The Three Musketeers (Modern Library Classics)
by Alexandre Dumas
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Read in December, 2006
There exist in the world authors from previous eras whose characters have become so ubiquitous in the popular culture that they undergo a strange kind of infantalizing. The rather serious philosophical questions Robert Louis Stevenson posed about mind-body duality and evolution are passed over in favor of the monster story of wicked Mr. Hyde. Jonathan Swift’s venomous satires of English life are reduced to the tale of an island of little people and an island of giants.
And even as I knew this...more
And even as I knew this...more
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Read in June, 2008
"Where do I begin?" This is what I've been thinking about writing this review, and I wonder if it is what Dumas kept thinking before every chapter of "The Three Musketeers".
The first half of this novel does not move along like a novel...it doesn't even move along like a series of novels. The story has the same developement as a television sitcom. Every time something starts to get interesting the characters find a way to fix the problem and it goes back to the way it w...more
The first half of this novel does not move along like a novel...it doesn't even move along like a series of novels. The story has the same developement as a television sitcom. Every time something starts to get interesting the characters find a way to fix the problem and it goes back to the way it w...more
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Read in May, 2005
Remarkable book. I have been, on occasion, accused of some sort of self-set elitism which suffuses my opinions and critiques on literature. It seems people are often more likely to think one has an ulterior motive for liking or not liking a book rather than looking at the presented arguments. In any case, I would posit this book as the countermand to that sentencing. It is not a literary book, as such, as it does not place itself in a deep referential or metaphorical state. Though it is certainl...more
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recommends it for:
People who enjoy life
At long last, Agi and I are reading out loud to one together. It's one of my all time favorites and a close second to The Count of Monte Cristo for full-throttled Dumas fun and mayhem. There are half a dozen duels, several melees and countless intrigues in the first 50 pages alone.
The Three Musketeers is breezier, funnier and less brooding than The Count of Monte Cristo. I love the whole gallant, devil-may-care picture that Dumas paints, set out with the lines, "Loose, half-drunk, im...more
The Three Musketeers is breezier, funnier and less brooding than The Count of Monte Cristo. I love the whole gallant, devil-may-care picture that Dumas paints, set out with the lines, "Loose, half-drunk, im...more
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Read in May, 1986
If I was a Physicist, I would explain it like this: Athos, Porthos and Aramis are like the protons in an atom. D'Artagnan the neutrons that stabilize it. Actually, this would mean they are Lithium. So, keep them away from water. Or else...unfortunately the King sends them on an expedition to the isles. Now, they would have to cross the channel to get there, would they not?
On their way, however, it shows that rivers and winecellars are no good either.
action - reaction. Everybody under their ...more
On their way, however, it shows that rivers and winecellars are no good either.
action - reaction. Everybody under their ...more
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Read in November, 2007
recommended to Ryan by:
Jonathan
Reading this book made me realize the meaning of the term "swashbuckling." It took me so long to read because I only read it at night - but that is by no means a reflection on how exciting it is. Dumas really knows how to move the plot forward and jump from one tale of adventure right into the next. It's action packed, full of honor, duels, love, hoaxes, lies, double-crosses, and other dastardly acts.
I would read sections of it aloud because the language was so romantic, so wild...more
I would read sections of it aloud because the language was so romantic, so wild...more
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Read in December, 2006
I cruised through this book in two days (December 29,30) since I wanted to have it done before the new year. I was excited to read another Dumas book and especially this one due to the bits of pieces I've learned about it from various media spins using it over the years. I had a hard time getting into it though, I really had a hard time liking d'Artagnan. He seemed brash and brazen, belligerent and a bit of a doofus.
I continued reading because I was interested to see how things would turn ou...more
I continued reading because I was interested to see how things would turn ou...more
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Read in February, 2006
I read this about four years ago and was totally enthralled with it! Sadly, after finishing it, I started The Man in the Iron Mask, not knowing that it was the culmination of a long saga about the beloved Athos, Porthos, Aramis and D'Artagnan. When I found out about the rest of the story, I wanted to read everything in the proper order, but didn't get around to it for some time. The Three Musketeers was just as wonderful as I'd remembered! The Musketeers all have their faults, but ...more
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Read in March, 2008
Well, it was no Count of Monte Cristo, but it was still exciting and dramatic. I was much more into the second half, when it starts focusing on the diabolical Lady de Winter. One disappointment was that I had always envisioned the Three Musketeers to be noble, just, Robin Hood-type characters. It turns out that, though brave, they are quite selfish and immoral, and tend to murder people with little provocation. None of the musketeers was very likable to me. Women also don't fare very well here a...more
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Read in April, 2008
recommended to Kiwiria by:
Irina
Now this is what I call a true classic. It has it all - love, hate, intrigues, fighting, people pretending to be somebody they're not, secrets... no wonder it's such a popular book to turn into a movie. It has a lot of the same atmosphere as Robin Hood (the movie, not the book), Ivanhoe etc. except that in this one the heros have faults and flaws. I didn't always like the four main characters nor think they acted nobly - unlike e.g. Robin Hood, they weren't always selflessly good, they had tempe...more
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recommends it for:
anyone who enjoys sword fights and laughs
I read this book last summer and I expected a dramatic tale of adventure but rather, its really funny! The three musketeers are so outradious that everything they do is comical and the dialouge they exchange with everyone is priceless. It has to be one of the best classics even though I am disappointed with the movies they make now because they are so dramaic and serious which was not the authors intention! I think its a perfect summer book because it funny, exciting, light-hearted, and a quick ...more
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The Three Musketeers is as entertaining as any of our contemporary action movies, I have to admit. Still, it was overlong...something that led to months of hard reading labor on my part. I can't really come to a conclusion if it was worth my time. I do know, however, that this was a good book. Still, it lacked anything thought-provoking, unique, or challenging (except, perhaps, the length) which leads me to think that this is just a very well-written volume of fluff. This is debatable, be assure...more
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Read in August, 2007
recommends it for:
trigger happy gunmen
I just got to the most fantastic part of the book. The three musketeers and D'artagnan need a secluded place to talk and so they choose a bastion just recently conquored where the enemy is sure to attack.
They have breakfast for ten minutes and begin to discuss before the first attack comes. They kill everyone and continue breakfast. then a second attack, they continue and eat breakfast. It's fabulous.
this was a lot of fun to read. At times it seemed as if there wasn't much of a plot, ...more
They have breakfast for ten minutes and begin to discuss before the first attack comes. They kill everyone and continue breakfast. then a second attack, they continue and eat breakfast. It's fabulous.
this was a lot of fun to read. At times it seemed as if there wasn't much of a plot, ...more
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Did you know there were 4 musketeers? Did you also know they were not very nice guys? One guy won't let his servant ever speak. One is having an affair with a married woman, and ridicules her for gifts she buys him. Another can't decide whether to have an affair or be a priest, but constantly pinches his ears to make them a more attractive color. Since they don't seem to be paid much to be musketeers they are constantly grifting off of other people. One of there brave deeds is too have bre...more
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Read in January, 2006
With the story as well-known as it is I expected this classic to be a literary masterpiece, so I was a bit suprised when it turned out that it is far from that. It is one long ride of uncalled-for swashbuckling, intrigues, heroism, witticisms and romance - in other words pulp. Any deeper motives for all this action are, as far as I know, missing. The motives of the characters were at times beyond grasping, as their view on what matters in life on some points doesn't even resemble ours. But does ...more
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Read in January, 2004
Sigh. I just love this book. It has a special place in my heart. I tell anyone I can that if they liked the movie (and who didn't?) they'll love the book. I realize they're two different animals, but that's what's great is that the book kind of picks up where the movie leaves off. It rounds out the characters and layers the plots in a much more dramatic way.
Anyway, perhaps when I read this book again for the severalth time, I will be able to write a more specific review, but for now, this boo...more
Anyway, perhaps when I read this book again for the severalth time, I will be able to write a more specific review, but for now, this boo...more
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Read in May, 2008
Phew! I finally finished this monster! For someone who can barely put 5 minutes together to read, this was quite the undertaking, but I really enjoyed it. The first couple-hundred pages worried me, and I wasn't so sure I could finish the book as a non-French-speaker, but I started really getting into the story. Dumas has quite a knack for spinning a good yard and developing interesting characters. It was nice to read the original version of this classic, as I had seen movies, etc. based on ...more
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Read in August, 2003
i can't remember WHY i picked this book up, honestly. but i've picked it up several times since. alexandre dumas SLAYS me. he has this writing style that i find to be utterly hilarious, filled with amusing sidenotes and non-sequiturs. as such, he's not the sort of writer for everyone. some people might be put off by two pages devoted to... someone's fondness for a certain way of holding their sword in the middle of an important fight scene. others, like me, might find it amusing. let it b...more
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Read in June, 2008
Dumas claimed The three Muskateers was based on manuscripts he had discovered in the Bibliothèque Nationale. It was later proven that Dumas had based his work on the book Mémoires de Monsieur d'Artagnan, capitaine lieutenant de la première compagnie des Mousquetaires du Roi (Memoirs of Mister d'Artagnan, Lieutenant Captain of the first company of the King's Musketeers) by Gatien de Courtilz de Sandras (Cologne, 1700). The book was borrowed from the Marseille public library, and the card-index...more
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recommends it for:
Those who love classic tales of adventure
I thoroughly enjoyed this classic. I read it rather early...perhaps elementary school.
There was a portion of the book on one of the Musketeers and his wife who bore a mark. I will resist telling you the details and spoiling it for you. I found this part of the story particularly moving from the first telling of the couple to the last words written on the lady.
I also found the story of the musketeer wannabe moving in a different way; you'll have to read it to see why. I do believe i...more
There was a portion of the book on one of the Musketeers and his wife who bore a mark. I will resist telling you the details and spoiling it for you. I found this part of the story particularly moving from the first telling of the couple to the last words written on the lady.
I also found the story of the musketeer wannabe moving in a different way; you'll have to read it to see why. I do believe i...more
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