A good one

A good reading of this complex masterpiece. It starts with a complete translation, which only a handful of Verne audiobooks do: the ones narrated by James Frain and Norman Dietz are among this handful. (Penguin Classics has also just released a good, complete reading of the novel.) Most Americans are unaware of just how hacked up most translations of Verne are. Almost all of the versions available on Audible use a terrible Victorian translation that is notoriously inaccurate and is also missing about 25% of Verne’s text! Naxos gets points for using a good translation as a basis for this audiobook. More about that in a minute, though.

Bill Homewood has a formal style of narration, complete with trilled Rs. It takes some getting used to, but it lends itself well to some of the lyrical descriptions of nature that appear here, and when the narrative picks up speed and passion, so does his voice. Naxos has recently released the other “Big Four” Verne titles, also narrated by Homewood (Journey to the Center of the Earth, Around the World in 80 Days, From the Earth to the Moon/Around the Moon).

FURTHER NOTE ON THE TRANSLATION. The translation Naxos used for this — an excellent one — is by FP Walter. At one time it was in the public domain, although I believe it has since been withdrawn, and Walter has published a much-revised translation as part of an anthology entitled “Amazing Journeys” (SUNY Press, 2010). All the translations are new, and it includes many of the original illustrations. If you’re a Verne fan, or you’re looking for a gift for one, check out Walter’s anthology.

28 people found this helpful

I just couldn’t do it...

I really wanted to like this story. It actually showed a lot of promise in the beginning but the longer it went on, the longer the story felt. I kept giving it chances, “maybe it will pick up the pace,” “maybe it will get better”... it didn’t.

I love Bill Homewood. He’s a great narrator. Highly recommend The Count of Monte Cristo! Listen to that one instead!

1 person found this helpful

Great narration but meh story

Hope you really want to learn about oceanic life. Cuz you will. Overall story is decent but far too much time is taken by classifying and explaining the nuances of marine life. Glad I did this by audio book... never would have made it through. All in all worth a listen.

1 person found this helpful

A Little Flat

This was well-written (well, it *is* a classic, after all) if a little description-heavy, and the reader's voice made for very pleasant listening. However, the reader's voice was so calm and mellow, it made the more exciting bits...not very. There was also very little of the more violent emotion shown in the reading - which might be fairly accurate as this is a first-person narrative and the more violent emotions come from other people. All-in-all, I enjoyed this but found it more soothing and interesting than exciting. I feel that Jules Verne was probably going for exciting so judge for yourself whether this is positive or negative.

1 person found this helpful

A monotonous yet moving marvel

Jules Verne's 20,000 Leagues is quite the novel. It can bore you to tears with classification of marine life (unless you enjoy that kind of thing) and then thrill you with terrifying or impressive drama. Bill Homewood does a remarkable job keeping the listener engaged, and indeed breathless as you imagine the crew about to perish from asphyxiation. Overall an enjoyable experience.

Excellent!

The story greatly exceeded my expectations. Bill Homewood does a great job with the characters and their personalities and voices to match.

Verne rambles on and on and on....

Yes the overall story is good, but Verne rambles excessively and often about classification of various species, to the point of detracting from the story. the average reader gets lost in the rambling.

Slow and boring

To much science, not near enough action to keep readers interested. To slow to keep the average reader awake!

A dream audiobook

The narrator is magic and the story is so full of events, marvellous adventures and long enough for you to feel part of it. Wish to find an illustrated book of it now. Thank you for this journey!

A very remarkable tale worth a second listen.

Enjoyable from beginning to end, Allowing your imagination to run free! Finely executed, the listener can sit back and soak in the vastness of the sea all awhile being spurred to adventure!