¡Un clásico de aventuras!

Escrito a principios del siglo pasado, El mundo perdido es uno de los libros de aventuras por antonomasia. El tono y el ritmo de la narración me han recordado mucho a los libros de Julio Verne. De hecho, creo que tiene más en común con éstos que con los libros escritos por el propio Conan Doyle sobre su personaje más famoso, el detective Sherlock Holmes. Puede que por eso, por esperar de éste las mismas emociones que sentí con los libros sobre el famoso detective, el conjunto total no me haya llenado tanto.

Es un libro entretenido, contado de la misma forma que muchos otros clásicos que he leído recientemente, mediante el recurso de la acción contada mediante cartas. Edward Malone, periodista de la Gazette, es el encargado de narrar el viaje que les llevará a él, a los profesores Challenger y Summerlee, y al aventurero/cazador Lord John Roxton a confirmar la existencia de vida prehistórica en la tierra de Maple white, una meseta perdida y prácticamente inaccesible en algún lugar del amazonas.

Poco más se puede decir, aparte de que me sigue asombrando el increíble conocimiento que Conan Doyle derrocha en cada página. Da igual que sea sobre zoología, botánica, geología... no hay nada que quede fuera de la órbita del saber de este hombre.

Es un libro corto, de unas trescientas páginas, que se dejan leer y que carece de momentos de pérdida de intensidad. Lo recomiendo para amantes de los clásicos más que para aquellos a quienes les gustan los libros de aventuras, pues, si no se lee teniendo en cuenta cuándo fue escrito (1912), puede que más de uno se lleve una desilusión.

3.75 estrellas.

Until researching the review for this book I hadn’t realised what a complex and contradictory person Arthur Conan Doyle was. Published in 1912, “The Lost World”, is the first book in Doyle’s the Professor Challenger series. Challenger is a zoologist who returns from an expedition to the Amazon basin with flimsy evidence that he had found, “Creatures which were supposed to be Jurassic, monsters who would hunt down and devour our largest and fiercest mammals, still exist.” After he was accused of being a fraud and a liar he sets out on a return expedition with three companions to bring back tangible proof of his discoveries. Doyle later wrote two further books and two short stories in this series.

I had mixed reactions to this novel. First the positives, this is my favourite non Sherlock Holmes book and Challenger is my favourite character from it. Doyle in his autobiography, “Memories and Adventures“, states that he based Challenger on one of his lecturers from the University of Edinburgh when he was studying for a Bachelor of Medicine -

“Most vividly of all, however, there stands out in my memory the squat figure of Professor Rutherford with his Assyrian beard, his prodigious voice, his enormous chest and his singular manner. He fascinated and awed us. I have endeavoured to reproduce some of his peculiarities in the fictitious character
of Professor Challenger.”

In the novel the journalist Edward Malone when he first encounters Challenger provides the following description -

“His head was enormous, the largest I have ever seen upon a human being…He had the face and beard which I associate with an Assyrian bull; the former florid, the latter so black as almost to have a suspicion of blue, spade-shaped and rippling down over his chest.…his head not higher than my shoulder—a stunted Hercules whose tremendous vitality had all run to depth, breadth, and brain”.

Malone’s colleague Tarp Henry says that Challenger is -

“…one of those men whom nobody can ignore. He’s as clever as they make ‘em—a full-charged battery of force and vitality, but a quarrelsome, ill-conditioned faddist, and unscrupulous at that.”

Even his wife says that, “he is a perfectly impossible person—absolutely impossible”.

It is these unpleasant Challenger characteristics however that later will prove to be vital during the second expedition.

My problem with this novel is the racism. For example In Chapter 7 I was disappointed when I encountered the following passage -

“The first is a gigantic negro named Zambo, who is a black Hercules, as willing as any horse, and about as intelligent.”

Zambo is later described as being, “faithful as a dog.” It must be remembered however that without his help the expedition would have failed and lives lost.

In addition there are numerous references to what Doyle describes as ,“half-breed Indians”.

This racism is contradictory given the fact that Doyle had earlier written a non-fiction book in 1909 entitled, “The Crimes of the Congo”, about the human rights abuses being perpetuated by King Leopold II of Belgium in the Congo Free State. His brutal and autocratic rule is said to have resulted in the deaths of between 10 to 15 million people.

From Doyle’s autobiography -

“In 1910 a fresh task opened up before me. It arose from my being deeply moved by reading some of the evidence concerning the evil rule, not of Belgium, but of the King of the Belgians in the Congo…the evidence for the atrocities
is overwhelming and from very many sources, the Belgians themselves being among the best witnesses”.

For a terrific book on the subject see, “King Leopoldo’s Ghost: A story of Greed, Terror and Heroism in Colonial Africa”, by Adam Hochschild written in 1999.

Instances of racism are not only isolated to this novel but can also be found in some of Doyle’s sixty Sherlock Holmes novels and short stories. In the, “Sign of the Four”, for example the aborigines of the Andaman Islands are described as, “naturally hideous, having large, misshapen heads, small, fierce eyes, and distorted features.”

Tonga who is a minor antagonist in the novel - “Never have I seen features so deeply marked with all bestiality and cruelty. ”

From, “The Adventures of the Six Napoleons”, the photo of the antagonist Bepoo was described as follows -

“It was evidently taken by a snap-shot from a small camera. It represented an alert, sharp-featured simian man, with thick eyebrows and a very peculiar projection of the lower part of the face, like the muzzle of a baboon.”

Later Bepoo was encountered committing a crime -

“In an instant, without the least sound to warn us of his coming, the garden gate swung open, and a lithe, dark figure, as swift and active as an ape, rushed up the garden path”.

#RetoEdwardianspirit de la cuenta @victorianspiritsblog, premisa “Libro en lo Salvaje”.

Publicada en 1912 y clásico entre los clásicos dentro de la literatura de ciencia ficción y aventuras’ “El Mundo Perdido” narra las peripecias de una partida de exploración en su viaje hacia lo más profundo del Amazonas Sudamericano. Encabezados por el genial y engreído doctor Challenger, los cuatro miembros del grupo buscaran un inhóspito y escondido lugar que ha quedado al margen de la evolución,el cual el doctor descubrió en un viaje anterior. Dicho mundo está habitado por hombres primitivos, criaturas a medio camino entre el mono y el hombre, extrañas especies de animales y plantas, y dinosaurios.

Reconozco que tenía sentimientos encontrados a la hora de empezar esta novela. Me imaginaba que iba a ser una lectura relativamente ligera, pero admito que me daba un poco de pereza empezarla.No he leído mucha ciencia ficción, es un género al que debería prestar más tiempo y atención porque no me ha desagradado para nada las incursiones que hecho en él. Pero aún así, siempre me produce cierta pereza empezar un libro de este tipo. Pero por otro lado me hacía mucha ilusión leer una novela de Arthur Conan Doyle que no tuviera nada que ver con su más célebre creación, cierto detective victoriano que vive en la calle Baker de Londres. Esta es la primera novela que leo de Conan Doyle que no tiene nada que ver con ese personaje y eso me inspiraba, por si solo, no poca curiosidad.

Y tengo que reconocer que el libro me ha sorprendido para bien. Al principio se me hizo un poco pesado, me parece que toda la narración en los primeros capítulos era excesivamente lenta y los personajes me parecieron muy exagerados (sobre todo el del doctor Challenger). Me costó bastante conectar con la obra en general, la verdad. Pero una vez que lo hice y empezaron a desencadenarse los acontecimientos dentro de lo que ha sido la novela, ha sido no poder dejarla ni a sol ni a sombra, no he podido parar de leer hasta haber llegado al final. Creo que la gracia de esta novela es la misma que podemos encontrar en las obras de Sherlock Holmes: Un argumento en el que se dan de la mano el misterio y la tensión con la ciencia de la época; personajes que sin ser excesivamente profundo tienen características individuales muy claras, lo que permite distinguirlas fácilmente unos de otros; y una prosa vivaz y amena que se lee con mucha facilidad. Para mí la gracia total de “ El Mundo Perdido” es la manera en que Conan Doyle mantiene perfectamente el equilibrio entre las minuciosas descripciones del mundo de Maple White (que es como nuestros aventureros bautizan a esa parte perdida de Sudamérica), el misterio y la intriga; la antropología de este mundo y las teorías científicas por las que aboga la novela; y el sentido de la aventura y el descubrimiento. Y todo ello con unas descripciones del entorno muy conseguidas, que quizás a veces resulte un poco pesadas, pero imprescindibles para transportar al lector a ese mundo inhóspito y peligroso.

Durante la mayor parte del libro, la trama tiene un ritmo muy ágil y refrescante, y en ella no paran de ocurrir cosas y de darse descubrimientos y giros de guión que mantienen en vilo al lector totalmente. Estamos ante una obra que mientras la lees se te despierta el sentido de la imaginación y de la aventura, que te transporta plenamente a ese mundo perdido que sale de la pluma de Conan Doyle. Sus personajes están caracterizados de una forma sencilla pero muy efectiva.Durante toda la lectura la recorre un clima de humor socarrón que casa muy bien con los personajes, y que hace que sea todo mucho más ameno y tenga hasta cierta chispa. Nosotros, como lectores, conocemos los hechos por medio de la pluma de Malone, un periodista escocés que se ha embarcado en esta aventura para lograr la aprobación de su amada. Es un personaje con el que es muy fácil empatizar, y no solo porque veamos todo lo que pasa a través de sus ojos y por medio de los documentos que escribe. Se trata de que, aunque es bastante avispado y lanzado cuando la situación lo requiere, también tiene sus momentos de debilidad , se ve obligado a sobreponerse a sus propios miedos, y comete algún que otro error. A Malone le acompañan otros tres aventureros en este viaje plagado de misterios, criaturas supuestamente extintas y no pocos peligros. Entre ellos destaca el del doctor Challenger, un personaje que recuerda un poco a Sherlock Holmes, pero siendo bastante más bestia , maleducado y engreído que el celebre detective. Challenger Es el típico personaje que te cae mal cuando lo conoces, espero que poco a poco va cayéndote mejor y no puede evitar despertar simpatías, ya que el buen hombre, al final, no es tan malo e insoportable.

Y antes de que digáis nada, sí. Se nota muchísimo que es un libro que fue escrito y publicado hace más de cien años. Hay varias ideas y comentarios supremacistas blancos, y a los negros y mestizos se les representa como muy malos o muy leales y buenos, pero simples como ellos solo. Los cuatro protagonistas principales, miembros de la expedición antropológica, son el epítome por antonomasia del hombre blanco, siempre salen al paso de todo lo que se acontece gracias a su arrojo, perspicacia ya lo varoniles que son los cuatro, cada uno a su manera. Todo el libro es una oda al supremacismo blanco, a la inteligencia y a la gran capacidad de adaptación y de control del entorno por parte del hombre blanco. Se nota muchísimo que el libro es hijo de otra época, y alguno eso puede tirarle para atrás mientras lee. Aunque yo, por mi parte, no estoy de acuerdo con esta visión, y me aburro cuando me la encuentro en algún libro, me he tomado esta lectura como lo que creo que es realmente: un producto añejo que en ciertos sentidos ha envejecido mal. Pero que no deja de ser una historia de aventuras en la que la tensión, el misterio y los descubrimientos antropológicos está muy bien llevados con una trama muy interesante y fluida. Es hija de su momento histórico para bien y para mal.

En definitiva, “El Mundo Perdido” pasará por ser una lectura bastante agradable. No será uno de mis favoritos ni del año ni de la vida, pero no esperaba mucho de él, y me ha dado a cambio bastantes buenos momentos. Aunque al principio me ha costado un poco conectar con él, ha sido una lectura que al final me ha entretenido mucho y que ha logrado que me evada de la realidad. Y con eso me quedo. Como siempre, leer a Arthur Conan Doyle es un auténtico placer.

Almost exasperated by the fame of his most iconoclast creation Sherlock Holmes, Sir Arthur Conan Doyle devoted the lesser-known part of his oeuvre to other works which deserve a reappraisal of their own. Written and published in the first quarter of the twentieth century, at a time when the genre of the same name had already become a relic of the past, "The Lost World", in its giddy and exhilarating fashion, already seemed like a Boy's Own yarn in an epoch of the realism of Joyce and Woolf and yet, why is it that this simple swashbuckling adventure, perhaps more spectacular than any other adventure novel written these humdrum days, should appeal to us again? Among other things, it ranks even today as his most famous and influential work of fiction next to his wealth of detective stories - a novel that introduced to us a roguishly charming character in Professor Challenger and also a sterling science-fiction story that is rooted solidly in evolutionary theory.

Raffish Irish journalist Edward Malone is head over heels in love with the beautiful but obstinate Gladys, who fills him with the thirst for adventure that would earn him the status of a romantic hero in her eyes. He is tasked to interview George Edward Challenger - a somewhat obnoxious but passionate adventurer who is already hounded by malicious journalists and skeptical scientists; he has created an uproar with his alleged discoveries of Jurassic life in South America. The initially short-tempered Challenger warms up to Malone's bravado and curiosity and soon, they, along with the game-hunting peer Lord John Roxton and the almost ascetic Professor Summerlee, embark on an epic expedition to prove these theories in truth.

The said expedition turns out to be an incredible adventure that Doyle orchestrates with plenty of wit and wonder - the former sparkles in the pitch-perfect repartee among our four adventurers - each with his own distinct quality or quirk - and the latter, in the exotic and exhilarating and even dangerous sights, sounds and sensations that surprise and stun the reader beyond belief. In the fine tradition of Henry Rider Haggard and Rudyard Kipling, "The Lost World" develops the milieu of the story with persuasive cohesion and credibility - the vividly imagined world of Maple White Plateau that is teeming with species that have survived miraculously many thousands of years feels extremely convincing and urgent in its blend of menace and mesmeric beauty. And once our adventurers witness the awe-inspiring spectacle of the serenely grazing iguanadons, the more eerie sight of the swarming pterodactyls and the truly unnerving carnivore who skulks around in the dark; we are held in thrall by the kind of compulsive, cinematic storytelling that even Michael Crichton's Jurassic Park novels (and even the Spielberg films) would pale in front of.

Like Haggard, Doyle is equally unafraid to infuse a streak of almost savage brutality into the proceedings - with the presence of the feral ape-men and the equally fierce natives with whom the adventurers clash and unite respectively, making for a darkly poetic ballad of barbaric violence and incisive assault. And he even brings an element of atmospheric suspense into the proceedings - the knack of which he honed with his Holmes stories and the novel thus revels in many a brilliantly staged scene of tension - the flustered hostility of the pterodactyls, the strange, sinister portents of murder by the call of the tribes in the banks of the Amazon, the deadly, stealthy patrol of the carnivore at night and the constant danger of the ape-men in the wilds of the plateau.

"The Lost World" was published in 1925, which explains how it deconstructs modern-day skepticism in favour of the classic ideals of chivalry and discovery. The frantic debate over Challenger's findings and chronicles gives Doyle a ripe opportunity to examine the rationalistic mindset of the contemporary times which is thwarted audaciously, almost devilishly, in the end - a scene that one must read to believe in its entirety and which provides a gloriously fitting end to the adventure. It is also telling that while technological advances of transport do accelerate the progress of our adventurers in the initial chapters, the style of the actual sensational adventure is stirring in its traditional celebration of masculine courage and charisma - the deftly rendered comradeship among these characters and the unique way in which these men come together to discover startling things and even work together to reach back civilisation lends the novel its real human quality.

Science and even the evolutionary theory play an essential part in the novel's proceedings. Challenger and Summerlee quote Darwin and Wallace in their scientific arguments and the central idea of "The Lost World" is intriguing, even in its preposterous nature: what if the exotic environment of South America's immensities can actually be fortuitous in sustaining the flora and fauna of the past many thousands of years? This aspect of a scientific mind distinguishes it from Haggard's adventures, which featured philosophic game-hunters and prospectors prowling around in Africa with a boyish sense of curiosity, and places it more in the league of H.G Wells' scientific romances. Yet, Doyle remarkably and intelligently keeps the science light and enjoyably accessible, even witty and crammed with enough intriguing detail to pique the curiosity of the reader successfully.

In his epigraph to the novel, Doyle declares his intention with simple honesty - "to give one hour of joy to the boy who's half a man or the man who's half a boy". Nothing can be truer of "The Lost World" than this simple plan of a storyteller, revered by Graham Greene no less, supremely assured of his abilities. It is truly the kind of rousing, exciting and dangerous adventure that boys, men and everyone in between will enjoy in spades and treasure as an indelible, enlightening experience.

I had never read anything by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and I didn’t want to start with his most popular work (Sherlock Holmes). The concept of a lost world discovered at a point in history when the world was not yet completely mapped out and labeled appealed to me. The Lost World was strangely appealing so I downloaded it from Project Gutenberg.

This book had so many things going against it. One of the main characters was a real bastard. Professor Challenger is a big, conceited ape of man that will beat you up if you show any signs that you don’t believe his “theories”. He refers to having seen dinosaurs as a theory. Hmmm. The so-called scientific expedition slaughters living things to get revenge. Challenger’s idea of getting scientific evidence is to shoot it and bring a carcass back to England.

Despite this adulteration of scientific ethics, this book was adventurous, fun and light. Not just the old, charming British style of writing, but the antiquated notions – such as those listed above – added to the fantastic/historic setting made reading this a lot of fun. Were it written today I probably wouldn’t have read it at all.

It’s my first book in the lost world genre, and I’m happy that I enjoyed it. I’m not dying to read the next book in the Professor Challenger series, but I’m sure I will. After all, you can get them all for free at gutenberg.org and other places with public domain books.

محاولة نصف ناجحة للتغلب على الريدنج بلوك.

قصة لا بأس بها.

Creo que el inicio es un poco lento, pero no te hace dejar el libro. Una vez que comienza la aventura, que llega bastante rápido se vuelve sumamente interesante. En ese punto los personajes ya comienzan a tomar vida, dejan de ser planos y empiezas a tomarles aprecio. Las descripciones de los monstruos son buenas y creíbles. El final me tomo por sorpresa, lo inteligente que fue Lord John. Los demás tenían sus propias metas personales, fue un buen final me gusto y me dejo con ganas que haya una segunda parte, pero no existe.
Novela recomendad, para los amantes de la aventura.

Arthur Conan Doyle's 'The Lost World' is a captivating and extraordinary adventure that provides a thrilling glimpse into an unknown and mysterious world. The story follows the charismatic protagonist, Professor Challenger, who vehemently and unwaveringly claims the existence of a hidden island inhabited by prehistoric creatures. Accompanied by a diverse group of brave adventurers, Challenger embarks on a journey into the unknown, through a dense and inhospitable jungle, in search of evidence of his incredible discovery. The hidden island unfolds as a world of wonder and terror, inhabited by dinosaurs, prehistoric creatures, and breathtaking landscapes.

Doyle's words come to life, immersing the reader in a reality so vivid that they feel like an integral part of the exploration. Through the pages of the book, Doyle explores profound themes such as evolution, survival, and the clash between the modern world and the ancient one. With his passionate style and engaging storytelling, the book offers an extraordinary perspective on the exploration of the unknown and the perseverance of humanity. It is an unforgettable journey through the impossible that awakens the desire for adventure and discovery in each of us.

I can't quite put my finger on what rubbed me the wrong way. I expect it's the... well, everything, really.

The story seems to be fairly straightforward: Malone is a reporter trying to write a piece on Professor Challenger, a man who claims he saw dinosaurs on an isolated plateau in South America and is now considered a quack. Due to youthful recklessness (and in order to impress a young woman), he ends up as part of an expedition to verify those claims.

In short: they find the dinosaurs. There are iguanodons and pterodactyls and possibly an allosaurus or megalosaurus, but the latter is described like a "toad" and it kills its prey by jumping on top of it; it's also said it has no brain, as such.

I... guess?... ¯_(ツ)_/¯

This was, of course, before the discovery of much of what we take for granted about dinosaurs today, so I don't hold it against A.C. Doyle that his apex predators are glorified reptilian toads, or that you have megafauna in a place that's severely limited spatially.

No, my biggest question is: why the heck are the pterodactyls stuck on the isolated plateau? They fly. They have, like, wings and stuff. They are shown as capable of flying off the plateau, then going back on it. Even if I accept that the bigger animals can't leave because the cliffs are too tall and other pathways too small for them - what's keeping the pterodactyls from spreading?

Then, because there's little plot to be had in "oooh, dinosaurs", two tribes are discovered on the plateau: one of ape-men, and one of humans. With the help of the explorers, the human tribe murders most of the ape-men, enslaving the rest. O...k...

Add lack of characterization, racism, a surprising lack of actual interactions with dinosaurs, and a bit of boredom and the result is just not that great. Unless this book was meant to be a parody, in which case it's still not that great, but in a very different way.

Fajna przygodówka. 4⭐

En ‘El Mundo Perdido’, Arthur Conan Doyle se aleja del género detectivesco para ofrecernos todo un clásico de la literatura de aventuras, en un viaje fantástico a la Tierra de Maple White, en el misterioso Amazonas. El narrador es el periodista Edward Malone, que para demostrar su amor a una joven dama, decide emprender una gran aventura a la menor oportunidad. Será entonces cuando su periódico le encomiende la tarea de entrevistarse con cierto profesor Challenger para saber si lo que aduce sobre una tierra perdida en la que todavía viven animales prehistóricos tiene trazas de credibilidad. Tras una presentación no demasiado tranquila, ya que Challenger odia a muerte a los periodistas, Malone conseguirá la confianza de este. Pero las teorías de Challenger se están convirtiendo en el hazmerreír de la Zoología, así que no tendrá más remedio que embarcarse en una nueva aventura, esta vez con testigos que verifiquen su descubrimiento.

La aventura y el viaje están servidos: lugares increíbles, seres que se creían extintos, pueblos perdidos, la lucha por la propia subsistencia. Una historia imperecedera.

Romanian review: Îmi imaginez că ,,O lume dispărută" a avut asupra cititorilor săi același impact pe care l-a avut Jurassic Park cu multe decenii mai târziu în ceea ce privește stârnirea interesului față de dinozauri.
Dacă personajele și acțiunea nu sunt ceva extraordinar pentru secolul XXI, punctul forte al cărții lui Arthur Conan Doyle este imaginația. Creatorul lui Sherlock Holmes scrie o carte de aventuri distractivă, în genul cărților lui Jules Verne, încărcată cu informație științifică și în care se întâmplă lucruri ieșite din comun. Dar, din păcate, cu aceleași personaje la care nu te gândești de două ori după ce finalizezi romanul.
Motivația personajului narator, Edward Malone, este ridicolă. Un termen din cultura urbană utilizat destul de frecvent în ultimul an și care îl descrie perfect este simp. Edward Malone își pune viața în pericol doar pentru că femeia cu care vrea să se căsătorească îi spune că nu este suficient de eroic.
Profesorul Challenger, poate cel mai memorabil dintre cele patru personaje principale, este cel mai adesea extrem de enervant și nesuferit. Profesorul Summerlee nu este foarte departe. Lordul Roxton este singurul care nu m-a iritat cu nimic.
Fără să mă mai lungesc inutil, ,,O lume dispărută" este un roman distractiv de aventuri, cu tentă științifico-fantastică și plin de imaginație, dar cu personaje subdezvoltate și, poate, puțin învechit pentru zilele noastre.



English review: I imagine that "The Lost World" had the same impact on its readers as Jurassic Park did many decades later in terms of sparking interest in dinosaurs.
While the characters and action may not seem extraordinary by 21st-century standards, the strength of Arthur Conan Doyle’s book lies in its imagination. The creator of Sherlock Holmes delivers a fun adventure novel in the style of Jules Verne, packed with scientific information and extraordinary events. Unfortunately, it also features characters you don’t think twice about after finishing the novel.
The motivation of the narrator, Edward Malone, is absurd. A term from modern slang that’s been quite popular over the last year and perfectly describes him is simp. Edward Malone puts his life at risk simply because the woman he wants to marry tells him he’s not heroic enough.
Professor Challenger, perhaps the most memorable of the four main characters, is often extremely annoying and insufferable. Professor Summerlee isn’t far behind. Lord Roxton is the only one who didn’t irritate me in any way.
To keep it brief, "The Lost World" is a fun sci-fi adventure novel brimming with imagination, but it features underdeveloped characters and might feel a bit outdated for today’s readers.