Around the World in 80 Days
Written by Jules Verne
Narrated by Robert Rance
4/5
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Currently unavailable
Currently unavailable
About this audiobook
Phileas Fogg was enjoying a night of cards and conversation when the discussion turned to bank robbers. To prove his theory that the robber could be halfway across the globe, he makes a wager that he can travel around the world in 80 days.
Can he win his bet?
Find out in this stunning graphic novel adaptation of Jules Verne's classic by Rod Espinosa. Creator biographies and a glossary help reluctant readers take the first step on the road to classic literature.
An Abdo Publishing Group audio production.
Jules Verne
Jules Verne (1828–1905) was a prolific French author whose writing about various innovations and technological advancements laid much of the foundation of modern science fiction. Verne’s love of travel and adventure, including his time spent sailing the seas, inspired several of his short stories and novels.
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Reviews for Around the World in 80 Days
2,951 ratings108 reviews
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5A fast-paced adventure dripped with cliches and humor - I listened to the audio read by Jim Dale and it was a lovely way to spend an afternoon.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5There's something rather charming and fantastic about this work, and in the way that Verne manages to bring to life characters in even such a fast-paced and simply told tale as this one. Certainly, the language is as dated as the narrative and the modes of transportation involved in Fogg's journey, but in an odd way, that feels to make it all the more fantastic and believable. Strange as that might be.I don't think I would have had the patience for this tale when I was younger, so I'm glad to have finally gotten around to it now. Certainly, I'd recommend it.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Delightful book. Passepartout is the real hero; saving lives all over the globe.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This was a very suspenseful, exciting book! This was the first Verne book I've ever read, and he is very good at keeping readers gnawing on their nails at the edge of their seats. The story has humor sprinkled throughout it that had me laughing out loud. I loved it; I know I say this about nearly everything I read, but this truly was a wonderful book!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5An old book that has dated well. It is a good tale, well told. of two Londoner's travel around the world to win a wager. While the errors in detail in some places helps us understand how hard fact checking was in a pre-Google world, there is enough got right to make the reading enjoyable. In particular, the twist in the plot based on the travellers maintaining London time for the whole journey leading to them miscounting the number of days away from London, is a little gem.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5I'm not a typical Classics fan but I try to read a few each year. I actually enjoyed this one but was a bit confused because all the covers and film adaptations have Phineas Fogg in a hot air balloon but I never got that during y reading of this story. I enjoyed seeing all the different geographical locations and how Fogg manage to somehow come right even at the end..
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Ok boring at points
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Finally read this - I think I read it before, many many years ago, but the only thing I remember was the end, not any of their travels. It's mildly interesting, but not much to it - actually, the most interesting part is that the "hero" is not the POV character. We get scenes from Passepartout, a few from Fix, a few from Aouda - but Phileas Fogg is seen only from the outside. The closest we come to knowing what's going on with him is a few scenes where the author "watches" him, recounting what he's doing, and speculating on what he's thinking and feeling - and we never get any idea why he'd make the bet in the first place. A very odd twist. But overall, it reads like the world's longest shaggy dog story - chapter after chapter after chapter just to say "and he didn't know he'd lost a day!" Of course, in reality, he would have noticed the day change as soon as the liner landed in America and he was taking a train. And given they missed the liner from the East Coast by less than a day...the whole last section with burning the ship may have been utterly unnecessary. It's an amusing story, I'm glad I've finally read it, and I see no need to ever read it again.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Interesting story from a historical perspective. Definitely not something that could be written today.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The imperturbable Mr Fogg traverses the world in 80 days all while upholding the grandest tradition of English stiff-upper-lipedness. Not really sure why this is on the 1001 list.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Well-paced, familiar adventure yarn, offering also a travelogue and 'ethnologue' of the world of as it was then - or as viewed through a mid-19th century lens. Phileas Fogg travels the world without relaxing his sangfroid, sidekick Passepartout stays agitated throughout. On the way, they rescue an Indian beauty from her widow's pyre, almost fight a duel, dodge arrest by a mistaken detective, etc. Remarkable that they get all the way to Shanghai before actually leaving British territory (except for France and Italy, which are in fact skipped over here; sorry, no balloon ride in the original). At some point, one tires of the formula, and the shallow writing, but the inventiveness remains a pleasure.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5A super fun adventure. Following dutiful, straight-laces, prompt and no-nonsense Phileas Fogg around the world through exotic and strange places is almost too funny to bear. Amazing, quick, and to the hilarious point. Clever!
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5This was a very suspenseful, exciting book! This was the first Verne book I've ever read, and he is very good at keeping readers gnawing on their nails at the edge of their seats. The story has humor sprinkled throughout it that had me laughing out loud. I loved it; I know I say this about nearly everything I read, but this truly was a wonderful book!
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I really enjoyed this book. The prose has a lovely flow to it.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Jim Dale (narrator of the Harry Potter series) really helped bring to life this classic adventure novel. Admittedly, I've never read the book or seen any of the movie adaptations, so I didn't know what to expect. Imagine my surprise when I discovered that there was no hot air balloon scene?! The most iconic book covers and images have always portrayed Phileas Fogg in a hot air balloon traveling around the world but, spoiler alert, that is not one of the methods used for transportation. While at his gentleman's club Fogg takes a bet that he can go round the world in 80 days. A precise, mathematical, and intelligent man, Fogg has no doubt that it can be done so he bets his life savings. Armed with only a small travel sack and his trusty French manservant, the two of them depart on the biggest adventure of their lives. Exotic adventures await them in China, India, Hong Kong, crossing the oceans, and America. Can Fogg really pull it off? And why is there a British man tailing him on this journey? A fun read for all ages. Admittedly, a little outdated in terms of racism and stereotypes of other religions and cultures, but it must be remembered that Jules Verne was viewing the world the British lens of imperialism at the time.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Essentially light-hearted tale about a trip taken on a wager. The translation conveyed or possibly enhanced the humour.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5My most recent installment book was Around the World in Eighty Days by Jules Verne which was originally published in 1873 and I think it has definitely aged well. The story is told in a simple straightforward style, and the various global adventures move the story along at a rapid pace. The plot is a little silly yet the book comes together nicely and before too long the reader finds himself involved in the story and rooting for the participants. The characters are distinct and well developed from the routine-obsessed, uptight yet cool main character who travels around the world based on a bet from some of the gentlemen at his club, to the sympathetic French manservant who is loyal, smart and a very good gymnast. Even the lesser developed characters of Aouda, the Indian lady, to Fix, the stalking policeman, are colourful and add to the story. Around the World in Eighty Days is light, fun and makes for great escape reading. A little dated, to be sure, but overall a very good read.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Not the best adaption in the world - large chunks of the journey are left out, but perfect for reading aloud in the car for kids.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Despite the idea of a hot air balloon ride being so associated the story in most peoples' minds there is no hot air balloon ride in the actual book.Phileas Fogg remains completely calm through out the story.His servant Passepartout is the much more emotional. Passepartout is the person I identified with throughout the story.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5The imperturbable Mr Fogg traverses the world in 80 days all while upholding the grandest tradition of English stiff-upper-lipedness. Not really sure why this is on the 1001 list.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Jules Verne is considered one of the early authors of the sci-fi genre. While Around the World in Eighty Days may not immediately fit our mold of "science fiction", when you figure that this was originally written in 1873, the science involved is pretty significant even if it is all based on accurate science rather than fanciful imaginations. Prior to reading, I knew the basic story and characters but not much more than that. Eccentric and meticulously orderly Phileas Fogg places a bet with members of his social club that he can travel around the world in 80 days. The date is chosen based on a loose claim listed in the newspaper based on the outlined timetables for trains and ships.The first thing I found interesting was the character of Phileas Fogg. Based solely on my knowledge of the plot, I had expected him to be some wild and crazy madcap character with all sorts of outrageous behavior. Instead, Verne spends the first many pages showing us that Fogg is very much a creature of habit with ordinary behaviors. If anything, Fogg is a bit boring as a character. He has a precise daily and weekly schedule dictating when he wakes, when he sleeps, when he eats and everything he does in between. He doesn't have any extravagant hobbies or pastimes and doesn't do much of anything to engage in social events of the day. His flippant and sudden placing of the bet seems out of character and is quickly followed by quick adaptation to a new schedule as he immediately rushes home from his club, packs a quick bag, grabs his servant and proceeds to his first destination. Even in his quick trip, we seldom see him Fogg rushing or impetuous in any way. He is the picture of calm even as his trip faces adversity.As a contrast to Fogg, his servant Passepartout is a very emotional character full of as much passion and frustration as Fogg is full of calm. Passepartout is stymied by his master's wager but rushes along with him on the adventure, excited to see the world. He is dismayed as he realizes that the whirlwind tour will result primarily in him seeing the cabins of ships or trains and very little of the world they're passing through. With each obstacle that comes their way, Passepartout practically shrieks in frustration and really adds to the sense of suspense and tension in the adventure. He is a great counter to Fogg's character and really helped make the book more entertaining.Beyond the effects of nature or problems with transportation, the main obstacle facing Fogg is Inspector Fix from Scotland Yard. The Bank of England has recently been robbed by a man matching Fogg's description. When set alongside Fogg's erratic change in behavior and his willingness to throw insane sums of money at ship's captains and train engineer's, there is a very strong argument that Fogg could be the thief. Verne very carefully keeps details of the robbery hidden and makes sure that we are closely aligned with Fix's prejudices and beliefs. I had a hard time deciding whether or not Fogg was truly the bank thief or if it was merely an unfortunate coincidence. The interactions with Fix are humorous but distanced. Fix is waiting for his arrest warrant to arrive and until then he tries to stay just out of site of Fogg while also delaying his progress so that the warrant will catch up with them and allow an arrest to be made. The entire situation leads to some rather funny encounters.I really enjoyed the meticulous way in which Verne outlines the voyage. We sit with Fogg as he consults timetables and records his progress. There is a very careful accounting of days, weeks and hours. Alongside this, and usually alongside Passepartout rather than Fogg, Verne presents some fun narrative and adventures that give insight into a variety of different locations and cultures. For the late 19th century this was surely a lot of the novelty and appeal of the story. Even in the 21st century I applaud his presentation of these distant cultures. The technology and ideas are a bit dated, but there is still a sense of wonder, education and enjoyment that goes beyond the years.My biggest complaint comes in the final section of the novel.SPOILER ALERT - this next paragraph contains a spoiler about Fogg's eventual completion of his tripWhen Fogg finally returns to London after overcoming numerous obstacles in amazing ways, he is distraught. Upon consulting his trusty notebook, he finds that he is at exactly 80 days. However, the wager included a TIME of day to ensure the voyage was completed in precisely 80 days of 24 hours. Unfortunately it looks as though Fogg has arrived a few minutes late. Rather than return to the club and consult his friends and concede defeat, Fogg returns home with his companions and goes to sleep. The next day he mopes about most of the day and then later sends Passepartout on an errand. Passepartout returns frantically informing his master that an error has been made and TODAY is the end of the wager and that if Fogg hurries, he can make it to the club in time. Fogg races through the streets to arrive at the club and win the bet. The reason for the miscalculation is presented by Verne essentially as the fact that Fogg traveled Eastward around the globe and crossed the "date line" effectively losing a calendar day and traveling a full 24-hours for free. This is all well and good and scientifically sound...where the problem breaks down for me is the fact that the original bet included a DATE on which Fogg should return. And every leg of the journey, Fogg is consulting time tables many times involving identifying the day and date that a transport will depart. Even as Fogg leaves the East coast of the U.S., day numbers are presented. As such, the exact DATE is perfectly known to Fogg and his companions. Thus, even if he did tally off 81 "days" of 24 hours in his notebook, it would have been VERY clear that they were right on time simply by consulting the timetables, the newspaper or any other item that they frequently looked at. The twist/surprise ending was entertaining but the logic of it fell apart for me.END OF SPOILEROverall I really enjoyed the story. It was a fun adventure with some great details and wonderful characters. The writing was engaging and the plot was a lot of fun. As I mentioned before, even though aspects of the science and technology are certainly dated (after all, you can now travel around the world in a single day), they are a joy to read and make me want to seek out more books from this father of science fiction.*****4.5 out of 5 stars
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Loved the audio for this - read by the wonderful Jim Dale. Such a great classic tale!
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Although I like the premise--going around the world. However, it felt more like Verne portraying England as amazing and everywhere else...not. This includes showing barbaric rituals and getting into fights as soon as he sets foot on US soil.
I think that might be the only thing I got out of this book: England rocks, English colonies, better than non English colonies but not as good as England itself...and America...really lame. - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5In what is a very odd case of cognitive dissonance, the plot of the Jackie Chan movie (which bears very little resemblance to the original here) actually makes more sense than the book. However, this is an entertaining travelogue with wacky characters and a crazy plot. Think of it as the "classics" version of a non-sensical thriller.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5An easy enjoyable read, marred somewhat by the prejudices that come through.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5It's Jules Verne. It's not fabulous - but it's not bad either. It was a fairly easy read. Nothing to rave about.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5At no point does Phileas Fogg or Passepartout get in an air balloon. Lies, all lies.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Good book, fun (if long...) movie. Will he make it? It's how it is actually done that makes it a hoot.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5Reading this as an adult, I realise how oddly written it is. Most of it is told at such a high level that critical scenes are reported to the reader rather than shown. As a result the pace rips along. Sometimes I wanted Verne to slow down and give me more detail, but he never does; everything is sacrificed to pace. It's story story story and you're slightly isolated from the characters. Which is interesting because the characters are all isolated in some way by a lack of communication; Passepartout doesn't tell Fogg about Fix's true identity, Fix isn't who he says he is, Aouda doesn't tell Fogg about her feelings and Fogg hardly says a word to anyone. A most strange book and thoroughly enjoyable.
- Rating: 5 out of 5 stars5/5I read this book awhile ago so this review is not going to go into to much detail about what I liked and what I didn't like. However there is nothing about this book that I remember disliking.
I loved it. I stayed up all night reading it- it helped that I have never seen any of the movies or met anyone else that has read this book (OK I don't actually know if that is true I guess some of my teachers had probably read this book but I haven't spoken about this book with anyone else who read it.) and, because of that, I had no idea what was going to happen in the end or even during the book. I thought it was all very entertaining- it was one of the first classics I read without being told to.
When I finished it I said to myself, "Wow that was a good book." I love reading but that doesn't happen often for me (I can only think of two other books that have had that effect on me).
I recommend this book to everyone but especially people who like adventure stories or classics.