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Post by phileasfogg on Aug 26, 2024 16:05:57 GMT
Like many others, I read 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea when I was quite young and it is one of my favourite novels. However, I recently learned that many translations remove nearly up to a third of the novel, and a friend bought me the restored edition for my birthday last year which added back a bunch of stuff that was removed (and also has a lot of interesting footnotes). Upon reading it and comparing it with the edition I already owned, I noticed that most of what was removed was Verne's detailed explanations of the classifications of the fish that they come across, as well as a bunch of references to 19th century scientists who are obscure to modern readers, but would have been recognised by Verne's 19th century readers.
So I wanted to ask this question: what do you all think of Verne's detailed explanations of either the way transportation/technology in his novels worked or of where they are in the world? I personally enjoy reading them although admittedly I do sometimes skim, but it seems like a lot of people don't want to be bothered with it at all (I once heard someone refer to 20,000 Leagues as a "reading a nature documentary" and had to chuckle, knowing how this is a common feature of a Verne adventure). I think the biggest instance of this is in Five Weeks in a Balloon. I think it was the third chapter which is basically just a detailed explanation of how the balloon works and how it will suffice to transport the characters across Africa. Of course, every time the characters travel on a ship, we have to be told exactly how the ship works. What are everyone's thoughts on this?
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berc
Administrator 
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Post by berc on Aug 26, 2024 16:22:01 GMT
The same thing happened to me. When I first read '20,000 Leagues Under the Sea,' I used an old book printed in 1958. As I mentioned in another post, Hungarian translations from the 1950s and '60s were heavily influenced by communism, so many things were left out. When I reread a newer translation, I was amazed at how much more detailed it was.
About your question: Verne's detailed descriptions of technology and places in his novels make the stories feel more real and exciting. It's like he's taking readers on a journey, showing them exactly how things work or where they are in the world. These details make the adventures more believable and also teach readers something new, which is part of what makes his books so fun and engaging! I enjoy all kinds of explanations written by Verne. Even though my main focus is history and geography, I love reading mathematical, biological, and other types of explanations. This was Verne's main point: to be educational, which worked out really well.
And yes, 'Five Weeks in a Balloon' is indeed the best example. Did you know that it was even more complex, full of many more explanations and details before Hetzel suggested changes? At first, it really bothered Verne that he had to delete a lot of scientific sentences (as these books were meant for children), and he felt he couldn't fully express his thoughts.
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Post by phileasfogg on Aug 26, 2024 16:32:44 GMT
Yes! I do remember reading that about Five Weeks in a Balloon. I wonder what the original manuscript looked like since I already thought it was extremely detailed.
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Post by farseer on Aug 26, 2024 16:57:57 GMT
I personally like them, even though I admit the info dumps break the normal rules of writing fiction, breaking the action, and I completely understand when others do not like them for that reason. But they have some kind of geeky enthusiasm that I enjoy. When someone talks with enthusiasm about something they enjoy, it's kind of enjoyable even when you do not have the same interest in the subject.
The ones I skim a bit are the fish descriptions in 20.000 Leagues, which is a bit too much for me. But I'm kind of interested in the ones in Journey to the Center of the Earth, because of course at that time they did not even know about tectonics, so I try to see what elements are outdated and how they explained volcanos at the time. And I love tales of African and polar explorers, so I don't mind the info dumps about them in Five Weeks in a Balloon and in the Adventures of Captain Hatteras.
I have to say, it's only in his first novels that Verne did these info dumps. He later toned that down a lot. But, of course, his first novels include some of the best-known ones.
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