Book Review: Verne, Jules—Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea

I first read this book when I was in 6th grade. It was one of the reasons I spent the next five years almost exclusively reading science fiction. There a lot of famous and visually stunning scenes in the book, most of which were incorporated into the Disney movie. But one that wasn't has always stayed with me. When the Nautilus is sailing through the Mediterranean Dr. Arronax sees a man swim up to the observation window in the salon. Nemo tells Arronax that this swimmer lives most of his life floating unprotected in the sea.

How can that even be possible? How can anything in this book be possible? And yet Verne manages to make the reader want it to be possible because it’s just so cool. And he backs it up with enough science so that it’s easy to believe.

I have read that most English translations of 20,000 Leagues were heavily edited and marketed as stories for children. So when I bought a copy to read to my kids I made sure to get the most recent and robust translation I could find.

And I needed to read my kids the real thing because their elementary school only stocks “Great Illustrated Classics” versions, which is to say they are dumbed down and full of pictures. My kids were reading them and spoiling all these great books, including this one, in the process.

In reading this version as an adult, I found that Verne spends a lot, and I do mean a lot, of words detailing the taxonomy of the flora and fauna Dr. Arronax observes while traveling under the sea. And when you’re reading it out loud to your kids it makes for some interesting tongue gymnastics. Some whole chapters are devoted to little more than scientific observations. After a while of reading lists of longitude and latitude coordinates, I asked my kids if they had any idea what those were. They didn’t so we had to discuss what that meant. Also much of the science and speculation of Verne has been superseded by newer developments (the geography of the South Pole, the existence of Atlantis) and resulted in discussion about what people knew then compared to what people know now.

There’s another aspect to the book and that is the adventure. Being trapped in the antarctic ice, fighting giant squids, and exploring the sea floor.

And finally there is the political, revolutionary and even anarchic undertones. These notions are subtle at first but play an increasing role in the story as it progresses. These also led to discussions about everything from the definition of misanthropy to the French revolution.

At the beginning my daughters weren’t to excited to have me read 20,000 Leagues to them. By the end they were begging me for one more chapter every night.