“Mobilis in Mobili” Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea: A Review

“Mobilis in Mobili”

Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Sea: A Review

         If you love nautical adventures and have a love for the sea, then you will love Jules Verne’s deep imagery and description of sea life.  This book is a fantastic aquatic journey across the seven seas, full of danger and intrigue. 

         Verne throws the curious, French Professor Aronnax and his humble servant Conseil along with courageous and headstrong Canadian whaler Ned Land into a world alien to any seen before by mid-19^th century man.  Their lot is cast in with the enigmatic Captain Nemo, as they sail around the earth on a grand tour.  Captain Nemo plays by a different set of rules than that of the estranged terrestrial societies, which is demonstrated by his hospitable imprisonment of our heroes upon the submarine vessel, Nautilus.

         Jules Verne’s ability as an early science-fiction writer to correctly predict many aspects of traveling below the sea in such a vessel has made this epic a classic piece of French and English literature.  Numerous film adaptions have been made and is now able to be read in more languages than countries visited by the Nautilus.

         I enjoyed the aspects of the story which most readers enjoyed.  But not to be taken for granted are the scientific descriptions of the diverse sea life observed by Professor Aronnax. Although tedious and a tad monotonous as it was, I earnestly felt its inclusion made the novel more complex.  At almost every new seascape Nemo introduces the castaways to, Verne devotes a paragraph of two to Prof.  Aronnax listing and describing, in scientific terms, the organisms that be.  For those that are scientifically disinclined, I’d recommend having google nearby to search up some Latin fish names.  For the amateur marine biologist deep within myself, I found this aspect a joy.

         The dramas between the prisoners and the Captain, the captain and the navies of Europe, and the Nautilus and the sea, woven together by the voyage and the peculiar situation, and situated upon the wondrous and merciless sea, create an enthralling story that will surely keep you captivated.  When finished reading Twenty Leagues under the Sea, you will feel as though you were on the Nautilus with Ned Land and the others.  It will leave you craving the salt of the sea yourself. 

          Bon voyage!