描述
开 本: 16开纸 张: 胶版纸包 装: 平装是否套装: 否国际标准书号ISBN: 9780345420398
In 1863, Jules Verne was a young writer with one published
novel under his belt and a new multibook contract with a prominent
French publisher in hand. The publisher, however, rejected Verne’s
second manu*, opting to bring out his Journey to the Center of
the Earth instead. That manu* apparently disappeared into a
drawer, not to see the light of day again until it was rediscovered
and published in 1994. Now it has been rendered into English by the
eminent poet and translator Richard Howard. Verne’s early books
tend to feature adventure plots and a positive attitude towards
technology. This novel, however, shows Verne in a darker, frankly
dystopian mood. His mid-20th century Paris is an enormously wealthy
society, a place of technological wonders, but, like Huxley’s Brave
New World, it is also a society without meaningful art. Engineering
and banking are the prime industries of this civilization and, as
the book’s protagonist discovers, not even the most talented poet
can find a place for himself unless he’s willing to produce odes to
blast furnaces or locomotives. While the narrative contains many
startling predictions?among them fax machines, electronic
calculators, automobiles and elaborate subway systems?there is
little here in the way of either plot or character development.
It’s clear, in fact, that in opting for Journey to the Center of
the Earth, Verne’s publisher chose the better book. Drawings not
seen by PW.
Copyright 1996 Reed Business Information, Inc. –This text refers
to the Hardcover edition.
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