The story is about Lord Glenarvan and his quest to find the lost captain of the Britannia, Captain Grant, after finding a message in a bottle... this bottle found inside of a captured shark. The message, although written in three languages, was so waterlogged that it was nearly impossible to interpret. Having so little to go on, they still sail out on a steam yacht to go find him.
Right at the beginning of the story, the extremely entertaining character known as Paganel, a Frenchman, accidently bumbles onto their vessel and joins their party. The son and daughter of Captain Grant also join the crew, for it is for them and their father that everyone if fighting so hard. There are others too, and they are all very interesting in their own right.
The story spends most of its time just describing what everything is like in various parts of the world, as that silly message in a bottle takes them all over the globe. Action scenes are few and far between, but when they happen, they are absolutely extraordinary. Insane things happen to this crew which make up for much of the slow storytelling. And to be fair, the light-heartedness of the adventure is not really bad. It kept my interest well enough.
The main reason the adventurers end up traveling the entire globe is due to the constant misinterpretation of the original message in the bottle. It was mostly Paganel's fault, but it's hard to be upset with the man since he really is the story's comedy relief. Honestly, the story wouldn't be much without the Frenchman. He keeps everything so lively and fun throughout the book.
I mentioned early on that I read this book because I was a fan of the Disney movie. Although the book is better, there was one aspect of the film that I was sad to not see in the original work. There was this old man named Bill Gay that was probably the most entertaining person in the entire film. Unfortunately he wasn't anywhere in the book, and that made me a little sad. That said, the movie really does not reflect the book well at all and goes out of its way to make Lord Glenarvan look like a fool. Very inaccurate and even a little insulting. At the very least, they got Paganel... mostly correct.
All in all, I totally recommend "In Search of the Castaways." It's a long read though! If you start this one, be prepared for a commitment! I am chuckling at myself though. I have been trying to read more science fiction lately, and the two Jules Verne books I've read so far are anything but science fiction. Whoops!
This blog was written on February 22, 2023.
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Reading this book is like what I love to do playing open world video games: EXPLORE for the sake of exploring. The thing to be found is just the excuse to do what is fun anyway.
ReplyDeleteYeah, most of the book is just the sights and sounds of the world with short intervals of action and adventure. Not bad actually.
DeleteI remember seeing the movie as a kid and enjoyed it. It's a shame old Bill isn't in the book but it sounds like the book made up for it with excellent content. This sounds like a good book to get lost in.
ReplyDeleteI would be mad at Jules, but it really wasn't his fault that Disney came up with a great character idea.
DeleteThe characters are great in this one, and the adventure is unexpected. Jules Verne really loves to show different parts of the world and what things can happen there. His works are more about science fact than fiction.
ReplyDeleteYeah, I have noticed that. He wants people to really feel the world the characters are inhabiting.
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