Genre: Adventure, Classics

Narrative Style: First person, chronological

Rating: 3/5

Published: 1864

Format: Kindle

Synopsis: On discovering an ancient manuscript that suggests it is possible to travel to the centre of the earth, Professor Liedenbrock sets off for Iceland immediately. The narrator, his nephew, is less keen on the journey, believing that they will be suffocated by the heat of the interior world. The novel catalogues the ups and downs of the expedition. 

Reading Challenges: Full House Reading Challenge – Genre – A Classic. 

The first thing to say about this book is that it is very much a book of its time. Verne, like many other writers at the time, was clearly fascinated by the discovery of  dinosaur bones, fossils and the early theories about the different stages of man’s development. It may seem strange to us now, with the knowledge we have, but at the time it would have made more sense to readers.

The story takes a while to get started and it would certainly try the patience of younger readers, who might otherwise have been intrigued. 35% of the way into the text and we were still not underground. I’m not a big fan of the way modern novels often dive straight into the story without building character at all but this was the other extreme and I felt I waited a long time for things to get going.

The narrative voice was enjoyable. Axel clearly wasn’t enjoying his journey and his tendency to disagree with his uncle made for some interesting exchanges. He managed to get himself into trouble regularly and often despaired of getting out of their predicament alive. His melodrama was an excellent foil to the Professor’s stubborn determination.

My main problem with this book was the ending. It really stretched my ability to suspend my disbelief. You may say that the whole thing was beyond belief but it was possible to go along with it. It had a certain logic. However, the long ascent, and eventual eruption, of the volcano that rockets them back into the real world really was ridiculous and left me feeling a bit irritated. They also escaped death perhaps one time too many and often by coincidence rather than by any effort on their part.

I’m glad I read it though and would read more of Verne’s work. It makes me imagine what it must have been like at this point in history. These days, science fiction is often taken with the idea of technology and AI, it is interesting to think of what previous generations were interested in and worried about.