Finished! This one took me the longest so far; and it was quite possibly the shortest.
Why 20,000 Leagues? I have always wanted to read this; but just never got around to it. I remember the video sitting on my grandma's shelf; and have been curious about the book ever since. This book was the exact type of book I had in mind when I decided to go on this 40 classic novel quest!
Thoughts on the book:
I can absolutely see how this novel altered the course of literary history and how it inspired a new appreciation of science. I imagine there must be so many people that chose a life of science after reading this as it was so ground breaking.
As far a modern read - The first third of the book was delightful. The last quarter of the book was fabulous. The middle.... was a bit of a slog. Endless lists of marine life - classifications of blablapods broken down to genus and species based on the number of legs, location of the gills, skeletal makeup, etc. with notes on how and why they are each different. There are minor bouts of adventure to break up these lists, but I was not as distracted as I wanted to be! The plot was simple and straightforward in that middle section of the book.
The beginning and the end were actually enough to make this a valuable read. I now have a much more vivid image of the enigmatic Captain Nemo. I feel I have a flavor of life on the Nautilus. And i have to say, I feel good about it. I am glad to have had this in my repertoire.
Recommended for: Scientists! Marine biologists and lovers of detailed marine life. Or, you know lovers of science generally. But most of all - lovers of lists!
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