Jules Verne is a pioneer of the sci-fi genre,
and for that reason alone, any of his books are worth the read. Furthermore,
the novel, and writing style in general, have changed significantly in the ~150
years since this book's publication, and therefore he gets a bit of leniency.
However, as a modern reader, I have to
acknowledge that the writing is classic science fiction tedium. The style is
dry. It's a bit repetitive.
And yet, one cares! I had to finish the book,
because I had to know what fate would bring the characters, and I wasn't
disappointed. Still, the tension I felt was very much as an outsider. I was not
immersed in this book so much as I was fascinated by it.
While I said the writing style was a bit dry, it
also exhibited some dry humor. Verne subtly expresses his impression of
Americans. Apparently, the rest of the world has always been a bit befuddled by
the American Love of Guns.
In From the Earth to the Moon, Verne
describes the members of a gun club being depressed after a global peace
accord. Their president comes up with a brilliant challenge for the club -
let's see if we can shoot a projectile to the moon!
The club takes up the task with vim. They
consult with astronomers on the best time to reach the moon. They fund the construction
of a new telescope that will allow them to watch their projectile arrive at the
moon. They calculate the velocity needed to reach the moon, and all the
requirements to reach the desired velocity and trajectory. Then, they set about
building a giant columbiad.
Their self-assuredness and determination are
admirable, and yet I worried. They seemed foolhardy, too casual. In this way,
Verne's writing was a distinct success. It caused me anxiety. While they are
hypothesizing that there may be life on the far side of the moon, or that there
may be an atmosphere hiding on the distant face, I was yelling at the
characters "no, no, no, you guys! Don't do it - there is no air up
there!"
Originally they were simply going to shoot a
round shot at the moon, but eventually the Gun Club was persuaded to send
people in a casing we would call "bullet-shaped". This ratcheted up
my anxiety. Now, as a 21st century reader, I knew they were on a crash course
with tragedy. Surely, Verne knew this. Surely, I wasn't going to be
disappointed by an author failing to carry through and coming up with some
mamby-pamby happy ending...
Still, when I could see there were only short
paragraphs left, I was stressed. How is Verne going to wrap this up? He didn't
put a radio in the casing (because they didn't exist at that time), so how
would we know the travelers' fate? The point of view does not follow the
travelers.
So, I knew we were heading for tragedy, but
still, the ending surprised me. It’s a short book that I definitely recommend.
I understand that there
is a sequel, and **spoiler alert** I have heard that in it, reentry is somehow
engineered. I have to say, I'm a bit disappointed. I would have preferred to
simply have it end in a tragedy - one which forces me to continue devising
plans to get out of.
~MB
Indicia
Title: De la terre à la lune, Translated to English as From the Earth to the Moon
Author: Jules Verne
Publisher: Scholastic Book Services
Edition: 3rd Printing, September 1966
First Publication: 1865
