I finished The Mysterious Island by Jules Verne this week. It took longer than normal since we had a polar vortex and power outage to handle!
But completed I am! What a tale he wove from mysterious happenings, curious environment, colonialism, pirates, and a destructive ending.This story is about 5 unlikely strangers who escape on a hot air balloon from Confederate Virginia and crash on an unknown island. It's an early version of the tv series Lost, without the supernatural time travel mayhem.
I think what I like most about the book is it's references to other novels and historical happenings of the time. But no spoilers here. I would highly recommend reading 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea first if you want to have a deeper experience with the text.
The plot is a little long, but it makes sense that Verne takes his time telling the story...where are the castaways going to go? It is enjoyable to read about their various industries and their husbandry of the island.
There are several twists that make it difficult to put the book down, I ended up staying up later than I planned this entire week because I had to see what was going to happen next.
Another great thing about this book are the science and nature lessons. There is an engineer, Cyrus Smith, who helps the castaways produce iron, pottery, and many other things needed for people to survive, even thrive, comfortably. It inspired me to learn about resources and stewardship in a new way. I wonder if that a simple statement Verne was making...that stewardship can allow all to live comfortably if we just share and work collaboratively?
This was a great read, especially during a winter storm. I was grateful not to be a castaway for 4 years. At least I knew my storm had a quick end in sight.
3 down! 197 left.
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