• The Mysterious Island

  • By: Jules Verne
  • Narrated by: Berny Clark
  • Length: 19 hrs and 31 mins
  • 4.6 out of 5 stars (2,707 ratings)

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The Mysterious Island

By: Jules Verne
Narrated by: Berny Clark
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Editorial reviews

This 19th-century adventure novel will delight Verne fans. As in other works by Verne the characters are ideal and the plot seems convenient rather than organic. Verne was not a scientist, but he was obsessed by all the scientific disciplines. Verne’s novels are full of magical inventions and pseudo-scientific rhetoric. In The Mysterious Island, five men and a pooch land their balloon on an exotic island. They undertake to learn the secret of the place. Narrator Berny Clark’s lively voice sings out the animated dialogue. His excited yet genteel tone makes the densely descriptive text sound lighter and less mannered. His voice sustains an energetic lilt throughout his performance of this lengthy and exhaustively sketched fiction.

Publisher's summary

Based on the true story of Alexander Selkirk, who survived alone for almost five years on an uninhabited island off the coast of Chile, The Mysterious Island is considered by many to be Jules Verne’s masterpiece.

“Wide-eyed mid-nineteenth-century humanistic optimism in a breezy, blissfully readable translation by Stump” (Kirkus Reviews), here is the enthralling tale of five men and a dog who land in a balloon on a faraway, fantastic island of bewildering goings-on and their struggle to survive as they uncover the island’s secret.

Public Domain (P)2012 Audible, Inc.

What listeners say about The Mysterious Island

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

Everything from nothing!

It isn't very often that I finish an audiobook and walk around with a grin from ear to ear, chuckling. This book really grew on me and it was so much fun. I really enjoyed the characters and miss them now that the book is finished.

First, what this book isn't. Do not expect a-thrill-a-minute pace, do not expect sea monsters, vampires, or zombies. Do not expect political correctness--think of where we were in the 70's, 1970's, that is.

What this book is. It is a very well-done, old-fashioned survival tale. It is an all-male adventure that includes and all-knowing engineer and his African manservant, a seaman, a reporter, and a young teen boy. In addition, there is the indispensable dog, Top, and the orangutan, Joop, who wears a dinner jacket in his role as servant. The guys are stranded on a Pacific island after escaping imprisonment of sorts by the Confederates during the Civil War by stealing a hot air balloon and blowing away in a hurricane. They crash land with nothing but the shirts on their backs, but no matter, they have an engineer with them! This book is not a comedy, by any means, but is genuinely funny and I wonder how the excellent narrator could keep from laughing. Somehow he did keep from laughing and turned out the best possible narration for this book, narrating with total seriousness.

This book is a gem that takes a little patience to get a feel of where it's going. Once you do, just sit back, take it easy, and enjoy it. And just when you think you have figured it out, you will be hit with a twist that will make it ever more enjoyable. That is assuming you have not read EVERY review and particularly the one by the person who just has to, oh-so-innocently, include spoilers in their reviews.

You got nothing to loose and a lot of listening fun if you get this book!

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37 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

Great For It's Day

When you read something written in 1874, then you have to keep in mind, when it was written, the culture at the time and if Science Fiction, the knowledge at that time. There is no doubt in my mind that at the time this was written it was one of the best if not the best story you could obtain. Even reading it today as a 54 year old man, it brought back the wonder and the adventure I felt as a boy, going out and playing in the woods and pretending to be on a mysterious island. As a young boy the movie Mysterious Island was my favorite next to The Wizard of Oz.

The 60's movie and the book have very little in common. There are no giant birds, no girls, etc. If you buy the book, then you need to be ready for long sections, where they tell you step by step how to make gun powder, bricks, ovens, etc.

There is a lot that can be criticized about the book, which is fairly common for novels of the time period. The engineer is a perfect man, his knowledge is total, he is calm at all times, he is a great leader, etc. So many things just fall into place, such as one of them just happens to find a corn seed in the lining of his coat, one of them mentions they could really use a beast of burden and the next day two show up at there doorstep, everything they make or attempt comes out perfect, never a mistake. The ending is a super cop out of a miracle. It also bothers me that there are no women, that of these five men, none are married, don't seem to have families and never once miss anyone from home. Anytime someone is given up for dead, you can expect some miracle to bring them back to life. I believe this to be typical of 19th century adventure novels.

The book has a whole is very interesting, there are some really good parts, some intense parts and as long as you don't expect it to compete with modern writing then it is an enjoyable read.

The narrator was good for this type of book, I am not sure I would want him to read something which involved lots of emotion.

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21 people found this helpful

  • Overall
    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars
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    4 out of 5 stars

A look back of almost 150 years

I have always enjoyed the novels of Jules Verne. While not a scientist by training, his writing includes enough technical detail (perhaps too much, at times) to make the story very believable. What I enjoy is being able to listen or read stories from this era. I feel it is important to keep the story in context. Although published nearly 20 years after the U.S. Civil War, Verne does a good job of portraying the public face of civil behavior at the time. The caring yet always appropriate relationship between the main characters does not fit well in a RAP society where caring has lost its meaning to many.

Having said all that, Verne's story lines can become tedious when he does into detail on botanicals and phylogenetic classifications. Even so, that is his style and his work influenced many scientist.

As for Mr. Clark, the narrator, I felt he did an admirable job considering that Verne's writing (originally in French), is a struggle in translated works.

I read this book several times in the past and was curious how it would work as an audio book. I enjoyed it -- more than I thought I would.

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    4 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

What a story!

Even though it invokes something of the true story of Alexander Selkirk, thought to be the model for the character of Robinson Crusoe, The Mysterious Island is a creation quite unlike other castaway tales. The plot is a fantastic one from the start, as four men, a teenage boy and a dog escape a Civil War prison camp in Virginia by way of a balloon that is promptly blown thousands of miles by a hurricane, dropping them on a remote and unknown island in the Pacific. These learned, professional fellows fall from the sky without so much as a pocketknife, but within a few months apply their talents to create a thriving little community. Their feats of chemistry, botany, seamanship and engineering conquer one challenge after another, almost without effort or misfire, and their little group is unfailingly courteous, cooperative, and brilliant. There is never any dispute over leadership that would eventually afflict most mortals.

The “mysterious” aspect of the island is an unknown and invisible helping hand, and it steadily swells in the background from minor coincidence to the near-supernatural. No spoiler here—it is a terrific and engaging story.

A few words about the translation, even though it’s not a specialty I know much about. This one is quaint and stilted, a kind of period piece with elaborate, flowery dialogue on every occasion. On the one hand, it can at times use overly simplistic language. But at other times, it almost seems the translator has selected a few of the most complicated and impressive words possible from the thesaurus, and then used them to death. The verb “expiate,” for instance, in a variety of conjugations, must appear more times in this book than in all the other literature of the 19th century combined.

Perhaps it’s true to Verne’s intentions and his times. Maybe it’s more authentic. But it would be interesting to hear this amazing story written in a more accessible and conversational, and therefore less distracting style.

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11 people found this helpful

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    5 out of 5 stars
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    5 out of 5 stars

It's Verne. What do you expect!

Like all of Verne's works. The dialog shows it's age, I find that charming rather than bothersome. Verne was a visionary, and I rate 'Mysterious Island' among his best. If classic literature is your thing, you will love this.

Berney Clark's performance was right on the mark. I would definitely listen to him in the future.

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    2 out of 5 stars
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    3 out of 5 stars
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    2 out of 5 stars

Can't recommend it

I grew up reading Verne, 20,000 Leagues being an early favorite, but unfortunately, as important a figure as he may be in literature and scifi history, I don't think his writing holds up. I've revisited Verne a few times over recent years and though I love Nemo etc. I can't enjoy him now. His novels are, and it pains me to say it, better in an abridged version. This one in particular just goes on far too long and slowly and belabors events. And the narrator didn't help either, very slow and monotonous. I finished it, but I cheated and put the playback speed up to 2x.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Good performance of a great novel

Good performance of a long novel, in my opinion, the best by Jules Verne. Not as splashy or science-fictiony as "20,000 Leagues Under the Sea" or "Journey to the Center of the Earth" but in a way more satisfying as the six colonists-castaways to Lincoln Island in the remote South Pacific are creative and technically adept. Led by Engineer Cyrus Harding, their de facto leader, they make industrial devices, puddle iron and steel, harness hydropower and wind, domesticate animals and even synthesize nitroglycerine to reshape their island dwelling.

The book is in no small way inspired by Johann Wyss' "Swiss Family Robinson" and in fact, characters in this book appear in two others--"Their Island Home" and "In Search of the Castaways " which also serve as a sequel to Wyss' adventure book.

Despite this being rather technical, I enjoyed it as a grade school student and I still enjoy the book--admiring the adventure and the tension of encounters with a continual mystery of inexplicable events, vicious pirates and deadly beasts, inclement weather and geological upheavals. The appearance of a famous figure from another Verne book is just the icing on the cake.

The book is complex to read and in these days of short reels and quickly resolved stories, perhaps a slog for most readers. Therefore, the audiobook is highly recommended to get deep into the story. This would be a wonderful book to play on a long road trip, or in episodes for non-screen activities with the family. This still, after decades, is my favorite Jules Verne book.I love this performance. The only "iffy" part is Pencroft the Sailor's voice as interpreted by Clark but it is a matter of taste; the voice is appropriate but I find it a bit gruff. And many words are mispronounced due to the British spelling, ie draught is "pronounced draft" but that's a quibble. Highly recommended.

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Now I understand

Now I understand why this is a classic. How the hell did he predict cold fusion back in 1874? Splitting hydrogen and oxygen from water? crazy. He also totally plugged his earlier boom 20,000 leagues under the sea at the end of mysterious island. So read that one first maybe?

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  • Overall
    5 out of 5 stars

My All Time Favorite Book!

What else can I say? I love Jules Verne and most especially The Mysterious Island.

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    5 out of 5 stars
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Builds and builds to a great read!

Where does The Mysterious Island rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

I would put this book securely among the top ten I've listened to.

What other book might you compare The Mysterious Island to and why?

I could easily compare this book to other classics like The Swiss Family Robinson, Robinson Crusoe, and Journey to the Center of the Earth by the same author.

Which scene was your favorite?

I most enjoyed the "big reveal" towards the end. Honestly I did not see it coming though looking back I probably should have.

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

I would not really use the word moved but I thought the cavern named Granite House was in my minds eye spectacular.

Any additional comments?

This book is written back before instant gratification was the norm. Due to this expect a slow start that familiarizes and endears the reader to each character and truly makes one empathize with the whole crew. I love the execution and can honestly say I felt as if I were there on the island with them. Don't be surprised if in the reading you meet me there!

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