Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas by Jules Verne
My rating: 3 of 5 stars
Verne should stop taking scientists on adventures. At the very least, he should make friends with more impassioned and animated scientists, ones who can spread their excitement for their fields to the layperson. Because Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas, for being a book set underwater, sure is dry.
The narrator, Dr. Aronnax, approaches his time on the Nautilus as the naturalist that he is: observing, classifying, describing, and recording, disturbing as little as he can. This narrative approach turns the reader into a passive observer as well, leading to the same restless, anxious, and trapped feelings that Dr. Aronnax’s friend, Ned Land, harbours.
Thematically, this effect on the reader is spot on. I can feel the atmospheres of pressure bearing down on the submarine, the tight confines of its metal interior, and the cold sea depths passing me by. I can understand Ned’s frustration and Dr. Aronnax’s fascination and sympathize with both sides of their conflicting perspectives. In this way, Verne effectively locks up his readers in the Nautilus alongside his characters.
I only wish that I weren’t locked up with Aronnax. Everything he observes he sees through his naturalist lens, meaning that all the aquatic life and landforms the Nautilus brings into view, Aronnax describes with scientific jargon. A large portion of the narrative and dialogue is plain taxonomic listings.
Verne doesn’t help the narrative along with much action or development, either. The pacing is very start-and-stop, with a few events or points of note that are exciting and absorbing interspersed between a whole lot of taxonomic nothing. In addition, his characters grow little over the course of their journey, making those stretches of inaction even more dull and difficult to read.
Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas is like a trip to the aquarium. But forget the dazzling colours and patterns, resplendent shapes and sizes, and hypnotic motions of aquatic life. Because while the plaques and descriptions beside the exhibits and tanks are informative and interesting, the tanks themselves are empty.
Speculosity 