Okay there are so many places I want to take this post, and I'm not sure where I want to start, so I'll just start with cover art and a quick summary of the book:
This story focuses on the adventures of 5 Americans on an uncharted island. It starts during the American Civil War, where 5 northern prisoners of war decide to escape by hijacking an air balloon. After flying through a storm for several days, they finally land on some unknown island. They name it "Lincoln Island" as tribute to their president, Abraham Lincoln. The five are able to sustain themselves on the island, producing fire, pottery, bricks, nitroglycerin (!), iron, an electric telegraph (!) a cliff side home, and even a seaworthy ship.
Throughout their time on the island, there seems to be a deus ex machina at work, delivering chests of goods and rescuing them when in danger. Eventually, they find out the secret of the island and the gifts. Captain Nemo. Yes, that Captain Nemo from 20,000 Leagues. Having escaped the Maelstrom at the end of the book he starred in, he sailed the oceans until all of his crew,except for himself of course, had died. At the end of this book, Nemo is an old man with a beard. On his death bed, Captain Nemo reveals that he is actually a lost indian prince, and gifts the islanders with a box of pearls and diamonds.
Afterward, the island's central volcano erupts, destroying the island. The colonists, forwarned of the eruption, find themselves safe, but stranded on the last remaining piece of the island above sea level. They are eventually rescued by a passing ship.
My thoughts:
This was the first book of the year with my book club. And unfortunately, I wasn't too fond of it. I gave it a 2 out of 5 stars. It's not that it was necessarily a bad story (though I was very confused about how they made NITROGLYCERIN out of island materials), but it's just such an old story and a slow read for me.
You see, for being a librarian, literature was never my strong suite. I was kicked out of advanced English my freshman year of high school. I was (still sort of am) a slow reader, I had a hard time reading "literature" and would much rather read what scholars would refer to as "novels of interest". I didn't understand why all High School's in America were only allowed to read like the same 10 books, and I didn't like most of them.
And reading this just sort of brought me back to that. I got lost in the text, and found myself rushing to finish it by the time my book club met, surely causing me to miss some important details.
However, we did watch the movie:
And I do have to say WATCH THE MOVIE. See the poster? See the damsel in distress, and the giant animals? They. Are. Great. (Well, the giant animals, not so much the damsel).
But they are also NOT in the book.
The book could have very much benefitted from a giant crab.
Though so could most pieces of literature.
Anyway. 2/5 stars. Movie is better.
Other stuff:
I know I missed a post on Tuesday. I'm in the middle of writing my first ever grant so I've been a little distracted. Next week we should be back to our regularly scheduled programming.
Until next time,
Memento mori
&;
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