Round the World Again in 80 Days: Tour du Monde en 80 Jours (Mon Premier Voyage) - Softcover

Cocteau, Jean

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1860645925 ISBN 13: 9781860645921

Publisher: Tauris Parke Paperbacks, 2000

Synopsis

Jean Cocteau retraces the most celebrated round-the-world voyage of all time: that of Jules Verne’s Phileas Fogg in 1873. Taking up an impulsive challenge from the editor of Paris-Soir, Cocteau sets off with his very own ‘Passepartout’ as companion on a picaresque voyage some sixty-three years after his fictional predecessor. He finds that the journey has lost none of its hazards and adventures as he races around the globe in tramp-ship, railway and ocean liner. Observing and recording the frenetic change of scenes from Athens and Alexandria to Bombay, Rangoon, and Yokohama and finally across the United States, Cocteau’s witty, subjective and sometimes outrageous narrative gives this unique travel-memoir a camp and stylish spin.

About this title

About the Author:

Jean Cocteau was one of the greatest literary and artistic talents of the century. Modernist poet, novelist, playwright, filmmaker, artist and designer, he collaborated with Diaghilev, Picasso and Stravinsky.

From Publishers Weekly:

In 1936, Cocteau circled the globe, following the route of Phileas Fogg in Jules Verne's Around the World in 80 Days and writing regular dispatches about his travels for the newspaper Paris-Soir. (Callow's informative new introduction sets Cocteau's trip in the context of his whole career.) First published in book form (and in English translation) in 1936 and 1937, this compilation of articles remains a rushed and superficial performance, lacking the drama and suspense of Verne's classic. Still, fans of travel writing or of Cocteau will find this whirlwind jaunt an enjoyable romp, studded with startling observations on diverse cultures and flashes of subversive wit. In Rome, the French poet/novelist/dramatist/filmmaker paints a chilling picture of Mussolini's fascism tightening its stranglehold on the nation. In Greece, he sifts forlorn vestiges of the mythical landscape that had fueled his imagination and art. Notions of the exotic, the mysterious Orient and downtrodden yet spiritual people color Cocteau's vivid account of travels in Japan, India, Singapore, Burma, Malaya and Hong Kong. Joining Cocteau on his globe-hopping tour was his lover Marcel Khill, who sought out brothels and opium dens with him. Honolulu, San Francisco, Hollywood, New York all pass by in a blur of hasty impressions, dazzling imagery, clich s and scattered genuine insights for, at his best, Cocteau writes with the soul of a poet and the sharp eye of a seasoned world traveler. (July)

Copyright 2000 Cahners Business Information, Inc.

About this edition

• Publisher: Tauris Parke Paperbacks
• Publication date: 2000
• ISBN 10: 1860645925
• ISBN 13: 9781860645921
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 266