The unexpected delights of too much time. (Jules Verne) [View all]

Last edited Mon May 4, 2020, 05:33 PM - Edit history (1)

So, I was watching a Great Courses vid on the history of science-fiction, which led me to a Jules Verne novel I hadn't heard of.

"Paris in the Twentieth Century", written in 1863, written about the year 1960, not published until 1994. That's right, a Jules Verne complete novel went unpublished for 130 years. Crazy!

Not only that, I think it's one of the best things he ever wrote. It is dark, and cynical, and dystopian...a far cry from his usual techno-optimism.

Here's a quote:

“Literature is dead, my boy' the uncle replied. 'Look at these empty rooms, and these books buried in their dust; no one reads anymore; I am the guardian of a cemetery here, and exhumation is forbidden".