
20,000 Leagues Under the Sea
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Narrated by:
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Norman Dietz
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By:
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Jules Verne
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Editorial reviews
Jules Verne’s classic gets a stirring performance by audiobook veteran Norman Dietz. Dietz takes listeners on a wild ride as an expedition of scientists begins a journey to discover what ripped a hole in the hull of the Cunard ship Scotia. As they travel to the polar regions where an alleged sea monster is decimating ships, Dietz keeps the pace upbeat. Dietz’s voice creates clear portraits of the members of the expedition and paints vivid pictures of their encounter with the mad genius Captain Nemo, his incredible vessel, the Nautilus, and the beauties of the world beneath the sea.
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Lots of detail
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A book I have wanted for a long time
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But why sinister? Because when Aronnax discovers a shell whose whorls go to the left rather than to the right - apparently an event as rare as a black swan - he exclaims to Conseil: "It's a sinister shell!" - "sinister," of course, being Latin for "left-handed."
That illustrates one of the problems of the translation. It's unusually complete - for a 19th century translation of this book - but it's sometimes worded awkwardly, with a preference for literal rather than idiomatic turns of phrase.
Some of those turns of phrase obscure quite a bit. One of the howlers - familiar to Vernians from the more frequently reprinted translation of Lewis Mercier - has Aronnax returning from "the disagreeable territory of Nebraska." A translator more attuned to colloquial speech would realize that Verne was talking about the Badlands.
Still, awkwardly worded though it is at times, it's reasonably accurate; and it has the advantage of having one of the audiobook world's best storytellers, Norman Dietz. Dietz has a way of "spinning a yarn" that fits this epic adventure very well. His voice is at times unfashionably breathy, but like Anthony Heald, he has the knack of sounding like he's making the story up as he goes along.
So it's a bit of a wash. The translation gets a C, the narration gets an A. Listen to the sample and see which is more important to you. First time listeners of Verne might be better served by the F P Walter version, read by Peter Hunsmann, or the Anthony Bonner version, read by James Frain. Neither of those narrators are as congenial to me as Dietz, but check them all out.
(If you decide to go with this, here are a few of the more obscure terms to watch out for. "Sinister" means left-handed, as already noted. "Carbonic acid" is carbon dioxide. "Azote" is nitrogen. "Cachalots" are sperm whales. "Poulps" are squid. "Secretary of Marine" means "Secretary of the Navy." And the "sonorous stroke" that Ned Land's harpoon makes might be more colloquially rendered as a "ringing sound.")
Whatever you do, avoid the audio versions that use the Mercier version. It's easy to recognize: it starts out, "The year 1866 was signalized by...." As soon as you hear the word "signalized," put it back on the shelf and move on. However good the narrator, you won't be getting Verne.
Great narration, translation a bit stilted
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