Definitely the work of an early writer, but very interesting, surprisingly funny at times, and you can draw a clear line from this to Farenheit 451. ( )

This has been on my bucket list for some time. "Paris in the Twentieth Century" by Jules Verne is a dystopian view of the future Paris. It is set in the 1960s and describes a world where art, culture and things of beauty have been replaced by mechanics, practicalities and order. It is a fascinating look at the possible development of the industrialised world. Some of his predictions were right (at least in part) and others mercifully, yet to pass (hopefully never). Worth a read. ( )

Do mine eyes deceive me or is this an actual good Verne story, i was beginning to think they were a myth (except for 20,000) but no this is actually really good.
A view of the far dystopian future of 1960, at least dystopian from the protagonists point of view but he specializes in latin poetry so its a little hard to sympathize ;) .
People these days are more interested in science and making money than wars or poetry, and the music just sounds like noise, not like the music we had in my day etc. etc.
Its quite a funny book, a dark comedy almost. The protagonist is only 16 and he's a poet so its not surprising he's having a hard time dealing with the real world. I really liked the dystopian view of literature, its not that books are banned however its just that the classics are wanted by so few people that nobody sells them anymore, they've died out naturally unlike in most dystopia's like Farhenheit-451.
There's a lot to like about this and its not too long and has just the right mix of story to scientific vision. ( )

París en el siglo XX, es una novela inédita de Julio Verne escrita en 1863, que dibuja con exactitud aterradora, a un París moderno en el que la tecnología ha desplazado al arte y la brutal dominación estatal ha convertido a la metrópolis en un lugar frío y deshumanizado.
De esta obra hasta hace algún tiempo, sólo se tenían referencias de algunos biógrafos que la mencionaban. Sin embargo, no había las pruebas materiales que comprobaran la existencia de los manuscritos originales. Descubierta recientemente en el año 1989 por Jean Verne, tataranieto del escritor galo, en la caja fuerte del hijo de Julio, Michel, nos brinda la oportunidad de conocer en su totalidad, la obra del prolífico novelista. ( )

"Whilst perusing the bookstore a week ago I came across a copy of this for a few bucks and couldn't help but pick it up. In the end, not sure it was worth it.

The summary is pretty much what you'd expect. Casting his mind forward 100 years Verne tells us what life will be like in 1960. In many ways he's not too far off the mark. His world isn't a total apocalyptic mess but it's not a particularly fun or artistic place either.

On the positive side, as always with Verne you have to admire his attention to details and his powers of prognostication. He does not insist on casting a rosy light on the future and describes it in wonderful and vibrant prose.

The negative side, however, is that all this vibrant detail can sometimes take a degree in French literature to untangle. He does, at times, go into a wealth of detail that only a native Parisian could properly appreciate. I bought this book with the intention of passing it along to the kids in the house but there's just too much of a Gordian knot in this text to hold their attention. This Verne is not focused so much on the technology of the future as he is the society of the future. It's an interesting and insightful view but it's a bit much to swallow.

In summary, not what I would have hoped for. This book has a lot to say for certain but it's just too tangled up with intimate details that just confuse the already rather brief plotline. One can understand why it may have remained unpublished for so long as a work of popular literature." ( )