I actually read this book on a pocket computer just to see how easy it was to read a book in this way. It wasn't as hard as I thought it might be, but that may have been because I choose such an interesting story. If you liked 20,000 Leagues Beneath the Sea, you'll enjoy this later work by Verne. It is amazing how much scientific information it contains in addition to the story line.
An Epic Of Early Science Fiction
"The Mysterious Island" is the second book in the Early Classics of Science Fiction series which is being published by Wesleyan University Press. This novel is a much better choice for the series than Verne's "Invasion of the Sea". Although not as well known as some of Verne's novels, it is certainly a better representation of his style than "Invasion of the Sea" was. As with the first in the series, this release features a new and unabridged translation, which is much superior to previous translations. They also include a wealth of material about the history of previous translations, the inception of the novel, the historical context of the novel, and they have done a fantastic job of including notes in the novel itself, explaining where Verne is making references to other works, where he has made errors, and other interesting information regarding the text of the novel itself.
The novel was first published in "Magasin" from January 1st, 1874 through December 15th of 1875. It is not as good as his more famous works, but it is still worth reading, especially this new translation. It is the tale of five men who find themselves stranded on an island, and who through the course of trying to survive notice mysterious happenings and become convinced that there is one or more benefactors helping them. The one movie I saw bearing the name of this novel, bears little resemblance to Verne's story. Absent from the novel are the giant animals (chicken, crab, bees), nor are there any women on the island. Verne considered his stories to be scientific fiction, as opposed to science fiction, and so an island of giant creatures is far from the kind of story he would write.
The main characters in this story are Cyrus Smith, who was a Union staff officer who was captured by the South, and he is also the scientist of the group. Next is Gideon Spilett, a reporter who was also captured and met Smith when both were prisoners of war. The next is Neb, who is described as "a Negro born of slave parents into the engineer's estate" who stayed with Smith after he was freed by him. He came to find Cyrus Smith, in Richmond when he learned Smith was a prisoner. The next man is Pencroft, a sailor who found himself trapped in Richmond because of the siege. The last is Harbert Brown, a fifteen year old boy who is an orphan that Pencroft takes care of as if he were his own son.
The novel is divided into three main sections. The first of these is titled "The Castaways from the Sky". It opens with the men desperately trying to keep their balloon aloft until they are able to reach land. Verne quickly fills the reader in on the history of these men, who have escaped from Richmond in a hot-air balloon, only to have been swept away in a storm which has taken them into the South Pacific. There they are fortunate to get near to an Island which they name Lincoln Island. The first section is devoted to them building a home on the island; there are a few unusual events, but nothing which can not be explained away. The section ends with the first undeniable evidence that someone else either is, or recently was on the island with them; a lead bullet.
The second section is titled "The Abandoned One". In this section they do a more thorough search and survey of Lincoln Island, and they find it is a very diverse island, which can provide for most all their needs. While searching their island, a group of apes take over their residence. Under unusual circumstances they are able to regain their home, and with it they gain an Ape servant (Jup). They build a small ship to investigate a nearby island when they find a note in a bottle. There they find a man (Ayrton) who has been abandoned there and become more animal than man. As with the first section, there are many unusual events which lead them to suspect they are not alone on the island. This section ends with the sighting of a ship.
The third section is titled "The Secret of the Island". In this section they deal with the pirates who appear to have come to make the island their own personal base. At the end, they do find their mysterious benefactor who has helped them throughout their time on the island. With the volcano nearing an eruption which threatens to destroy the island, they rush to build a ship in a last ditch effort to save themselves. When time runs out, they find their benefactor has reached out to them one last time.
I recommend this book to those who are interested in early science fiction or in the works of Jules Verne. However, I do expect that other people are likely to find the pacing rather slow. It is over 600 pages long, and the mysterious part of the tale builds slowly. In today's fast-paced action world, it could easily be viewed as slow and/or lacking in action.
The movie was better
the 1961 movie that was made on this book only took the idea of five men starndad on an island and they are aided by Captain Nemo later in the movie but that's it. In the book, Nemo's apperance is near the end and it;s a small part. It only serves as a sequal of a small sorts to 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea. The rest of the book is full of somewhat boring charecters who spend the whole story trying to survive on an island. It's somewhat tedious and you never quite get excited by the lack of any real adventure.
A Must Have For Verne Fans!!!
This is a great book. It has a biography of Verne plus two prefaces to different novels he wrote (the only two), and detailed notes. The novels runs about 650 pages long, but caution, there are some versions that are 200 pages shorter, and some of the character names are changed. Make sure it is this version, but if you do not want all the extra information, there are editions with just the novel. A great book, and perfect if you loved "Twenty-Thousand Leagues under The Sea".