A Journey to the Center of the Earth

A Journey to the Center of the Earth by Jules Verne

So, for those of you who weren’t clued in by the title, this book is about a journey to the center of the earth. Shocker I know. The main character (Harry) and his uncle go on this journey because the uncle, a professor and mineralogist, finds a note from some notable somebody in this book he found that gave instructions to find the entrance to the center of the earth. Harry thinks his uncle crazy for believing the journey possible, but goes anyway. The instructions lead them to Iceland, where they hire a guide, Hans, who stays with them for the entire journey.

To me, the characters felt overdone, if that makes sense. Hans was always trusting and silent and very capable/willing to do anything. The uncle was always enthusiastic and energetic and sure about every move he made and the outcome of the journey. Harry was always sure that they were going to die if they kept going and doubting his uncle and trying to use the science he knew to prove to his uncle that they were heading towards certain death. It made the characters predictable.

Also, I expected them to find more at the center of the earth than they actually did, so in that aspect it was quite anticlimactic for me. Not to mention they spend a good portion of the book just walking down these tunnels. Quite monotonous at times, though written in a way that it kind of doesn’t seem so monotonous.

As for the writing itself, it’s an old story, so some of the ways that language is used seems strange and awkward, and there were several times when I had to read a sentence many times for it to make sense. Overall though, the writing style wasn’t noticeable, which may sound like an insult, but you shouldn’t know the author is there while you’re reading, in my opinion.

Overall, I’d give this book a 7.5/10. It was interesting and well-written, but anticlimactic. A book I’d recommend to those who like reading more classical literature from previous centuries.

Read on!

Molly