Post 484: A Journey to the Center of the Earth

A Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne. ISBN: 9781581163207 (audiobook).

I don't normally talk about book related movies, but when I do, I talk about The Rock's nips. Seriously, what was up with that? I mean, sure, it's nice to see that kind of nipple action on someone who wasn't female for once, but then there were plenty of booty and cleavage shots of a supposedly teenage girl (luckily the actress is legal, so ogle away). But the one thing that Journey 2 did do well, was to make me want to read the books of Jules Verne. Which is pretty good considering I wasn't thrilled with the idea of seeing it, but the 9-year old I was with very much wanted to see it.

After reading listening to the book, I can fully understand why so many movies have been made. The storyline is still remarkably modern given the fact it was written in 1864. While the equipment used by the professor and his nephew might now be a bit primitive, in some ways that make the adventure more accessible to regular people, and the story therefore becomes all the more engaging because somewhere in the back of our minds it makes us think, "I could do that." I can imagine exactly how thrilling a story like this must have been when it came out. Although there was still a bit of frontier left in the West of the United States, most people would have felt their world entirely too cultivated to provide that much excitement, and even then the danger was an unwanted side effect. Yet, Verne may have inspired them to do some safer adventuring in the form of scientific discovery.

Even now, nearly 150 years after the book was written, I'm half tempted to go into my backyard and dig a hole until I find something neat. Failing that, I will definitely pick up another Jules Verne book, and hope that you will too.

Yeah, this post is short, but it has NIPPLES! Also, the movie wasn't terrible, but it also wasn't particularly cerebral, and the treatment of native Palauans is um, questionable at best. Of the two that we, the audience, spend any time with, one isn't much more than a sex object and the other is presented as a (lovable) buffoon, and neither actor is a native Palauan.

Wordsmithsonia has a wonderful review of this book, including a brief statement on his expectations of the novel. PS: Nearly any adventure loving 9-12 would love this, and is the perfect age to be introduced to this kind of classic.
LibsNote: Library copy via Overdrive Media.