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Der Amerikaner John Cort und der Franzose Max Huber stoßen auf einer Expedition im Inneren Afrikas auf einen undurchdringlichen Wald. Am Waldrand wird ihre Ausrüstung von einer Herde wildgewordener Elefanten zertrampelt; sie selbst können sich nur zusammen mit ihrem Diener Khamis und dem schwarzen Jungen Llanga zu Fuß in das Innere des Waldes retten. Die Elefanten können ihnen nicht mehr folgen, weil die Bäume zu dicht beieinander stehen. Nach Durchquerung des Waldes stoßen sie am Waldrand auf einen Fluss. Am Flussufer finden sie zuerst ein verrottetes Floß, später einen großen eisernen Käfig. In dem Käfig finden sie Gegenstände, die einst dem verschollenen Forscher Doktor Johausen gehörten. Doktor Johausen ging 13 Jahre zuvor in den Dschungel, um dort die Sprache der Affen zu lernen. Zu seiner Ausrüstung gehörte auch eine Drehorgel, mit deren Hilfe er herausfinden wollte, ob die Affen auch etwas von Musik verstehen. Doktor Johausen kehrte nie in die Zivilisation zurück.
261 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 1901
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731 people want to read
About the author
Jules Verne
6,359 books12k followersNovels of French writer Jules Gabriel Verne, considered the founder of modern science fiction, include
Journey to the Center of the Earth
(1864) and
Around the World in Eighty Days
(1873).
This author who pioneered the genre. People best know him for Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870).
Verne wrote about space, air, and underwater travel before people invented navigable aircraft and practical submarines and devised any means of spacecraft. He ranks behind Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie as the second most translated author of all time. People made his prominent films. People often refer to Verne alongside Herbert George Wells as the "father of science fiction."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_V...
This author who pioneered the genre. People best know him for Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea (1870).
Verne wrote about space, air, and underwater travel before people invented navigable aircraft and practical submarines and devised any means of spacecraft. He ranks behind Dame Agatha Mary Clarissa Christie as the second most translated author of all time. People made his prominent films. People often refer to Verne alongside Herbert George Wells as the "father of science fiction."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jules_V...
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July 18, 2022
3.6 en realidad
Entretenida novela de Julio Verne, no tan conocida como sus demás clásicos, pero una buena muestra de aventuras por la selva Africana sin ningún desperdicio.
La trama trata de dos exploradores, un guía local y un niño que tras un ataque del elefantes se ven obligados a internarse en la jungla perdiéndose en la parte más inexplorada de ella, llevándolos a descubrir un pueblo desconocido y atípico que pareciera ser eslabón perdido entre hombres y primates.
La verdad es que esta obra se me ha hecho bastante entretenida, está narrada de manera sencilla al punto que hasta un niño podría disfrutarla. Julio Verne, como en el resto de sus clásicos, es un buen contador de historias y a lo largo de las páginas va dejando pistas de lo que vendrá a continuación que le da un toque de misterio a la novela y que nos mantiene interesados, pese a que uno ya puede imaginar más menos el final.
Dentro de las cosas que le juegan en contra está la débil construcción de personajes, aunque si has leido otras obras de Verne ya sabrás que este no es su fuerte sino más el de la acción y la aventura. Tambien la visión algo racista que nos entrega de los pueblos indígenas es algo incomoda de leer, aunque también hay que comprender que esto fue escrito a finales del siglo XIX, principios del siglo XX, por lo que tampoco podemos exigir tanto en ese aspecto.
Y por último el final, tal como suguiere el nombre de su último capítulo, "Un desenlace abrupto", el final es demasiado apresurado, cortandonos la acción y dejándonos con esa sensación de que la historia daba para más... Y es que si lo analizamos concienzudamente nos damos cuenta que de hecho sí se le podía sacar más jugó a la historia. No obstante, por asuntos editoriales o prisas del mismo autor, recordemos que en su época estaba obligado por contrato a entregar dos libros por año, la historia concluye cuando todo está en su punto más álgido.
En fin, una novela corta, agíl, entretenida, sencilla de leer qué con un mejor final pudo ser mucho más.
¡Entretenida! ¡Para pasar al rato!
Entretenida novela de Julio Verne, no tan conocida como sus demás clásicos, pero una buena muestra de aventuras por la selva Africana sin ningún desperdicio.
La trama trata de dos exploradores, un guía local y un niño que tras un ataque del elefantes se ven obligados a internarse en la jungla perdiéndose en la parte más inexplorada de ella, llevándolos a descubrir un pueblo desconocido y atípico que pareciera ser eslabón perdido entre hombres y primates.
La verdad es que esta obra se me ha hecho bastante entretenida, está narrada de manera sencilla al punto que hasta un niño podría disfrutarla. Julio Verne, como en el resto de sus clásicos, es un buen contador de historias y a lo largo de las páginas va dejando pistas de lo que vendrá a continuación que le da un toque de misterio a la novela y que nos mantiene interesados, pese a que uno ya puede imaginar más menos el final.
Dentro de las cosas que le juegan en contra está la débil construcción de personajes, aunque si has leido otras obras de Verne ya sabrás que este no es su fuerte sino más el de la acción y la aventura. Tambien la visión algo racista que nos entrega de los pueblos indígenas es algo incomoda de leer, aunque también hay que comprender que esto fue escrito a finales del siglo XIX, principios del siglo XX, por lo que tampoco podemos exigir tanto en ese aspecto.
Y por último el final, tal como suguiere el nombre de su último capítulo, "Un desenlace abrupto", el final es demasiado apresurado, cortandonos la acción y dejándonos con esa sensación de que la historia daba para más... Y es que si lo analizamos concienzudamente nos damos cuenta que de hecho sí se le podía sacar más jugó a la historia. No obstante, por asuntos editoriales o prisas del mismo autor, recordemos que en su época estaba obligado por contrato a entregar dos libros por año, la historia concluye cuando todo está en su punto más álgido.
En fin, una novela corta, agíl, entretenida, sencilla de leer qué con un mejor final pudo ser mucho más.
¡Entretenida! ¡Para pasar al rato!
September 19, 2016
When English naturalist Charles Darwin released his groundbreaking work "On the Origin of Species" in November 1859, it set off a firestorm of controversy regarding its central tenet: organic evolution, and the descent of life from a common ancestral source. Indeed, such was the brouhaha over this novel concept that even 66 years later, during the so-called Scopes Trial in Dayton, Tennessee, the subject was hotly debated, and in fact, to this very day, over 150 years since Darwin's most famous work was published, there are still millions of religious fundamentalists who adamantly deny its veracity. And so, it may well be understood that Jules Verne--the Frenchman who has been called "The Father of Science Fiction," and who certainly had an ardent interest in all matters pertaining to scientific matters in general--took an especial interest in the subject, despite the fact that he was a devout, churchgoing Catholic.
The result was the author's "The Village in the Treetops" (originally published as "Le Village Aerien," or "The Aerial Village," in 1901, four years before the author's death at age 77), which sees Verne coming to grips with the possibility of a so-called "missing link" between man and ape. This novel, one of the many in the "Extraordinary Voyages" series that he’d started with publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel, beginning with 1863's "Five Weeks in a Balloon," was not translated into English until Ace paperbacks came out with its I.O. Evans translation in 1964; the edition that I was fortunate enough to lay my hands on. As it turns out, the book finds Verne in Englishman H. Rider Haggard territory, with a tale of the discovery of a lost race in the wilds of Africa, although to be fair, the Frenchman was writing novels set in "The Dark Continent" ("Five Weeks in a Balloon," his very first, for example) decades before Haggard ever began his authorial career.
In "The Village in the Treetops," the reader makes the acquaintance of two adventurers in their mid-20s, John Cort, an American, and Max Huber, a Frenchman. The two work in a factory of some sort in Libreville, Gabon, in the central Africa of 1898, and have recently been on an ivory-hunting expedition with a Portuguese trader and a large retinue. Trouble arises suddenly for the caravan when an elephant stampede kills the trader and puts all the servants to rout, leaving Cort and Huber alone with Khamis (a 35-year-old "foreloper" guide from Cameroon) and their 10-year-old adopted native son, Llanga. The quartet must now trek over 1,000 miles on foot to reach Libreville again, and thus decides to take a shortcut, through the unexplored immensity of the Oubanghi forest. And after a journey of many weeks, and some harrowing adventures, the four discover the remnants of the camp of one Dr. Johausen, who had gone missing three years earlier whilst studying the language of the apes. They also rescue from drowning a young boy who is more monkey than human, and ultimately come upon their most startling discovery of all: the village of Ngala, built upon an enormous platform 100 feet up in the trees and peopled by the apelike Waggdi tribe, which people just might constitute that long-sought "missing link." The quartet is amicably treated by the Waggdis, although the question of being able to leave remains very much an issue....
I must say that the primary difference, for me, between Verne--and between later African fantasist Edgar Rice Burroughs, for that matter--and Rider Haggard is that the Frenchman and the American did not ever visit Africa (Verne had, to be fair, sailed to Lisbon and Algiers in 1878), whereas the Englishman had lived and worked there for many years. Haggard's African novels, thus, always have that effortless aura of verisimilitude, despite their fantastic elements; one lacking from the fictions of the other two. Still, what Verne lacked in actual travel experience, he tried to make up for with copious amounts of research from guidebooks and other sources, so much so that "The Village in the Treetops" does carry a patina of realism. Fauna and flora are meticulously described...at least, as much as any reasonable reader might expect.
Indeed, his novel here, at least the first 2/3 of it, is largely an African safari-type of tale, and our adventurers don't even arrive at that Waggdi village until page 143. Another main difference between Haggard and Verne (based on my substantial experience with the former and limited reading of the latter) would seem to be their treatment of the African natives. Haggard was never condescending, and always attributed a great nobility to his Zulus and other native tribes; Verne, at least here, is more casually racist. For example, Llanga has a lighter complexion than many other central Africans; he sports "an aquiline, unflattened nose; nor did he have the thick Negroid lips. His eyes shone with intelligence...." Khamis is said to have "blood thicker than that of the white man, which blunts the feelings and is less perceptible of physical pain...." And then there's this, from Max Huber: "Between the natives and the apes of the Congo...I don't think there's very much difference." Ouch!
As far as the book's pro or con attitude to Darwinism, things are left fairly up in the air, although by the novel's end, it seems pretty darn clear that the Waggdis are more human than ape; a verifiable missing link. Still, Verne does muddy the waters a bit by having Cort and Huber debate the issue before their arrival at Ngala. His book, for the most part, is fast moving and exciting, and he keeps things lively for the reader by throwing in any number of action set pieces: that elephant stampede, an attack by two crazed rhinos, an attack by an army of monkeys while our quartet is traveling by raft downriver, a harrowing experience in a rapids, and their ultimate escape from the Waggdi village. Despite their occasional racist remarks and keenness on shooting animals, Cort and Huber are basically decent, likable men, and indeed, we should remember that they dearly love the young Llanga, highly esteem the shrewd guide Khamis, and are only hunting for food and to survive. They are remarkably cool characters, too, so much so that when they are trapped in the branches of a tamarisk tree, with hundreds of elephants stampeding beneath them, Cort comments, "This is getting rather involved." To which Huber replies, "You could almost say it's getting complicated!" I love it!
The bottom line is that, although little read and seldom discussed today, "The Village in the Treetops" is certainly well worth a look for today's discriminating reader. It might be lesser Verne, to be sure, but still proved very entertaining, and even educational, for me. For example, in regard to tsetse flies...when Verne says, "...the travelers had no need to worry about [them]...their venom is mortal only to horses, camels and dogs, and not to man any more than to the wild beasts...." Who knew?
(By the way, this review originally appeared on the FanLit website at http://www.fantasyliterature.com/ ... a most excellent destination for all fans of Jules Verne....)
The result was the author's "The Village in the Treetops" (originally published as "Le Village Aerien," or "The Aerial Village," in 1901, four years before the author's death at age 77), which sees Verne coming to grips with the possibility of a so-called "missing link" between man and ape. This novel, one of the many in the "Extraordinary Voyages" series that he’d started with publisher Pierre-Jules Hetzel, beginning with 1863's "Five Weeks in a Balloon," was not translated into English until Ace paperbacks came out with its I.O. Evans translation in 1964; the edition that I was fortunate enough to lay my hands on. As it turns out, the book finds Verne in Englishman H. Rider Haggard territory, with a tale of the discovery of a lost race in the wilds of Africa, although to be fair, the Frenchman was writing novels set in "The Dark Continent" ("Five Weeks in a Balloon," his very first, for example) decades before Haggard ever began his authorial career.
In "The Village in the Treetops," the reader makes the acquaintance of two adventurers in their mid-20s, John Cort, an American, and Max Huber, a Frenchman. The two work in a factory of some sort in Libreville, Gabon, in the central Africa of 1898, and have recently been on an ivory-hunting expedition with a Portuguese trader and a large retinue. Trouble arises suddenly for the caravan when an elephant stampede kills the trader and puts all the servants to rout, leaving Cort and Huber alone with Khamis (a 35-year-old "foreloper" guide from Cameroon) and their 10-year-old adopted native son, Llanga. The quartet must now trek over 1,000 miles on foot to reach Libreville again, and thus decides to take a shortcut, through the unexplored immensity of the Oubanghi forest. And after a journey of many weeks, and some harrowing adventures, the four discover the remnants of the camp of one Dr. Johausen, who had gone missing three years earlier whilst studying the language of the apes. They also rescue from drowning a young boy who is more monkey than human, and ultimately come upon their most startling discovery of all: the village of Ngala, built upon an enormous platform 100 feet up in the trees and peopled by the apelike Waggdi tribe, which people just might constitute that long-sought "missing link." The quartet is amicably treated by the Waggdis, although the question of being able to leave remains very much an issue....
I must say that the primary difference, for me, between Verne--and between later African fantasist Edgar Rice Burroughs, for that matter--and Rider Haggard is that the Frenchman and the American did not ever visit Africa (Verne had, to be fair, sailed to Lisbon and Algiers in 1878), whereas the Englishman had lived and worked there for many years. Haggard's African novels, thus, always have that effortless aura of verisimilitude, despite their fantastic elements; one lacking from the fictions of the other two. Still, what Verne lacked in actual travel experience, he tried to make up for with copious amounts of research from guidebooks and other sources, so much so that "The Village in the Treetops" does carry a patina of realism. Fauna and flora are meticulously described...at least, as much as any reasonable reader might expect.
Indeed, his novel here, at least the first 2/3 of it, is largely an African safari-type of tale, and our adventurers don't even arrive at that Waggdi village until page 143. Another main difference between Haggard and Verne (based on my substantial experience with the former and limited reading of the latter) would seem to be their treatment of the African natives. Haggard was never condescending, and always attributed a great nobility to his Zulus and other native tribes; Verne, at least here, is more casually racist. For example, Llanga has a lighter complexion than many other central Africans; he sports "an aquiline, unflattened nose; nor did he have the thick Negroid lips. His eyes shone with intelligence...." Khamis is said to have "blood thicker than that of the white man, which blunts the feelings and is less perceptible of physical pain...." And then there's this, from Max Huber: "Between the natives and the apes of the Congo...I don't think there's very much difference." Ouch!
As far as the book's pro or con attitude to Darwinism, things are left fairly up in the air, although by the novel's end, it seems pretty darn clear that the Waggdis are more human than ape; a verifiable missing link. Still, Verne does muddy the waters a bit by having Cort and Huber debate the issue before their arrival at Ngala. His book, for the most part, is fast moving and exciting, and he keeps things lively for the reader by throwing in any number of action set pieces: that elephant stampede, an attack by two crazed rhinos, an attack by an army of monkeys while our quartet is traveling by raft downriver, a harrowing experience in a rapids, and their ultimate escape from the Waggdi village. Despite their occasional racist remarks and keenness on shooting animals, Cort and Huber are basically decent, likable men, and indeed, we should remember that they dearly love the young Llanga, highly esteem the shrewd guide Khamis, and are only hunting for food and to survive. They are remarkably cool characters, too, so much so that when they are trapped in the branches of a tamarisk tree, with hundreds of elephants stampeding beneath them, Cort comments, "This is getting rather involved." To which Huber replies, "You could almost say it's getting complicated!" I love it!
The bottom line is that, although little read and seldom discussed today, "The Village in the Treetops" is certainly well worth a look for today's discriminating reader. It might be lesser Verne, to be sure, but still proved very entertaining, and even educational, for me. For example, in regard to tsetse flies...when Verne says, "...the travelers had no need to worry about [them]...their venom is mortal only to horses, camels and dogs, and not to man any more than to the wild beasts...." Who knew?
(By the way, this review originally appeared on the FanLit website at http://www.fantasyliterature.com/ ... a most excellent destination for all fans of Jules Verne....)
June 28, 2021
FRANÇAIS: Ce livre est similaire à mon roman Los moradores de la noche, en sauvant les distances dues au passage d'un siècle entre les deux romans. Si celle de Verne a pris un peu de retard sur l'avancement de nos connaissances sur les ancêtres de l'homme, peut-être la même chose arrivera-t-elle au mienne au début du XXIIe siècle.
L'attaque par des centaines d'éléphants enragés, qui débute le roman, me semble tout à fait invraisemblable. La zoogéographie de Verne dans ce roman laisse à désirer. En parcourant la forêt tropicale du Congo, les protagonistes rencontrent toutes sortes d'animaux, dont certains correspondent à cette zone, mais d'autres non. Parmi eux, l'oryx, le rhinocéros, la giraffe et les babouins. Le Mandrill, qui est correctement localisé, se distingue nettement de ce dernier dans le livre.
ENGLISH: This book is similar to my novel Los moradores de la noche, with the differences due to the passage of a whole century between both novels. If Verne's has lagged somewhat behind the advance of our knowledge regarding the ancestors of man, perhaps the same thing will happen to mine at the beginning of the XXII century.
The attack by hundreds of enraged elephants, which begins the novel, seems quite implausible to me. Verne's zoo-geography in this novel leaves something to be desired. While going through the Congo rain forest, the protagonists meet all kinds of animals, some of which correspond to that area, while others do not: among them, oryx, rhinoceros, giraffes and baboons. Mandrillus, which is correctly located, is clearly distinguished from the latter in the book.
ESPAÑOL: Este libro es parecido a mi novela Los moradores de la noche, salvando las distancias debidas al transcurso de todo un siglo entre las dos novelas. Si la de Verne se ha quedado algo atrasada ante el avance de nuestros conocimientos respecto a los antepasados del hombre, quizá a la mía le pase lo mismo a principios del siglo XXII.
El ataque por cientos de elefantes enfurecidos, que ocurre al inicio de la novela, me parece bastante inverosímil. La zoogeografía de Verne en esta novela deja un tanto que desear. Mientras atraviesan la selva tropical del Congo, los protagonistas encuentran toda clase de animales, algunos de los cuales corresponden a esa zona, pero otros no: entre ellos, el oryx, el rinoceronte, la jirafa y los babuinos. Los mandriles, a los que se localiza correctamente, quedan claramente distinguidos de los babuinos en el libro.
L'attaque par des centaines d'éléphants enragés, qui débute le roman, me semble tout à fait invraisemblable. La zoogéographie de Verne dans ce roman laisse à désirer. En parcourant la forêt tropicale du Congo, les protagonistes rencontrent toutes sortes d'animaux, dont certains correspondent à cette zone, mais d'autres non. Parmi eux, l'oryx, le rhinocéros, la giraffe et les babouins. Le Mandrill, qui est correctement localisé, se distingue nettement de ce dernier dans le livre.
ENGLISH: This book is similar to my novel Los moradores de la noche, with the differences due to the passage of a whole century between both novels. If Verne's has lagged somewhat behind the advance of our knowledge regarding the ancestors of man, perhaps the same thing will happen to mine at the beginning of the XXII century.
The attack by hundreds of enraged elephants, which begins the novel, seems quite implausible to me. Verne's zoo-geography in this novel leaves something to be desired. While going through the Congo rain forest, the protagonists meet all kinds of animals, some of which correspond to that area, while others do not: among them, oryx, rhinoceros, giraffes and baboons. Mandrillus, which is correctly located, is clearly distinguished from the latter in the book.
ESPAÑOL: Este libro es parecido a mi novela Los moradores de la noche, salvando las distancias debidas al transcurso de todo un siglo entre las dos novelas. Si la de Verne se ha quedado algo atrasada ante el avance de nuestros conocimientos respecto a los antepasados del hombre, quizá a la mía le pase lo mismo a principios del siglo XXII.
El ataque por cientos de elefantes enfurecidos, que ocurre al inicio de la novela, me parece bastante inverosímil. La zoogeografía de Verne en esta novela deja un tanto que desear. Mientras atraviesan la selva tropical del Congo, los protagonistas encuentran toda clase de animales, algunos de los cuales corresponden a esa zona, pero otros no: entre ellos, el oryx, el rinoceronte, la jirafa y los babuinos. Los mandriles, a los que se localiza correctamente, quedan claramente distinguidos de los babuinos en el libro.
May 11, 2019
Tras ser atacados por una horda de elefantes en estampida, cuatro exploradores se internan en un área desconocida de África y, tras numerosas aventuras y penurias, encuentran al pueblo aéreo, una extraña raza de seres cuya naturaleza desafía las definiciones.
Una novela tremendamente entretenida, como todas las de Julio Verne. No es su mejor obra, pero aún así resulta amena, llena de acción y sorprendente para su tiempo. Soy un gran admirador de los libros de Verne, así que puede que mis juicios sean erróneos y parciales pero, ¿qué se le va a hacer?
Una novela tremendamente entretenida, como todas las de Julio Verne. No es su mejor obra, pero aún así resulta amena, llena de acción y sorprendente para su tiempo. Soy un gran admirador de los libros de Verne, así que puede que mis juicios sean erróneos y parciales pero, ¿qué se le va a hacer?
April 7, 2013
review of
Jules Verne's The Village In The Treetops
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - April 6, 2013
Surprise, surprise, my full review is "too long" so it's here instead:
http://www.goodreads.com/story/show/3...
I cut the end of this review out here to accommodate the word limit.
According to promotional/introductory text on the 1st printed p of this edition: "This is the first English translation of the last of Jules Verne's works to be published in his own lifetime." That, in itself, is enuf to make it fascinating for me. What makes it even more fascinating is that this novel is Verne's attempting to come to terms w/ the scientific idea of evolution vs his reputedly devout Roman Catholicism. For those of you who haven't noticed, the Roman Catholics (or, probably, all Catholics, Roman or otherwise) have had a habit of torturing & murdering people whose ideas contradict their own - ie: if they can't co-opt them. Take Giordano Bruno, eg. From I. O. Evans' intro to this edition:
"Fascinated as he was by every branch of science, Jules Verne could not but be interested in the controversy over the Darwinian Theory which was raging during his lifetime. As at the same time he was a sincerely religious man, and followed faithfully the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, he naturally regarded the extremists of the Evolutionary School of thought with a certain scepticism.
"At that time the controversy almost turned upon the possible existence of a "Missing Link," a creature intermediate between man and the anthropoid apes. Was there any such creature?"
[..]
"This remarkable story, which has apparently never hitherto been translated into English, was originally entitled Le Village Aérien. This, however, especially as connected with the name Jules Verne, would rather suggest some sort of super flying-machine, and it is for this reason that I have given it a different title, which I think conveys its theme more clearly. My only other alteration is the omission of a few short passages of geographical detail now completely out of date." - p 5
As I've noted in at least one previous review of a Verne bk translated by Evans, The Demon of Cawnpore, I find the translator's changes to be objectionable:
""Impressed and at the same time horrified by the stern efficiency with which the British had suppressed the Indian Mutiny - for in his time the world was not so accustomed to reprisals as it is today - Verne ingeniously worked into his narrative the aftermath of the Indian Mutiny. In the original version he devotes a whole chapter to the Mutiny and its suppression,* [*Omitted in the present edition as holding up the story and lacking in interest.] so tendential that his original translators disavowed responsibility for its "facts or sentiments" in a foot-note!" - p 6
"I call the reader's attn to the admission here that the publishers omitted a chapter present in the original bk! Shame on them!! This is the Fitzroy edition published by Ace! Don't bother to read this one, try to find an edition w/ the chapter omitted here! I will." - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17...
What if Le Village Aérien, translated more accurately as The Aerial Village had some other meaning for Verne? A pie in the sky type meaning expressive of fancy &, therefore, metaphorically critical of evolutionary theory? I admit, such a proposal seems unlikely to me but I assume that if Verne wanted the bk to be called The Village In The Treetops he wd've called it such. As for omitting "a few short passages of geographical detail now completely out of date": why not leave them in w/ an explanatory footnote? That wd be more scholarly.
I've criticized Verne for being somewhat racist toward the Chinese in The Begum's Fortune & somewhat anti-Semitic in Carpathian Castle but his biases are usually tempered & I have to give him credit for that. The Village In The Treetops starts off w/ a Frenchman & an American discussing the colonization of Africa:
""Well, my dear John, if things go on as they are the European nations will end up by sharing all Africa between them - over ten million square miles! Are the Americans going to leave all that to the English and French and Germans and so on?"
[..]
""Well, my dear John, one of these days the Federal Government will be demanding its slice of the African cake. There's a French Congo, a Belgian Congo, and a German Congo, not to mention the Independent Congo, which is only waiting for a chance to give up its independence! And all this country that we've been travelling over these last three months..."
""As travellers, just as travellers, Max, not as conquerors."" - p 7
Immediately, Verne sets the tone of the imperialist mindset but has the American philosophically opt out of conquering. While that might not be a realistic depiction of American policy, it's at least refreshing that Verne doesn't completely mindlessly embrace his French character's position & uses it as a critical ploy instead. Nonetheless, 19th century ecological oblivion reigns: "a harvest of first quality ivory sufficient to supply enough piano-keys for the whole world... And you say you're not satisfied!"" (p 8) Perhaps it's w/ a sense of poetic justice that Verne has the expedition thoroughly routed by an elephant stampede.
&, yes, Verne has some pro-missionary bullshit polluting slightly: "Its peoples are continually at war, enslaving or killing one another, and living on human flesh. And, what is worst of all, these cannibalistic instincts are usually satisfied on the children. The missionaries, therefore, devote themselves to saving these tiny creatures, either by carrying them off by force or by ransoming them, and they give them a Christian education in the Missions founded along the river Siramba." (p 11) I reckon Verne's account, presumably like all the geographical details in his bks, is based on whatever sources he had access to in France - since he didn't visit Africa. But how reliable wd such sources have been? & how sensationalizing & self-justifying? When I think of missionaries, I think of cultural imperialism, I think of fanatics who believe that they have the right to invade countries & force the people to think-like-them. These cultural imperialists are then paving the way for the other exploiters, the diamond miners, etc, essentially capitalist enslavers. Then I think of groups like the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda & the government forces that they rival. Both are somewhat rooted in Christinanity & between the 2 of them they're ripping the people to shreds. Literally. Cd things have been any worse before missionary influence? I doubt it.
As usual, the European & American 'heros' 'have to have' servants &, in Africa, these are Africans: "Accustomed from their childhood to be porters, they would go on being porters until their legs gave way under them. Nonetheless their task was hard, having to be carried out in such a climate, their shoulders bending beneath the heavy ivory of the weighty boxes of provisions, their skins chafed by the coarse undergrowth, for they went almost naked, and their feet bleeding, they journeyed from dawn to eleven in the morning and went on until evening as soon as the heat of the day had passed. / But in their own interests the merchants had to see that these men were well paid, and they were well paid; that they should be well looked after, and they were well looked after; that they should not be driven beyond all reason, and they were not over-driven. The perils of the elephant-hunting were very real, not to speak of the chance of meeting lions or panthers, and the leader had to be able to count on his personnel." - pp 13-14
As noted before, Verne's accts are based on other people's accts & those accts were most likely from Europeans & not from the Africans themselves. Therefore, is it any surprise that they, the Africans, are depicted as being 'saved' from their own 'barbarity' by missionaries? Missionaries who 'save the Africans from their practice of eating children' (how do they make future generations exactly?) so that they can be 'benevolently' used from childhood as porters for European resource plundering & ecology destruction?
Now, I, too, haven't been to Africa, & certainly wasn't in Africa in the 19th century, but I'm very suspicious of the one-sidedness of Verne's depiction of things: "No mercy was to be hoped for from the tribes of the Oubanghi. Nobody knew what limits there might be to their cruelty, and the fiercest tribes of Australia or of the South Sea Islands, would be hard to compare with these natives. Towards the centre of the region there are nothing but cannibal villages, and the Fathers of the Mission, who dare the most frightful of deaths, have some reason to know it. In this equatorial Africa where strength is everything and weakness is a crime, one feels inclined to class such beings, wild beasts with human faces, among the animals! Moreover, even in maturity few of these natives can boast even the vestiges of the intelligence of a child of five or six." - p 22
WHEW! What a huge load of unintrospective crap we have there! The "fiercest tribes of Australia" were pretty soundly brutalized by Europeans & were still classified legally as flora & fauna all the way up 'til 1968!! Maybe these Africans had a pretty good idea of what was in store for them from the Europeans, eh?! As for "one feels inclined to class such beings, wild beasts with human faces, among the animals": make way for nazism: 'subhumans' anyone? Classifying people as 'animals' is always the imperialist subtext for a cruelty far crueler than ever seems to be acknowledged by the imperialists. &, uh, excuse me, but I've never seen an animal yet that wd invade Nanking or drop atomic bombs on Japan. Animals are always getting a bad rep for ferocity but, let's face it, humans are fierce way beyond any need for survival - humans are downright sadistic. & as for "these natives can boast even the vestiges of the intelligence of a child of five or six"? By whose IQ test? I reckon these natives cd survive in Africa where a European or American child of 5 or 6 wd soon be killed or starve. In other words, their intelligence is suitable to their environment & not to some irrelevant European classroom. Of course, as w/ the Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan narratives, the 'white' man plopped into Africa becomes the 'Lord of the Jungle' b/c of his 'inherent superiority'. Imagine George Bush Jr plopped into the African jungle at age 6. Wd he have ruled over Africa in no time?! I think not.
I like to look at old encyclopedias to see what currently unacceptable racist & eugenicist propaganda they hold. Then I like to critique the secret agendas of contemporary equivalents. I like Wikipedia & use it all the time but I'd never be so naive as to claim that it isn't ruled by subtextual agendas. The last time I went to accurately alter an incorrect entry I found that I was blocked by a Wikigardener - a person I don't know who's decided that my input shd be banned. &, yet, for most of the time that I've made alterations to Wikipedia the entries I've corrected have been on subjects that I'm a prominent expert on. EG: I added links to an entry on neoism, a movement I cofounded. The link was to MY YouTube channel, to MY movie, of a neoist festival that I organized. How much more direct from the source can you get? &, yet, it's apparently for doing things like this that I'm blocked.
In what's the most recent (as of the writing of this review) RAMPIKE magazine from CacaNada, Vol. 22/No. 1: "Re-recorded Histories", there's a great piece by Diane Schoemperlen that quotes from the Ontario Public School Geography textbook from 1946. Quote # 43 of Schoemperlen's piece is this:
"Europe has long been the home of the most highly civilized races in the world. Her people have long been foremost in industry, commerce, science, and art. Europe's importance is due chiefly to the fact that it is the home of the white peoples of the world. The white races have proved themselves superior to all others in many ways. They are more eager to acquire knowledge and to put it to practical use. They are more energetic. They have a greater capacity for organization, which is one of the chief characteristics of civilized man."
Ha ha! GEE, I wonder if a 'white' guy wrote that?!! If that had been written by an African dictator about black men many people might consider it to be a hilarious piece of megalomania. Here, it's 'received 'wisdom''. Yuk. I reckon it was 'white superiority' that inflicted opium on those 'uncivilized' Chinese, eh? Read The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia to know more about what I'm writing about. Thank you, Diane Schoemperlen, for bringing this to our attn.
ANYWAY, Verne seems decent in contrast to such garbage published 45 yrs later for 'educational' purposes! At least Verne has sympathetic African characters & has his 'missing link' peoples be kind. But there're still loads of problems: "Thenceforward the travellers would have less to fear from contact with the nomadic tribes which, through the initiative of the European nations are being driven back towards the distant lands of Darfour." (p 23) Nomadic peoples, like animals, are always getting a bad rep. Jews & Gypsies were both targetted by the nazis for extermination. WHY? What the fuck's 'wrong' w/ being nomadic?! It seems to me that people who travel must at least attain some knowledge of multiple languages & cultures w/o having to invade. Well, I have no realistic handle on the current condition of Darfur except to say that there's a war going on. How rooted is it in what Verne mentions in passing? Dunno.
Verne seems to generally like Americans. Do contemporary French readers read him & scoff at that? "John Cort had a very serious and very practical mind - qualities usual among the people of New England. Born in Boston, although he was a Yankee by birth he showed only the better qualities of the Yankee. Deeply interested as he was in geography, anthropology, the study of the races of mankind, most attracted his attention. To these merits he added a high courage, and he would have carried his devotion to his friends to the last sacrifice." - p 45
& Verne has the Portuguese leader of the expedition not be a genocidal maniac: "Urdax belonged to that Association of Ivory Hunters which Stanley had met when he was coming back from the northern Congo. But he did not share the bad reputation of his colleagues, most of whom, on the pretext of hunting the elephant, devote themselves to the massacre of the natives, so that, as that daring explorer of equatorial Africa said, the ivory that they collect is stained with human blood." (p 46) Stained w/ elephant blood, yes, stained w/ human blood, no. At least Verne acknowledges that such hunters who killed humans as well as elephants exist(ed). He's trying, he really is. It's easy to retroactively criticize him. Wd I've been any 'better' in his day? Maybe not. Who will be ripping me a new asshole 110 yrs hence?
Verne has Africa's nighttime be quiet, apparently devoid of the sounds of nocturnal creatures: "In the depths of the forest all the noise of the day had ceased and nothing could be heard except a sort of regular breathing, the respiration of the sleeping trees." (p 58) Cd that possibly be realistic?
I'm sure that this review seems like little more than my political diatribe but I really did enjoy this as a tale so I'm not exclusively preoccupied w/ the racist & imperialistic undertones of it all. The plot interested me. Verne has a central theme be one of interspecies communication attempts - a subject I'm fascinated by. "The efforts made by American Professor Garner may still be remembered - his scheme for studying the language of the monkeys and of giving his theories experimental verification." (p 81) Garner is disposed of pretty quickly as an academic fraud of sorts that borders on parody of academicism but the subject of interspecies communication isn't completely discarded. Nonetheless, Verne, ever mindful of catering to Roman Catholic prejudices in favor of man as 'God's chosen creature' or whatnot, has this disclaimer:
"Even before Professor Garner had begun his studies, it was well known that such mammals as dogs and monkeys have their mouths and throats arranged somewhat on human lines and their glottis organized to emit articulate sounds. But it was known too - with due regard to the monkey-lovers - that thought came before speech. In order to speak it is necessary to think, and thinking demands the power of using general terms - a faculty which the animals lack. The parrot talks, but it does not understand a word of what it says." - p 82
Maybe it's US that doesn't understand what THEY'RE SAYING. Why not?
"Finally, and according to his opinion, in conformity with the Darwinian theory of the unity of species and the hereditary transmission of physical qualities and not of defects, it could be said, "If the human races are derived from an ape-like stem, why should not the human language be derived from the primitive speech of these anthropoids?" the only thing was, did man really have monkeys for his ancestors? . . . That was what remained to be shown and what has not been shown." - p 84
I wonder what Verne wd've made of the teaching of the gorilla Koko (& others) sign language? The Village In The Treetops struggles w/ Darwinism, racism, etc, throughout - & that's largely what made it intellectually stimulating for me.
""After all," Max Huber added, "nothing could be more natural! Aren't we in the center of Africa? Well, between the natives and the apes of the Congo - except for Khamis [their black African guide] , that's understood - I don't think there's very much difference."
""But you have to remember," John Cort replied, "that the distinction between the man and the animals is that one is equipped with intelligence and that the other is dominated by an impersonal instinct..."
""The latter is much more certain than the former, my dear John!"
""I don't say no, Max. But these two factors of life are separated by a gulf, and as this has never been crossed the evolutionists have no grounds to claim that man is descended from the monkeys..."" - p 100
But, despite Verne's Roman Catholicism, this is all a set-up for leading the reader into imagining a missing link & to, therefore, accepting Darwinism. & he later explores this theme in a different bk in a short story that he supposedly dictated on his deathbed, "The Eternal Adam" [to be reviewed later].
See the rest of the review here:
http://www.goodreads.com/story/show/3...
Jules Verne's The Village In The Treetops
by tENTATIVELY, a cONVENIENCE - April 6, 2013
Surprise, surprise, my full review is "too long" so it's here instead:
http://www.goodreads.com/story/show/3...
I cut the end of this review out here to accommodate the word limit.
According to promotional/introductory text on the 1st printed p of this edition: "This is the first English translation of the last of Jules Verne's works to be published in his own lifetime." That, in itself, is enuf to make it fascinating for me. What makes it even more fascinating is that this novel is Verne's attempting to come to terms w/ the scientific idea of evolution vs his reputedly devout Roman Catholicism. For those of you who haven't noticed, the Roman Catholics (or, probably, all Catholics, Roman or otherwise) have had a habit of torturing & murdering people whose ideas contradict their own - ie: if they can't co-opt them. Take Giordano Bruno, eg. From I. O. Evans' intro to this edition:
"Fascinated as he was by every branch of science, Jules Verne could not but be interested in the controversy over the Darwinian Theory which was raging during his lifetime. As at the same time he was a sincerely religious man, and followed faithfully the teachings of the Roman Catholic Church, he naturally regarded the extremists of the Evolutionary School of thought with a certain scepticism.
"At that time the controversy almost turned upon the possible existence of a "Missing Link," a creature intermediate between man and the anthropoid apes. Was there any such creature?"
[..]
"This remarkable story, which has apparently never hitherto been translated into English, was originally entitled Le Village Aérien. This, however, especially as connected with the name Jules Verne, would rather suggest some sort of super flying-machine, and it is for this reason that I have given it a different title, which I think conveys its theme more clearly. My only other alteration is the omission of a few short passages of geographical detail now completely out of date." - p 5
As I've noted in at least one previous review of a Verne bk translated by Evans, The Demon of Cawnpore, I find the translator's changes to be objectionable:
""Impressed and at the same time horrified by the stern efficiency with which the British had suppressed the Indian Mutiny - for in his time the world was not so accustomed to reprisals as it is today - Verne ingeniously worked into his narrative the aftermath of the Indian Mutiny. In the original version he devotes a whole chapter to the Mutiny and its suppression,* [*Omitted in the present edition as holding up the story and lacking in interest.] so tendential that his original translators disavowed responsibility for its "facts or sentiments" in a foot-note!" - p 6
"I call the reader's attn to the admission here that the publishers omitted a chapter present in the original bk! Shame on them!! This is the Fitzroy edition published by Ace! Don't bother to read this one, try to find an edition w/ the chapter omitted here! I will." - http://www.goodreads.com/book/show/17...
What if Le Village Aérien, translated more accurately as The Aerial Village had some other meaning for Verne? A pie in the sky type meaning expressive of fancy &, therefore, metaphorically critical of evolutionary theory? I admit, such a proposal seems unlikely to me but I assume that if Verne wanted the bk to be called The Village In The Treetops he wd've called it such. As for omitting "a few short passages of geographical detail now completely out of date": why not leave them in w/ an explanatory footnote? That wd be more scholarly.
I've criticized Verne for being somewhat racist toward the Chinese in The Begum's Fortune & somewhat anti-Semitic in Carpathian Castle but his biases are usually tempered & I have to give him credit for that. The Village In The Treetops starts off w/ a Frenchman & an American discussing the colonization of Africa:
""Well, my dear John, if things go on as they are the European nations will end up by sharing all Africa between them - over ten million square miles! Are the Americans going to leave all that to the English and French and Germans and so on?"
[..]
""Well, my dear John, one of these days the Federal Government will be demanding its slice of the African cake. There's a French Congo, a Belgian Congo, and a German Congo, not to mention the Independent Congo, which is only waiting for a chance to give up its independence! And all this country that we've been travelling over these last three months..."
""As travellers, just as travellers, Max, not as conquerors."" - p 7
Immediately, Verne sets the tone of the imperialist mindset but has the American philosophically opt out of conquering. While that might not be a realistic depiction of American policy, it's at least refreshing that Verne doesn't completely mindlessly embrace his French character's position & uses it as a critical ploy instead. Nonetheless, 19th century ecological oblivion reigns: "a harvest of first quality ivory sufficient to supply enough piano-keys for the whole world... And you say you're not satisfied!"" (p 8) Perhaps it's w/ a sense of poetic justice that Verne has the expedition thoroughly routed by an elephant stampede.
&, yes, Verne has some pro-missionary bullshit polluting slightly: "Its peoples are continually at war, enslaving or killing one another, and living on human flesh. And, what is worst of all, these cannibalistic instincts are usually satisfied on the children. The missionaries, therefore, devote themselves to saving these tiny creatures, either by carrying them off by force or by ransoming them, and they give them a Christian education in the Missions founded along the river Siramba." (p 11) I reckon Verne's account, presumably like all the geographical details in his bks, is based on whatever sources he had access to in France - since he didn't visit Africa. But how reliable wd such sources have been? & how sensationalizing & self-justifying? When I think of missionaries, I think of cultural imperialism, I think of fanatics who believe that they have the right to invade countries & force the people to think-like-them. These cultural imperialists are then paving the way for the other exploiters, the diamond miners, etc, essentially capitalist enslavers. Then I think of groups like the Lord's Resistance Army in Uganda & the government forces that they rival. Both are somewhat rooted in Christinanity & between the 2 of them they're ripping the people to shreds. Literally. Cd things have been any worse before missionary influence? I doubt it.
As usual, the European & American 'heros' 'have to have' servants &, in Africa, these are Africans: "Accustomed from their childhood to be porters, they would go on being porters until their legs gave way under them. Nonetheless their task was hard, having to be carried out in such a climate, their shoulders bending beneath the heavy ivory of the weighty boxes of provisions, their skins chafed by the coarse undergrowth, for they went almost naked, and their feet bleeding, they journeyed from dawn to eleven in the morning and went on until evening as soon as the heat of the day had passed. / But in their own interests the merchants had to see that these men were well paid, and they were well paid; that they should be well looked after, and they were well looked after; that they should not be driven beyond all reason, and they were not over-driven. The perils of the elephant-hunting were very real, not to speak of the chance of meeting lions or panthers, and the leader had to be able to count on his personnel." - pp 13-14
As noted before, Verne's accts are based on other people's accts & those accts were most likely from Europeans & not from the Africans themselves. Therefore, is it any surprise that they, the Africans, are depicted as being 'saved' from their own 'barbarity' by missionaries? Missionaries who 'save the Africans from their practice of eating children' (how do they make future generations exactly?) so that they can be 'benevolently' used from childhood as porters for European resource plundering & ecology destruction?
Now, I, too, haven't been to Africa, & certainly wasn't in Africa in the 19th century, but I'm very suspicious of the one-sidedness of Verne's depiction of things: "No mercy was to be hoped for from the tribes of the Oubanghi. Nobody knew what limits there might be to their cruelty, and the fiercest tribes of Australia or of the South Sea Islands, would be hard to compare with these natives. Towards the centre of the region there are nothing but cannibal villages, and the Fathers of the Mission, who dare the most frightful of deaths, have some reason to know it. In this equatorial Africa where strength is everything and weakness is a crime, one feels inclined to class such beings, wild beasts with human faces, among the animals! Moreover, even in maturity few of these natives can boast even the vestiges of the intelligence of a child of five or six." - p 22
WHEW! What a huge load of unintrospective crap we have there! The "fiercest tribes of Australia" were pretty soundly brutalized by Europeans & were still classified legally as flora & fauna all the way up 'til 1968!! Maybe these Africans had a pretty good idea of what was in store for them from the Europeans, eh?! As for "one feels inclined to class such beings, wild beasts with human faces, among the animals": make way for nazism: 'subhumans' anyone? Classifying people as 'animals' is always the imperialist subtext for a cruelty far crueler than ever seems to be acknowledged by the imperialists. &, uh, excuse me, but I've never seen an animal yet that wd invade Nanking or drop atomic bombs on Japan. Animals are always getting a bad rep for ferocity but, let's face it, humans are fierce way beyond any need for survival - humans are downright sadistic. & as for "these natives can boast even the vestiges of the intelligence of a child of five or six"? By whose IQ test? I reckon these natives cd survive in Africa where a European or American child of 5 or 6 wd soon be killed or starve. In other words, their intelligence is suitable to their environment & not to some irrelevant European classroom. Of course, as w/ the Edgar Rice Burroughs Tarzan narratives, the 'white' man plopped into Africa becomes the 'Lord of the Jungle' b/c of his 'inherent superiority'. Imagine George Bush Jr plopped into the African jungle at age 6. Wd he have ruled over Africa in no time?! I think not.
I like to look at old encyclopedias to see what currently unacceptable racist & eugenicist propaganda they hold. Then I like to critique the secret agendas of contemporary equivalents. I like Wikipedia & use it all the time but I'd never be so naive as to claim that it isn't ruled by subtextual agendas. The last time I went to accurately alter an incorrect entry I found that I was blocked by a Wikigardener - a person I don't know who's decided that my input shd be banned. &, yet, for most of the time that I've made alterations to Wikipedia the entries I've corrected have been on subjects that I'm a prominent expert on. EG: I added links to an entry on neoism, a movement I cofounded. The link was to MY YouTube channel, to MY movie, of a neoist festival that I organized. How much more direct from the source can you get? &, yet, it's apparently for doing things like this that I'm blocked.
In what's the most recent (as of the writing of this review) RAMPIKE magazine from CacaNada, Vol. 22/No. 1: "Re-recorded Histories", there's a great piece by Diane Schoemperlen that quotes from the Ontario Public School Geography textbook from 1946. Quote # 43 of Schoemperlen's piece is this:
"Europe has long been the home of the most highly civilized races in the world. Her people have long been foremost in industry, commerce, science, and art. Europe's importance is due chiefly to the fact that it is the home of the white peoples of the world. The white races have proved themselves superior to all others in many ways. They are more eager to acquire knowledge and to put it to practical use. They are more energetic. They have a greater capacity for organization, which is one of the chief characteristics of civilized man."
Ha ha! GEE, I wonder if a 'white' guy wrote that?!! If that had been written by an African dictator about black men many people might consider it to be a hilarious piece of megalomania. Here, it's 'received 'wisdom''. Yuk. I reckon it was 'white superiority' that inflicted opium on those 'uncivilized' Chinese, eh? Read The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia to know more about what I'm writing about. Thank you, Diane Schoemperlen, for bringing this to our attn.
ANYWAY, Verne seems decent in contrast to such garbage published 45 yrs later for 'educational' purposes! At least Verne has sympathetic African characters & has his 'missing link' peoples be kind. But there're still loads of problems: "Thenceforward the travellers would have less to fear from contact with the nomadic tribes which, through the initiative of the European nations are being driven back towards the distant lands of Darfour." (p 23) Nomadic peoples, like animals, are always getting a bad rep. Jews & Gypsies were both targetted by the nazis for extermination. WHY? What the fuck's 'wrong' w/ being nomadic?! It seems to me that people who travel must at least attain some knowledge of multiple languages & cultures w/o having to invade. Well, I have no realistic handle on the current condition of Darfur except to say that there's a war going on. How rooted is it in what Verne mentions in passing? Dunno.
Verne seems to generally like Americans. Do contemporary French readers read him & scoff at that? "John Cort had a very serious and very practical mind - qualities usual among the people of New England. Born in Boston, although he was a Yankee by birth he showed only the better qualities of the Yankee. Deeply interested as he was in geography, anthropology, the study of the races of mankind, most attracted his attention. To these merits he added a high courage, and he would have carried his devotion to his friends to the last sacrifice." - p 45
& Verne has the Portuguese leader of the expedition not be a genocidal maniac: "Urdax belonged to that Association of Ivory Hunters which Stanley had met when he was coming back from the northern Congo. But he did not share the bad reputation of his colleagues, most of whom, on the pretext of hunting the elephant, devote themselves to the massacre of the natives, so that, as that daring explorer of equatorial Africa said, the ivory that they collect is stained with human blood." (p 46) Stained w/ elephant blood, yes, stained w/ human blood, no. At least Verne acknowledges that such hunters who killed humans as well as elephants exist(ed). He's trying, he really is. It's easy to retroactively criticize him. Wd I've been any 'better' in his day? Maybe not. Who will be ripping me a new asshole 110 yrs hence?
Verne has Africa's nighttime be quiet, apparently devoid of the sounds of nocturnal creatures: "In the depths of the forest all the noise of the day had ceased and nothing could be heard except a sort of regular breathing, the respiration of the sleeping trees." (p 58) Cd that possibly be realistic?
I'm sure that this review seems like little more than my political diatribe but I really did enjoy this as a tale so I'm not exclusively preoccupied w/ the racist & imperialistic undertones of it all. The plot interested me. Verne has a central theme be one of interspecies communication attempts - a subject I'm fascinated by. "The efforts made by American Professor Garner may still be remembered - his scheme for studying the language of the monkeys and of giving his theories experimental verification." (p 81) Garner is disposed of pretty quickly as an academic fraud of sorts that borders on parody of academicism but the subject of interspecies communication isn't completely discarded. Nonetheless, Verne, ever mindful of catering to Roman Catholic prejudices in favor of man as 'God's chosen creature' or whatnot, has this disclaimer:
"Even before Professor Garner had begun his studies, it was well known that such mammals as dogs and monkeys have their mouths and throats arranged somewhat on human lines and their glottis organized to emit articulate sounds. But it was known too - with due regard to the monkey-lovers - that thought came before speech. In order to speak it is necessary to think, and thinking demands the power of using general terms - a faculty which the animals lack. The parrot talks, but it does not understand a word of what it says." - p 82
Maybe it's US that doesn't understand what THEY'RE SAYING. Why not?
"Finally, and according to his opinion, in conformity with the Darwinian theory of the unity of species and the hereditary transmission of physical qualities and not of defects, it could be said, "If the human races are derived from an ape-like stem, why should not the human language be derived from the primitive speech of these anthropoids?" the only thing was, did man really have monkeys for his ancestors? . . . That was what remained to be shown and what has not been shown." - p 84
I wonder what Verne wd've made of the teaching of the gorilla Koko (& others) sign language? The Village In The Treetops struggles w/ Darwinism, racism, etc, throughout - & that's largely what made it intellectually stimulating for me.
""After all," Max Huber added, "nothing could be more natural! Aren't we in the center of Africa? Well, between the natives and the apes of the Congo - except for Khamis [their black African guide] , that's understood - I don't think there's very much difference."
""But you have to remember," John Cort replied, "that the distinction between the man and the animals is that one is equipped with intelligence and that the other is dominated by an impersonal instinct..."
""The latter is much more certain than the former, my dear John!"
""I don't say no, Max. But these two factors of life are separated by a gulf, and as this has never been crossed the evolutionists have no grounds to claim that man is descended from the monkeys..."" - p 100
But, despite Verne's Roman Catholicism, this is all a set-up for leading the reader into imagining a missing link & to, therefore, accepting Darwinism. & he later explores this theme in a different bk in a short story that he supposedly dictated on his deathbed, "The Eternal Adam" [to be reviewed later].
See the rest of the review here:
http://www.goodreads.com/story/show/3...
February 11, 2023
Δεν υπάρχει επιστημονικό θέμα που να μην καταπιάστηκε ο Ιούλιος Βερν. Γι' αυτό το λόγο -δικαίως- ονομάστηκε ο Πατέρας της Επιστημονικής Φαντασίας. Και ίσως εκεί έγγυται και η μεγάλη του αναγνωσιμότητα, ακόμα και μετά από έναν-ενάμιση αιώνα. Το θέμα λοιπόν του βιβλίου αυτού που στα ελληνικά έχει παραλλαγμένο τίτλο (στα γαλλικά λέγεται Le Village aérien, δηλαδή το εναέριο χωριό) είναι η Θεωρία του Δαρβίνου, η οποία είχε διατυπωθεί μόλις πριν ένα τέταρτο του αιώνα και είχε προκαλέσει μεγάλες πολεμικές- ακόμα δεν είναι παραδεκτή από κάποιους ως προς την ουσία της: όλα είναι εξέλιξη και αποτέλεσμα εξέλιξης.
Τρεις άντρες, ο αμερικανός Τζων Κορτ, ο γάλλος Μαξ Ουμπέρ και ο άραβας Κάμη βρίσκονται στο Κογκό, στον ποταμό Ουμπάγκη και πάνω στην περιπλάνησή τους δέχονται επίθεση αφηνιασμένων ελεφάντων. Αναγκάζονται να κρυφτούν στο πυκνό και αδιαπέραστο δάσος του Ουμπάγκη για να γλυτώσουν, αλλά στην πραγματικότητα χάνονται. Και χάνονται σε ανεξερεύνητα μέρη. Η μήπως όχι; Μετά από ένα διάστημα τυφλής περιπλάνησης στις όχθες ενός παραποτάμου του Ουμπάγκη και ψάχνοντας τον ίδιο τον ποταμό για να τους οδηγήσει στις εκβολές του και να σωθούν, ανακαλύπτουν μια εγκαταλελειμμένη καλύβα. Ήταν η καλύβα του γερμανού Δόκτωρος Γιοχάουζεν που είχε εισχωρήσει στο δάσος όχι για να ανακαλύψει τον χαμένο συνδετικό κρίκο μεταξύ του χόμο ερέκτους και του πιθηκανθρώπου, αυτόν τον κρίκο που θα επιβεβαίωνε για άλλη μια φορά τη θεωρία του Δαρβίνου, αλλά για να μελετήσει τη γλώσσα των πιθήκων. Είχε εξαφανιστεί εδώ και τρία χρόνια.
Οι δυο άσπροι δούλευαν στην Λιμπρεβίλλ και ήταν έμποροι φιλντισιού. Ήταν άσχετοι με όλα αυτά. Όμως κάποιες παρατηρήσεις, όσο προσπαθούσαν να προσανατολιστούν στο δάσος και συναντώντας ιθαγενείς τους οδήγησαν να εξετάσουν τη θεωρία του Δαρβίνου: ανακαλύπτουν (ή καλύτερα τους κάνουν να ανακαλύψουν) το Νγκάλα, το κατασκευασμένο σε ύψος 100 ποδών πάνω στα δέντρα χωριό της φυλής των Μπαγκντί για την οποία κανείς δεν έιχε μιλήσει στο παρελθόν.
Η περιπέτεια είναι ταξιδιωτική· η συζήτηση για τη δαρβινική θεωρία αρχίζει στο τέλος. Οι Μπαγντί φέρονται πολύ καλά στους ξένους και μια παρατήρηση κυριαρχεί: δεν πιστεύουν στον θεό, σε θεούς. Η διαπίστωση αυτή είναι καίρια, γιατί συμπίπτει με τις ανθρωπολογικές μελέτες που αναφέρουν ότι η έννοια του θεού προέκυψε σε έναν βαθμό εξέλιξης των ανθρωπίνων κοινωνιών. Είναι και απρόσμενο αυτό το κομμάτι, διότι ο Βερν ήταν πιστός καθολικός. Μάλλον σκέφτηκε ότι με αυτό θα μείωνε την "ανθρώπινη" φύση των Μπαγκντί. Πάντως είναι οι μόνοι που φέρονται φιλικά στους "ανθρώπους". Μέχρι να φτάσουν εκεί έχουν δεχτεί επιδρομή από ρινόκερους, από μαϊμούδες, από κουνούπια, κανείς δεν τους φοβάται, κανείς δεν τους θέλει. Κάτι ήξεραν...
Ο Βερν όταν μιλάει για πρωτόγονες φυλές, μιλάει από την σκοπιά του ανώτερου, του ευρωπαίου, αφ' υψηλού, αλλά παραχωρεί και "ανθρωπισμό" στον αναγνώστη. Είναι κατά της αποικιοκρατίας και μετά και από αυτό το βιβλίο διαπιστώνω την συμπάθειά του στις ΗΠΑ (μέσω χαρακτήρων αμερικάνων, αλλά και στην αφήγηση πάνω) που στο μυαλό του φάνταζε ο ορισμός του Φιλελευθερισμού. Δεν έζησε τον 20ο αιώνα να αναθεωρήσει πλήρως. Πέθανε τέσσερα χρόνια μετά την έκδοση του βιβλίου του.
Τρεις άντρες, ο αμερικανός Τζων Κορτ, ο γάλλος Μαξ Ουμπέρ και ο άραβας Κάμη βρίσκονται στο Κογκό, στον ποταμό Ουμπάγκη και πάνω στην περιπλάνησή τους δέχονται επίθεση αφηνιασμένων ελεφάντων. Αναγκάζονται να κρυφτούν στο πυκνό και αδιαπέραστο δάσος του Ουμπάγκη για να γλυτώσουν, αλλά στην πραγματικότητα χάνονται. Και χάνονται σε ανεξερεύνητα μέρη. Η μήπως όχι; Μετά από ένα διάστημα τυφλής περιπλάνησης στις όχθες ενός παραποτάμου του Ουμπάγκη και ψάχνοντας τον ίδιο τον ποταμό για να τους οδηγήσει στις εκβολές του και να σωθούν, ανακαλύπτουν μια εγκαταλελειμμένη καλύβα. Ήταν η καλύβα του γερμανού Δόκτωρος Γιοχάουζεν που είχε εισχωρήσει στο δάσος όχι για να ανακαλύψει τον χαμένο συνδετικό κρίκο μεταξύ του χόμο ερέκτους και του πιθηκανθρώπου, αυτόν τον κρίκο που θα επιβεβαίωνε για άλλη μια φορά τη θεωρία του Δαρβίνου, αλλά για να μελετήσει τη γλώσσα των πιθήκων. Είχε εξαφανιστεί εδώ και τρία χρόνια.
Οι δυο άσπροι δούλευαν στην Λιμπρεβίλλ και ήταν έμποροι φιλντισιού. Ήταν άσχετοι με όλα αυτά. Όμως κάποιες παρατηρήσεις, όσο προσπαθούσαν να προσανατολιστούν στο δάσος και συναντώντας ιθαγενείς τους οδήγησαν να εξετάσουν τη θεωρία του Δαρβίνου: ανακαλύπτουν (ή καλύτερα τους κάνουν να ανακαλύψουν) το Νγκάλα, το κατασκευασμένο σε ύψος 100 ποδών πάνω στα δέντρα χωριό της φυλής των Μπαγκντί για την οποία κανείς δεν έιχε μιλήσει στο παρελθόν.
Η περιπέτεια είναι ταξιδιωτική· η συζήτηση για τη δαρβινική θεωρία αρχίζει στο τέλος. Οι Μπαγντί φέρονται πολύ καλά στους ξένους και μια παρατήρηση κυριαρχεί: δεν πιστεύουν στον θεό, σε θεούς. Η διαπίστωση αυτή είναι καίρια, γιατί συμπίπτει με τις ανθρωπολογικές μελέτες που αναφέρουν ότι η έννοια του θεού προέκυψε σε έναν βαθμό εξέλιξης των ανθρωπίνων κοινωνιών. Είναι και απρόσμενο αυτό το κομμάτι, διότι ο Βερν ήταν πιστός καθολικός. Μάλλον σκέφτηκε ότι με αυτό θα μείωνε την "ανθρώπινη" φύση των Μπαγκντί. Πάντως είναι οι μόνοι που φέρονται φιλικά στους "ανθρώπους". Μέχρι να φτάσουν εκεί έχουν δεχτεί επιδρομή από ρινόκερους, από μαϊμούδες, από κουνούπια, κανείς δεν τους φοβάται, κανείς δεν τους θέλει. Κάτι ήξεραν...
Ο Βερν όταν μιλάει για πρωτόγονες φυλές, μιλάει από την σκοπιά του ανώτερου, του ευρωπαίου, αφ' υψηλού, αλλά παραχωρεί και "ανθρωπισμό" στον αναγνώστη. Είναι κατά της αποικιοκρατίας και μετά και από αυτό το βιβλίο διαπιστώνω την συμπάθειά του στις ΗΠΑ (μέσω χαρακτήρων αμερικάνων, αλλά και στην αφήγηση πάνω) που στο μυαλό του φάνταζε ο ορισμός του Φιλελευθερισμού. Δεν έζησε τον 20ο αιώνα να αναθεωρήσει πλήρως. Πέθανε τέσσερα χρόνια μετά την έκδοση του βιβλίου του.
February 3, 2023
Un francés, un yanqui y un portugués vuelven a la costa después de una larga travesía por el centro de África, arrasando con todo lo que pueden, pero como si de una venganza de la naturaleza se tratase unos elefantes les persiguen y les hacen desviarse de su destino hacia un enorme bosque donde les esperan aventuras inesperadas.
Jules Verne se adentra en este libro en las expediciones colonialistas, pero desde la perspectiva darwinista. Cuando escribió este libro hacía cuarenta y dos años que Darwin había publicado "El origen de las especies", pero todavía era mucho lo que no se sabía y muchos los escépticos por el hecho de que nos hubiesen bajado del pedestal donde nos había colocado la religión: desde Darwin los humanos no somos más que una entre las millones de especies que compartimos el planeta.
En la época en la que se publica este libro (1901) los escépticos siguen buscando el "eslabón perdido" que una a los primeros homíninos con el homo sapiens, en un claro error de comprensión de la teoría darwinista. La evolución no es una cadena en la que unas especies dan lugar a otras y van desapareciendo, sino que es un árbol, del que salen ramas que se cruzan y siguen caminos divergentes, así que la búsqueda de un eslabón era una tarea imposible, o al menos lo era en la realidad, que no en esta ficción de Verne, donde encuentra a una especie que podría estar perfectamente entre un australopiteco y un sapiens.
Verne incluye en su libro muchas de las peripecias de científicos de su época, como Richard L. Garner, que intentó descifrar el lenguaje de los chimpancés, o las mucho más locas y estúpidas como que los humanos actuales descendemos de tres ramas de simios diferentes dependiendo del color de nuestra piel.
La novela, como la mayor parte de la obra de Verne, es un digno entretenimiento, aunque esta en concreto estaría ultracensurada si alguien de esos que considera que hay que quemar "Tintín en el Congo" la leyera.
Jules Verne se adentra en este libro en las expediciones colonialistas, pero desde la perspectiva darwinista. Cuando escribió este libro hacía cuarenta y dos años que Darwin había publicado "El origen de las especies", pero todavía era mucho lo que no se sabía y muchos los escépticos por el hecho de que nos hubiesen bajado del pedestal donde nos había colocado la religión: desde Darwin los humanos no somos más que una entre las millones de especies que compartimos el planeta.
En la época en la que se publica este libro (1901) los escépticos siguen buscando el "eslabón perdido" que una a los primeros homíninos con el homo sapiens, en un claro error de comprensión de la teoría darwinista. La evolución no es una cadena en la que unas especies dan lugar a otras y van desapareciendo, sino que es un árbol, del que salen ramas que se cruzan y siguen caminos divergentes, así que la búsqueda de un eslabón era una tarea imposible, o al menos lo era en la realidad, que no en esta ficción de Verne, donde encuentra a una especie que podría estar perfectamente entre un australopiteco y un sapiens.
Verne incluye en su libro muchas de las peripecias de científicos de su época, como Richard L. Garner, que intentó descifrar el lenguaje de los chimpancés, o las mucho más locas y estúpidas como que los humanos actuales descendemos de tres ramas de simios diferentes dependiendo del color de nuestra piel.
La novela, como la mayor parte de la obra de Verne, es un digno entretenimiento, aunque esta en concreto estaría ultracensurada si alguien de esos que considera que hay que quemar "Tintín en el Congo" la leyera.
March 25, 2020
Lo asombroso era que allí había un pueblo, una verdadera aldea nativa, con sus chozas ordenada en hileras regulares, sus calles y sus habitantes hombres, mujeres y niños. Todos pertenecían a la raza de las criatura salvada por Llanga, con ciertos rasgos simiescos, pero evidentemente humanos.
El titulo ya de entrada te engancha; ademas, su prosa es muy sencilla fácil de seguir, los personajes son muy vivos, cada uno tiene marcado su personalidad y lo que los une es su valentía y la gran humanidad de sus almas. Te intriga descubrir el porque del nombre, ya que, al ir navegando por aquellas paginas te comienza a desesperar un poco, pero cuando lo terminas te das cuenta que esta muy bien llevado, note que tiene ciertas similitudes casi imperceptibles con la isla misteriosa, es coherente, por momentos sorprende y por otros no. Pero es un lindo libro para pasar el rato, de nuevo Verne no decepciona con. El pueblo aéreo.
El titulo ya de entrada te engancha; ademas, su prosa es muy sencilla fácil de seguir, los personajes son muy vivos, cada uno tiene marcado su personalidad y lo que los une es su valentía y la gran humanidad de sus almas. Te intriga descubrir el porque del nombre, ya que, al ir navegando por aquellas paginas te comienza a desesperar un poco, pero cuando lo terminas te das cuenta que esta muy bien llevado, note que tiene ciertas similitudes casi imperceptibles con la isla misteriosa, es coherente, por momentos sorprende y por otros no. Pero es un lindo libro para pasar el rato, de nuevo Verne no decepciona con. El pueblo aéreo.
September 22, 2020
Me gusto la historia y la aventura estuvo interesante, como se desarrolló, solo que me costo trabajo leerlo, aunque el final si fue muy rápido.
January 12, 2018
Не найкращий роман Жюля Верна, але колись здавався цікавим. Пригоди в Африці...
April 2, 2023
Description of the adventures of a group of researchers who finally discover a new tribe living in the African jungle.
December 4, 2007
This is another minor Verne chiefly devoted to exotic travel. A hunting party on the headwaters of the Congo
has its leader killed and supplies destroyed by a herd of rampaging elephants. They find a raft left behind by an eccentric German scientist who was trying to learn the language of apes. Going down river on the raft, they rescue a baby who seems to be a young "missing link" hairier than a human child but capable of limited speech. The raft wrecks on rapids
and the party are rescued by the child's people, the Wagdi, who like him appear to be on the border between
ape and human culture --they not only have language, but also the village of the title (huts built on a platform in the trees), simple pottery, cooking, weapons, music, and alcohol. Their indulgence in the last item permits the party to escape after discovering that the eccentric German, now insane, is
the nominal god-king of the village.
The blurb says that Vernse, an opponent of Darwinian
evolution, discredits the "missing link" nature of the
Wagdi, but in fact that does not seem to be the case.
Although the Wagdi language contains loanwords from a local African language and from German, it is apparently primarily indigenous, and the rest of the culture likewise seems to be originally of independent origin, though they have added some odd items from the German's gear (e.g. a decrepit barrel organ that plays only 2 tunes, both badly.) Verne's views on evolution are much clearer in "The New Adam"
published in Yesteray and Tomorrow (which I hope to review soon).
has its leader killed and supplies destroyed by a herd of rampaging elephants. They find a raft left behind by an eccentric German scientist who was trying to learn the language of apes. Going down river on the raft, they rescue a baby who seems to be a young "missing link" hairier than a human child but capable of limited speech. The raft wrecks on rapids
and the party are rescued by the child's people, the Wagdi, who like him appear to be on the border between
ape and human culture --they not only have language, but also the village of the title (huts built on a platform in the trees), simple pottery, cooking, weapons, music, and alcohol. Their indulgence in the last item permits the party to escape after discovering that the eccentric German, now insane, is
the nominal god-king of the village.
The blurb says that Vernse, an opponent of Darwinian
evolution, discredits the "missing link" nature of the
Wagdi, but in fact that does not seem to be the case.
Although the Wagdi language contains loanwords from a local African language and from German, it is apparently primarily indigenous, and the rest of the culture likewise seems to be originally of independent origin, though they have added some odd items from the German's gear (e.g. a decrepit barrel organ that plays only 2 tunes, both badly.) Verne's views on evolution are much clearer in "The New Adam"
published in Yesteray and Tomorrow (which I hope to review soon).
March 12, 2021
Es el segundo libro que leí de Julio Verne y me gustó mucho. Esta vez pude sentir la aventura y la emoción de descubrir más de aquella selva inexplorada.
No se puede predecir completamente la trama porque los personajes toman decisiones rápidas ante los nuevos peligros, conocemos rápidamente la historia de cada uno y por qué están ahí, listos para dejar las comodidades del mundo, tomar alimentos directamente de la selva y dormir bajo las estrellas o árboles. Mi personaje favorito es Llanga, me pareció muy adorable.
Spoiler: Quería saber más sobre la odisea del doctor Johausen, espero que se cuenten en otro libro del autor.
No se puede predecir completamente la trama porque los personajes toman decisiones rápidas ante los nuevos peligros, conocemos rápidamente la historia de cada uno y por qué están ahí, listos para dejar las comodidades del mundo, tomar alimentos directamente de la selva y dormir bajo las estrellas o árboles. Mi personaje favorito es Llanga, me pareció muy adorable.
Spoiler: Quería saber más sobre la odisea del doctor Johausen, espero que se cuenten en otro libro del autor.
December 7, 2012
Първата книга, която майка ми ми прочете като дете, преди да мога аз самият да чета. Все още си спомням образи и картини от историята. Дори части от финала.. (оставих името в оригинал, както е върху книгата, въпреки, че в съвременна България преимаме името Жул, а на Жюл и пишем "във въздуха" вместо "в въздуха")
August 22, 2022
(48) Le Village aérien (The Village in the Treetops, 1901) (1 volume) 53K words
The 48th Extraordinary Voyage takes us to Central Africa, where we hadn't been since... well, since "Dick Sand, A Captain at Fifteen", as I'm not counting the quick visits in "Robur the Conqueror" and "Captain Antifer". More recently than that, we travelled to the northern coast of Africa in "Clovis Dardentor" and to South Africa in "The Vanished Diamond". By the way, this is the first book in the series published in the 20th century (remember that 1900 was still the 19th century). When he published this, Verne was 73 years old and would only live four more years. Despite his failing health, he was still working hard. After this one, there would be six more novels in the series published in his lifetime, and another eight more posthumously.
First read or reread?: Reread. The first time I read it, I wasn't too impressed with this one.
What is it about?: In the heart of Africa, in the plains near Lake Chad, a stampede of wild elephants devastates an ivory hunting expedition. A group of survivors, including the Frenchman Max Huber, the American John Cort, their guide Khamis and a native boy whom they had saved, find themselves limited to their own resources. They decide their best option to get back alive to the French Congo is crossing the impenetrable forest to their south. Inside the forest, they will have several adventures and find a hidden civilization.
For two thirds of the book, this is a conventional travelling-through-Africa jungle adventure. I have no complaints about this part. A reviewer in Goodreads called Sandy commented that comparing the way Verne, Henry Rider Haggard and Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote their African adventures, you notice that Haggard was the only one who had extensive personal experience of the continent, so he gave his books a certain aura of effortless verisimilitude, while, of the other two, Verne at least had the support of extensive research, so he has a patina of realism in his descriptions.
During the story, Verne is planting seeds and clues about an American and later a German researcher who travelled to Africa to try to prove that apes were capable of language, and also about Darwin and the theory of evolution. Which brings us to the main theme of the novel, when the characters find a hidden tribe of ape-men, for want of a better name, some kind of "missing link" between apes and humans.
This part is clearly the heart of the story, and therefore it is curious that it's only dealt with during the last third of this already rather short novel. In fact, the last chapter is titled "An Abrupt Ending". When I read it as a boy, I was underwhelmed by this part of the adventure. It seemed rushed. This time around it still seems rushed, but I did appreciate it more. The point here, more than the adventure, is the sense of wonder at the discovery and its implications.
I have to say that the discussions between the characters about evolution were interesting. They are interesting despite, or perhaps because, they illustrate how people in the 19th century understood Darwin's theories. Nowadays, although we may talk of "missing links" in terms of transitional forms during evolution, the term has fallen out of favor with anthropologists because it implies the evolutionary process is a linear phenomenon and that forms originate consecutively in a chain. Instead, "last common ancestor" is preferred since this does not have the connotation of linear evolution, as evolution is a branching process. Humans do not descend from the other great apes, but we have common ancestors at some point in the past. Also outdated are some comments made by the characters, which would be racist from a modern perspective.
In any case, this part is what's really distinctive about this story, and Verne should have developed it a bit more. I wonder if he was in a hurry to meet a deadline and deliver the novel.
This novel turned out to be influential in the development of the Lost World subgenre. Conan Doyle, who was fluent in French, read it along with "Journey to the Center of the Earth", and they were part of his inspiration in writing "The Lost World". It also influenced Burroughs and other writers.
As an anecdote, the English translator of the novel decided to call it "The Village in the Treetops" instead of the more literal "The Aerial Village" because he did not want to mislead readers, making them think that this was about some kind of science-fictional flying town.
Enjoyment factor: While not one of Verne's greatest works, I appreciated this more than when I read it as a boy. It's a fast read, and it deals with some really interesting themes and ideas, even if it does so in a rather rushed manner.
Next up: The Sea Serpent
See all my Verne reviews here: https://www.sffworld.com/forum/thread...
The 48th Extraordinary Voyage takes us to Central Africa, where we hadn't been since... well, since "Dick Sand, A Captain at Fifteen", as I'm not counting the quick visits in "Robur the Conqueror" and "Captain Antifer". More recently than that, we travelled to the northern coast of Africa in "Clovis Dardentor" and to South Africa in "The Vanished Diamond". By the way, this is the first book in the series published in the 20th century (remember that 1900 was still the 19th century). When he published this, Verne was 73 years old and would only live four more years. Despite his failing health, he was still working hard. After this one, there would be six more novels in the series published in his lifetime, and another eight more posthumously.
First read or reread?: Reread. The first time I read it, I wasn't too impressed with this one.
What is it about?: In the heart of Africa, in the plains near Lake Chad, a stampede of wild elephants devastates an ivory hunting expedition. A group of survivors, including the Frenchman Max Huber, the American John Cort, their guide Khamis and a native boy whom they had saved, find themselves limited to their own resources. They decide their best option to get back alive to the French Congo is crossing the impenetrable forest to their south. Inside the forest, they will have several adventures and find a hidden civilization.
For two thirds of the book, this is a conventional travelling-through-Africa jungle adventure. I have no complaints about this part. A reviewer in Goodreads called Sandy commented that comparing the way Verne, Henry Rider Haggard and Edgar Rice Burroughs wrote their African adventures, you notice that Haggard was the only one who had extensive personal experience of the continent, so he gave his books a certain aura of effortless verisimilitude, while, of the other two, Verne at least had the support of extensive research, so he has a patina of realism in his descriptions.
During the story, Verne is planting seeds and clues about an American and later a German researcher who travelled to Africa to try to prove that apes were capable of language, and also about Darwin and the theory of evolution. Which brings us to the main theme of the novel, when the characters find a hidden tribe of ape-men, for want of a better name, some kind of "missing link" between apes and humans.
This part is clearly the heart of the story, and therefore it is curious that it's only dealt with during the last third of this already rather short novel. In fact, the last chapter is titled "An Abrupt Ending". When I read it as a boy, I was underwhelmed by this part of the adventure. It seemed rushed. This time around it still seems rushed, but I did appreciate it more. The point here, more than the adventure, is the sense of wonder at the discovery and its implications.
I have to say that the discussions between the characters about evolution were interesting. They are interesting despite, or perhaps because, they illustrate how people in the 19th century understood Darwin's theories. Nowadays, although we may talk of "missing links" in terms of transitional forms during evolution, the term has fallen out of favor with anthropologists because it implies the evolutionary process is a linear phenomenon and that forms originate consecutively in a chain. Instead, "last common ancestor" is preferred since this does not have the connotation of linear evolution, as evolution is a branching process. Humans do not descend from the other great apes, but we have common ancestors at some point in the past. Also outdated are some comments made by the characters, which would be racist from a modern perspective.
In any case, this part is what's really distinctive about this story, and Verne should have developed it a bit more. I wonder if he was in a hurry to meet a deadline and deliver the novel.
This novel turned out to be influential in the development of the Lost World subgenre. Conan Doyle, who was fluent in French, read it along with "Journey to the Center of the Earth", and they were part of his inspiration in writing "The Lost World". It also influenced Burroughs and other writers.
As an anecdote, the English translator of the novel decided to call it "The Village in the Treetops" instead of the more literal "The Aerial Village" because he did not want to mislead readers, making them think that this was about some kind of science-fictional flying town.
Enjoyment factor: While not one of Verne's greatest works, I appreciated this more than when I read it as a boy. It's a fast read, and it deals with some really interesting themes and ideas, even if it does so in a rather rushed manner.
Next up: The Sea Serpent
See all my Verne reviews here: https://www.sffworld.com/forum/thread...
July 27, 2022
(3.7 estrellas en realidad)
Esta obra de Julio Verne, la cual podríamos decir que es un "pequeño placer", ya que cuenta con unas 200 páginas, nos narra las aventuras de unos cazadores de marfil, provenientes del Congo, concretamente de Libreville y que tras recorrer las riberas del río Ubangui y haber hecho una exitosa caza, serán atacados por una gran manada de elefantes en mitad de la noche, por ello se verán impulsados a adentrarse en el bosque donde buscaran la forma de volver al curso del Ubangui, y donde además se les irán revelando una serie de hechos un tanto extraños y misteriosos que les harán llegar a conclusiones así también como a lugares realmente curiosos...
Aviso: No sigas leyendo a partir de aquí si no has leído el libro, ya que hay spoilers.
Puntos Fuertes
-Ritmo de lectura: Esta obra tiene un ritmo ameno y rápido sin demasiadas descripciones, siendo Julio Verne, ya que los personajes llevan de la mano al lector en su misión o aventura de supervivencia en la selva africana con todos sus contratiempos y dificultades, así también como con sus maravillosos descubrimientos lo que mantiene el ritmo de lectura ligero y entretenido. Además los capítulos no tienen más de 10 páginas, por lo tanto se leen rápido.
Espacio y Tiempo: El lugar y la época donde se desarrolla la acción no me podrían parecer más oportunas, en pleno áfrica central, lugar totalmente desconocido y salvaje en el siglo XIX que mantiene al lector expectante de cualquier tipo de situación inesperada
Desarrollo de la historia: Este me parece muy adecuado ya que al final de cada capítulo se nos van soltando gotitas de agua en un vaso que colmará al final, además esto te mantiene enganchado a la historia. A todo esto hay que sumarle el misterio que envuelve a la historia desde el capítulo uno y que los personajes tendrán que resolver
Enfoque científico: Como siempre este autor tiene la capacidad de mezclar las aventuras con la ciencia y aquí lo vuelve a hacer una vez más con interesantes explicaciones y descubrimientos sobre la evolución y la antropología que al final harán reflexionar y curiosear a los personajes sobre la posible existencia de un eslabón entre los monos y los humanos.
Final en una pequeña parte inesperado: Lo último que esperaba era encontrarme a un doctor Johausen chiflado, pero en parte me parece necesario para poder cerrar la historia de forma rápida y abrupta como el mismo autor menciona, la verdad es que yo esperaba era que por lo menos éste volvería con los protagonistas aun estando loco.
Puntos débiles
Desarrollo de los personajes: Los personajes mínimamente evolucionan, John sigue siendo igual de formal y estricto y Max termina siendo igual de entusiasta e impulsivo, no olvidarnos de Khamis que parece el guía de un videojuego que no tiene apenas interacción con los personajes y conoce la selva mejor que su casa, el único que medio se salva es LLanga que al establecer una relación sentimental con Li-Mai empieza a tener decisión propia pero es que al principio estaba demasiado apegado a John y a Max.
Final en su mayoría esperado: Yo en el momento que aparece el pequeño LI-Mai sabía como iba a terminar más o menos y cuando mencionaron lo de el jefe espejo porque tenía gafas yo ya sabía quien iba a ser, sin embargo como bien he dicho antes un pequeño detalle me sorprendió.
Demasiado Hype: Yo cuando leí las reseñas me esperaba que el pueblo aéreo aparecería al principio, como muy tarde a la mitad, pero es que aparece al final, lo cual no nos deja conocerlo mejor y tampoco permite a Verne desarrollar un poco más la historia por su abrupto final, más bien yo pensaba que los personajes llegarían allí y tendrían que ingeniárselas para escapar de alguna forma de tribus caníbales y cosas por el estilo a las que Verne nos tiene acostumbrados.
Conclusión
Libro muy entretenido para aprender un poco y sobre todo pasar el rato si os gustan las novelas de aventuras, además os recomiendo que no leáis nada en absoluto antes de leerlo ya que os va crear algunas expectativas y no vais a disfrutar tanto de la novela aún así muy recomendada a todo tipo de público.
Esta obra de Julio Verne, la cual podríamos decir que es un "pequeño placer", ya que cuenta con unas 200 páginas, nos narra las aventuras de unos cazadores de marfil, provenientes del Congo, concretamente de Libreville y que tras recorrer las riberas del río Ubangui y haber hecho una exitosa caza, serán atacados por una gran manada de elefantes en mitad de la noche, por ello se verán impulsados a adentrarse en el bosque donde buscaran la forma de volver al curso del Ubangui, y donde además se les irán revelando una serie de hechos un tanto extraños y misteriosos que les harán llegar a conclusiones así también como a lugares realmente curiosos...
Aviso: No sigas leyendo a partir de aquí si no has leído el libro, ya que hay spoilers.
Puntos Fuertes
-Ritmo de lectura: Esta obra tiene un ritmo ameno y rápido sin demasiadas descripciones, siendo Julio Verne, ya que los personajes llevan de la mano al lector en su misión o aventura de supervivencia en la selva africana con todos sus contratiempos y dificultades, así también como con sus maravillosos descubrimientos lo que mantiene el ritmo de lectura ligero y entretenido. Además los capítulos no tienen más de 10 páginas, por lo tanto se leen rápido.
Espacio y Tiempo: El lugar y la época donde se desarrolla la acción no me podrían parecer más oportunas, en pleno áfrica central, lugar totalmente desconocido y salvaje en el siglo XIX que mantiene al lector expectante de cualquier tipo de situación inesperada
Desarrollo de la historia: Este me parece muy adecuado ya que al final de cada capítulo se nos van soltando gotitas de agua en un vaso que colmará al final, además esto te mantiene enganchado a la historia. A todo esto hay que sumarle el misterio que envuelve a la historia desde el capítulo uno y que los personajes tendrán que resolver
Enfoque científico: Como siempre este autor tiene la capacidad de mezclar las aventuras con la ciencia y aquí lo vuelve a hacer una vez más con interesantes explicaciones y descubrimientos sobre la evolución y la antropología que al final harán reflexionar y curiosear a los personajes sobre la posible existencia de un eslabón entre los monos y los humanos.
Final en una pequeña parte inesperado: Lo último que esperaba era encontrarme a un doctor Johausen chiflado, pero en parte me parece necesario para poder cerrar la historia de forma rápida y abrupta como el mismo autor menciona, la verdad es que yo esperaba era que por lo menos éste volvería con los protagonistas aun estando loco.
Puntos débiles
Desarrollo de los personajes: Los personajes mínimamente evolucionan, John sigue siendo igual de formal y estricto y Max termina siendo igual de entusiasta e impulsivo, no olvidarnos de Khamis que parece el guía de un videojuego que no tiene apenas interacción con los personajes y conoce la selva mejor que su casa, el único que medio se salva es LLanga que al establecer una relación sentimental con Li-Mai empieza a tener decisión propia pero es que al principio estaba demasiado apegado a John y a Max.
Final en su mayoría esperado: Yo en el momento que aparece el pequeño LI-Mai sabía como iba a terminar más o menos y cuando mencionaron lo de el jefe espejo porque tenía gafas yo ya sabía quien iba a ser, sin embargo como bien he dicho antes un pequeño detalle me sorprendió.
Demasiado Hype: Yo cuando leí las reseñas me esperaba que el pueblo aéreo aparecería al principio, como muy tarde a la mitad, pero es que aparece al final, lo cual no nos deja conocerlo mejor y tampoco permite a Verne desarrollar un poco más la historia por su abrupto final, más bien yo pensaba que los personajes llegarían allí y tendrían que ingeniárselas para escapar de alguna forma de tribus caníbales y cosas por el estilo a las que Verne nos tiene acostumbrados.
Conclusión
Libro muy entretenido para aprender un poco y sobre todo pasar el rato si os gustan las novelas de aventuras, además os recomiendo que no leáis nada en absoluto antes de leerlo ya que os va crear algunas expectativas y no vais a disfrutar tanto de la novela aún así muy recomendada a todo tipo de público.
November 1, 2024
"Il villaggio aereo" J. Verne: 3
Verne stavolta ci traghetta in una foresta attraversata dall'Ubanghi in Congo. Solite lezioni di botanica e biologia condite da stereotipi razziali e fucilate agli indigeni incivili. Unica nota positiva è il salvataggio e l'adozione da parte dei due protagonisti/coppia di fatto? di un ragazzino indigeno 'coloratomanontroppo' per formare una bellissima famigliola arcobaleno.
Congo 1987
Max Hubert e John Cort sono in vacanza-safari in Congo. Spinti da una buona dose di curiosità e spirito di avventura vorrebbero solcare nuovi sentieri e fare nuove scoperte rispetto a tutti gli esploratori che li hanno preceduti. Viene loro in aiuto la sorte che li priva della loro guida che muore sgnaccata durante un attacco da parte degli elefanti sulla via del ritorno verso Libreville. La compagnia continua il viaggio e si imbatte in una specie di scimmietta antropomorfa in pericolo di vita per annegamento. Llanga, un indigeno comprato e adottato da Max e John, salva la creatura e se ne prende cura. Qualche giorno dopo la zattera sulla quale stanno navigando lungo il fiume attraversa delle rapide e si schianta. La compagnia viene tratta in salvo dai Wagdi, una tribù semi umana che vive in un villaggio costruito sulla cima degli alberi (Ngala) e che conosce un linguaggio primitivo. I viaggiatori vengono accolti e aiutati e scoprono che il capo/re del villaggio è Johausen, uno scienziato scomparso da tre anni e impegnato nello studio della comunicazione delle scimmie. Riescono ad arrivare al suo cospetto, ma lo trovano completamente tronato di testa come se avesse subito qualche danno cerebrale. La compagnia, rinunciando al proposito di farsi aiutare da lui per riacquistare la piena libertà e andarsene, imbraccia le carabine, fa fuoco e scappa nella foresta. Riescono a tornare tutti insieme appassionatamente a Libreville dopo 6 mesi dalla partenza con una bella storia da raccontare e un bimbo da sfoggiare.
Verne stavolta ci traghetta in una foresta attraversata dall'Ubanghi in Congo. Solite lezioni di botanica e biologia condite da stereotipi razziali e fucilate agli indigeni incivili. Unica nota positiva è il salvataggio e l'adozione da parte dei due protagonisti/coppia di fatto? di un ragazzino indigeno 'coloratomanontroppo' per formare una bellissima famigliola arcobaleno.
Congo 1987
Max Hubert e John Cort sono in vacanza-safari in Congo. Spinti da una buona dose di curiosità e spirito di avventura vorrebbero solcare nuovi sentieri e fare nuove scoperte rispetto a tutti gli esploratori che li hanno preceduti. Viene loro in aiuto la sorte che li priva della loro guida che muore sgnaccata durante un attacco da parte degli elefanti sulla via del ritorno verso Libreville. La compagnia continua il viaggio e si imbatte in una specie di scimmietta antropomorfa in pericolo di vita per annegamento. Llanga, un indigeno comprato e adottato da Max e John, salva la creatura e se ne prende cura. Qualche giorno dopo la zattera sulla quale stanno navigando lungo il fiume attraversa delle rapide e si schianta. La compagnia viene tratta in salvo dai Wagdi, una tribù semi umana che vive in un villaggio costruito sulla cima degli alberi (Ngala) e che conosce un linguaggio primitivo. I viaggiatori vengono accolti e aiutati e scoprono che il capo/re del villaggio è Johausen, uno scienziato scomparso da tre anni e impegnato nello studio della comunicazione delle scimmie. Riescono ad arrivare al suo cospetto, ma lo trovano completamente tronato di testa come se avesse subito qualche danno cerebrale. La compagnia, rinunciando al proposito di farsi aiutare da lui per riacquistare la piena libertà e andarsene, imbraccia le carabine, fa fuoco e scappa nella foresta. Riescono a tornare tutti insieme appassionatamente a Libreville dopo 6 mesi dalla partenza con una bella storia da raccontare e un bimbo da sfoggiare.
February 10, 2021
Publié d'abord en feuilleton sous le titre de la Grande Forêt de janvier à juin 1901, puis la même année en volume sous le titre le village aérien, ce roman est à la fois un roman d'aventure et un roman scientifique et ethnographique où les théories de Darwin sur l'évolution des espèces occupent une très grande part.
Nous sommes en Afrique centrale dans une forêt impénétrable, celle de l'Oubanghi, le fleuve homonyme sert de frontière actuelle entre la République centrafricaine et le République démocratique du Congo. Deux amis , John Cort l'américain, Max Huber le français rentrent à Libreville après une expédition "ivoirienne" mais les imprévus sont là. Avec leur guide Khamis et Llanga un enfant noir qu'ils ont sauvé du pire, le chemin du retour sera long et périlleux et croisera une peuplade inconnue...l'occasion pour Jules Verne de piquer la curiosité de ses fidèles lecteurs, de poser quelques hypothèses sans prendre position, il lui faut ménager les susceptibilités de l'Eglise catholique. Si certaines affirmations ne peuvent que faire bondir le lecteur d'aujourd'hui, d'autres évoquent l'évolution géopolitique du continent africain à l'aube du 20 è siècle et sont ma foi prémonitoires.Je ne suis pas, loin s'en faut, une inconditionnelle de Jules Verne, le challenge solidaire m'a incitée à vaincre mes réticences mais être la première à écrire un avis sur le village aérien je ne l'aurais jamais envisagé! avis aux amateurs et bonne lecture.
Nous sommes en Afrique centrale dans une forêt impénétrable, celle de l'Oubanghi, le fleuve homonyme sert de frontière actuelle entre la République centrafricaine et le République démocratique du Congo. Deux amis , John Cort l'américain, Max Huber le français rentrent à Libreville après une expédition "ivoirienne" mais les imprévus sont là. Avec leur guide Khamis et Llanga un enfant noir qu'ils ont sauvé du pire, le chemin du retour sera long et périlleux et croisera une peuplade inconnue...l'occasion pour Jules Verne de piquer la curiosité de ses fidèles lecteurs, de poser quelques hypothèses sans prendre position, il lui faut ménager les susceptibilités de l'Eglise catholique. Si certaines affirmations ne peuvent que faire bondir le lecteur d'aujourd'hui, d'autres évoquent l'évolution géopolitique du continent africain à l'aube du 20 è siècle et sont ma foi prémonitoires.Je ne suis pas, loin s'en faut, une inconditionnelle de Jules Verne, le challenge solidaire m'a incitée à vaincre mes réticences mais être la première à écrire un avis sur le village aérien je ne l'aurais jamais envisagé! avis aux amateurs et bonne lecture.
January 7, 2020
EL PUEBLO AÉREO
JULIO VERNE
#classicreadchallenge .
Este es el libro que tocaría para la primera quincena de enero.
Tengo que decir que me he retrasado mucho en mis lecturas y he saltado directamente desde el segundo a este.
Intentaré ponerme al día en estas semanas que le quedan al reto, ya que creo que es muy interesante.
.
El libro nos habla de una expedición por África en la que tenemos a dos amigos que viven hace un tiempo en el Congo, uno es americano y el otro francés, el guía y su ayudante, y un chiquillo de la zona al que han salvado de una tribu.
.
Cuando se disponen a volver y piensan que camino tomar, les sobreviene un desastre, se encuentran en medio del camino de una manada de elefantes que corren enloquecidos y de los cuales no pueden escapar.
.
A partir de este hecho, correrán una gran aventura en la que descubrirán cosas ocultas en la espesa selva.
.
El libro me ha gustado bastante y lo he leído en dos momentos, lo que no me acaba de gustar, es que una vez llegados al final, se resuelve en un capítulo.
.
Es el primer libro que leo de Julio Verne, y ha sido gracias al reto de los clásicos, que me ha permitido salir de mi zona de confort y descubrir a un gran autor.
Seguiré leyendo sus aventuras.
.
3,5/5 ⭐
JULIO VERNE
#classicreadchallenge .
Este es el libro que tocaría para la primera quincena de enero.
Tengo que decir que me he retrasado mucho en mis lecturas y he saltado directamente desde el segundo a este.
Intentaré ponerme al día en estas semanas que le quedan al reto, ya que creo que es muy interesante.
.
El libro nos habla de una expedición por África en la que tenemos a dos amigos que viven hace un tiempo en el Congo, uno es americano y el otro francés, el guía y su ayudante, y un chiquillo de la zona al que han salvado de una tribu.
.
Cuando se disponen a volver y piensan que camino tomar, les sobreviene un desastre, se encuentran en medio del camino de una manada de elefantes que corren enloquecidos y de los cuales no pueden escapar.
.
A partir de este hecho, correrán una gran aventura en la que descubrirán cosas ocultas en la espesa selva.
.
El libro me ha gustado bastante y lo he leído en dos momentos, lo que no me acaba de gustar, es que una vez llegados al final, se resuelve en un capítulo.
.
Es el primer libro que leo de Julio Verne, y ha sido gracias al reto de los clásicos, que me ha permitido salir de mi zona de confort y descubrir a un gran autor.
Seguiré leyendo sus aventuras.
.
3,5/5 ⭐
January 21, 2020
Qué decepcionante este libro. Me suele encantar Verne, sólo que en esta ocasión se ve como si fuera un borrador: apresurado, sin corregir, con personajes que se confunden constantemente por estar mal delineados.
Sí, hay una aventura en la selva pero no tiene mucha gracia. Las cosas son poco creíbles, por ejemplo, el estado meteorológico siempre está a favor de los aventureros, o también que cada vez que salen a cazar con la escopeta regresan con comida. Ni hablar el pueblo en sí mismo, no tiene mucho sentido. Si bien podría ser que viviesen por encima del nivel del suelo, es la propia estructura de la sociedad, salida de cualquier sitio común en el que vemos a los nativos, sus raras costumbres (vistas miles de veces), la forma en la que tratan a los recién llegados, la repetición que a nadie le asombrase que ellos estuvieran allí. Los diálogos tan apresurados, cortos, secos, un final predecible, un "misterio" más que evidente.
¿Podrá ser que Verne necesitaba entregarle algo a su editor con suma urgencia? Probablemente, se sabe que lo explotó todo lo que pudo.
Sí, hay una aventura en la selva pero no tiene mucha gracia. Las cosas son poco creíbles, por ejemplo, el estado meteorológico siempre está a favor de los aventureros, o también que cada vez que salen a cazar con la escopeta regresan con comida. Ni hablar el pueblo en sí mismo, no tiene mucho sentido. Si bien podría ser que viviesen por encima del nivel del suelo, es la propia estructura de la sociedad, salida de cualquier sitio común en el que vemos a los nativos, sus raras costumbres (vistas miles de veces), la forma en la que tratan a los recién llegados, la repetición que a nadie le asombrase que ellos estuvieran allí. Los diálogos tan apresurados, cortos, secos, un final predecible, un "misterio" más que evidente.
¿Podrá ser que Verne necesitaba entregarle algo a su editor con suma urgencia? Probablemente, se sabe que lo explotó todo lo que pudo.
February 20, 2025
3.5 étoiles. J'aime la capacité de Verne de mélanger la science et la fiction. Son histoire est émaillée de récits factuels, pour que le jeune lecteur puisse apprendre quelque chose pendant sa lecture. Et nous sommes tous d'accord que ces deux hommes sont en couple gay avec leur fils adoptif, n'est-ce pas ?
Citation préférée : « On eût pu dire qu'il [Max Huber] 'vivait en vers' alors que John Cort 'vivait en prose'. » Je ne sais pas si Verne a crée cette tournure de phrase, mais c'est joli et elle représente bien leur personnalité.
Citation MOINS préférée : « À mon avis, la musique est un art inférieur qui s'adresse à un sens inférieur. » Il n'y a pas un seul tableau dans le monde entier qui m'a fait ressentir une fraction des sentiments que la musique évoque en moi.
Citation préférée : « On eût pu dire qu'il [Max Huber] 'vivait en vers' alors que John Cort 'vivait en prose'. » Je ne sais pas si Verne a crée cette tournure de phrase, mais c'est joli et elle représente bien leur personnalité.
Citation MOINS préférée : « À mon avis, la musique est un art inférieur qui s'adresse à un sens inférieur. » Il n'y a pas un seul tableau dans le monde entier qui m'a fait ressentir une fraction des sentiments que la musique évoque en moi.
July 22, 2020
This was not my favourite Jules Verne novel. I found it a bit discombobulated and tough to follow. Maybe I just didn't concentrate enough while reading. It just didn't flow well. There were no real explanations as to why things happened. Especially in the beginning where there was an attack of a herd of elephants. Maybe I don't know enough about elephants. I just didn't enjoy much about the book and wouldn't recommend wasting your time on it. There are better books of his to read.
July 2, 2022
O autor conta as aventuras de um francês e um americano no interior da África.
Como é tradicional em seus textos, Verne faz uma pormenorizada descrição da fauna e da flora das regiões pelas quais os aventureiros passam, certamente fruto de muita pesquisa e de seu entusiasmo pelas características de um continente que, na época, ainda era muito desconhecido.
Interessante observar as diversas referências que ele faz à teoria de Darwin e sobre a qual parecia ter algumas dúvidas.
Como é tradicional em seus textos, Verne faz uma pormenorizada descrição da fauna e da flora das regiões pelas quais os aventureiros passam, certamente fruto de muita pesquisa e de seu entusiasmo pelas características de um continente que, na época, ainda era muito desconhecido.
Interessante observar as diversas referências que ele faz à teoria de Darwin e sobre a qual parecia ter algumas dúvidas.
November 28, 2022
This book is an African adventure that maybe anticipates the Anthropoid Apes of the Tarzan novels. There is a lot of action, and it isn't as bogged down with Verne's digressions into flora and fauna as some of his books (e.g. 12,000 lieues sous les mers). I read in the original French, and it is clearly written despite some inevitably outdated vocabulary. Of Verne's novels, this falls somewhere in the middle in terms of quality.
June 20, 2019
Libro corto y muy agradable lectura.
Súper interesante desde un punto de vista científico, estilo de narración muy entretenido con una poesía y un uso del vocabulario maravillosos.
Muy repetitivo de a momentos, pero no aburrido.
Muchas ganas de seguir con la serie Voyage del autor.
Súper interesante desde un punto de vista científico, estilo de narración muy entretenido con una poesía y un uso del vocabulario maravillosos.
Muy repetitivo de a momentos, pero no aburrido.
Muchas ganas de seguir con la serie Voyage del autor.
April 10, 2021
Mediocre work with poor pacing and some racist nonsense. Sure its the 19th century, but still.
Great concept, but he dropped the ball.
Great concept, but he dropped the ball.
December 17, 2021
Bardzo zle sie zestarzala ta ksiazka.
March 21, 2022
Średniak
July 22, 2022
2.75 początek nudny
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