Sunday, February 23, 2014

Book Review: 20000 Leagues Under the Sea by Jules Verne

Get your self ready to dive in to the ocean with Captain Nemo and his electrical submarine Nautilus. It is a wonderful science fiction novel by French author Jules Verne. The story was narrated to me by my dad when I was a child. Later I got a paperback of the book. It was awesome and at one point, I was saying everyone that one day I will become a marine engineer [that didn't happen ;-) ].

The book opens with widespread fear about a sea monster. Professor Aronnax and his companions take up the task to solve the mystery. But they are captured by the crew of an electrical submarine (which was mistaken for a monster) headed by captain Nemo. The story is packed with adventures under the sea. From south pole to Mannar gulf near Tamil Nadu, the travel covers wide variety of locations and events.

Electric submarine may sound so common and you may wonder why this is called a science fiction. But this book was released even before electric bulbs became common. Written in 1870, the book has references to lot of technical advances which were still under research or not yet invented back then.

 There are hints in the book that point that Captain Nemo may be an Indian. But his crew consists of men from many other nationalities, who all are against oppressive regimes all over the world. In this aspect, Jules Verne touches the colonial oppression and imperialistic occupation prevalent those days.

In today's context, we can match this to corporates conquering our life and trying to control every aspect of our life. So, it is still relevant and you will surely love it.

The book is in public domain as the copyright has expired. So usually it is available for lesser price. You can also read it in Wikisource website for free, but I prefer printed books so that I can collect them after reading. Moreover, you can read them laying down, sitting at dining table or during travel without much strain.

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