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95th out of 3,395 books
—
7,827 voters
The Club Dumas
A provocative literary thriller that playfully pays tribute to classic tales of mystery and adventure
Lucas Corso is a book detective, a middle-aged mercenary hired to hunt down rare editions for wealthy and unscrupulous clients. When a well-known bibliophile is found dead, leaving behind part of the original manuscript of Alexandre Dumas's The Three Musketeers, Corso is br...more
Lucas Corso is a book detective, a middle-aged mercenary hired to hunt down rare editions for wealthy and unscrupulous clients. When a well-known bibliophile is found dead, leaving behind part of the original manuscript of Alexandre Dumas's The Three Musketeers, Corso is br...more
Paperback, 362 pages
Published
May 1st 2006
by Mariner Books
(first published 1992)
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“The Club Dumas” presents a rich feast for fans of literate mysteries and of old books with yellow-dry pages, redolent of spice and nutmeg. In a style that reminds me of Umberto Eco, Pérez-Reverte leads us through a labyrinth of books, clues, and characters that can be simplified by stating that the story is a tale of two books: "The Three Musketeers;" and “The Book of the Nine Doors in Kingdom of Shadows,” which may reveal incantations that summon Satan.
The “hero,” Lucas Corso, is a book detec...more
The “hero,” Lucas Corso, is a book detec...more
Johnny Depp as Lucas Corso in "The Ninth Gate."
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I normally wouldn’t pick up something like this, but it was given to me as a gift, so I cracked it. It took me until about half-way through before I realized that it was the basis for the Johnny Depp/Roman Polanski flop “The Ninth Gate.” (Which I've yet to see).
The Club Dumas was probably only the second detective novel I’ve read in the past five years, the other being Jonathan Lethem’s Motherless Brooklyn. While the novels have very little in common, I couldn’t help but notice the formulaic sim...more
The Club Dumas was probably only the second detective novel I’ve read in the past five years, the other being Jonathan Lethem’s Motherless Brooklyn. While the novels have very little in common, I couldn’t help but notice the formulaic sim...more
This book is a confidence trick. I mean that in the most complimentary way possible however; Perez-Reverte takes a perverse delight in not just yanking the rug out from under you but practically rebuilding the house around you while you are reading, without you noticing until it is almost too late!
Put simply, this is a Quest novel. The protagonist (Corso) takes the Hero's Journey and all the archetypes are present and correct - indeed, one of them may be more of an archetype than even Corso (or...more
Put simply, this is a Quest novel. The protagonist (Corso) takes the Hero's Journey and all the archetypes are present and correct - indeed, one of them may be more of an archetype than even Corso (or...more
After reading Jeri's review, I don't really have a lot to add.
I thought the premise was interesting, but the climax was disappointing, the characters were one-dimensional (this might have been purposeful, as he was trying to draw parallels to Dumas' book, but didn't really work for me), and the was protagonist off-putting. I wasn't bothered by the details about bookbinding and famous books as much; those, in my opinion, were more interesting than the plot itself.
I think one of the problems wit...more
I thought the premise was interesting, but the climax was disappointing, the characters were one-dimensional (this might have been purposeful, as he was trying to draw parallels to Dumas' book, but didn't really work for me), and the was protagonist off-putting. I wasn't bothered by the details about bookbinding and famous books as much; those, in my opinion, were more interesting than the plot itself.
I think one of the problems wit...more
11 likes · like · see review
the protagonist Corso is a lot of fun. a shady, efficient, highly intelligent, deeply contemptuous, globe-trotting purveyor of literature from antiquity - the gumshoe transformed into book detective. he is perhaps the most enjoyable part of the novel and it is a pleasure (although a familiar one) to be seeing events through his eyes. in a way, he saves The Club Dumas from being completely forgettable.
the narrative is shaped as a fast-paced mystery, perhaps along the lines of The DaVinci Code (a...more
the narrative is shaped as a fast-paced mystery, perhaps along the lines of The DaVinci Code (a...more
23 likes · like · see review
What an amazing books !!
If you really like books, you must like this book. Arturo Perez-Reverte brought us to a story where a novel plots become real.
Corso is a book dealer who will do any job regarding books. His friends, La Porte, brought him a manuscript of a chapter of The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. Its previous owner was hung himself to death. La Porte than ask Corso to check the manuscript's authenticity. Not a long time after that, a rich book maniac gave him an extraordinary j...more
If you really like books, you must like this book. Arturo Perez-Reverte brought us to a story where a novel plots become real.
Corso is a book dealer who will do any job regarding books. His friends, La Porte, brought him a manuscript of a chapter of The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas. Its previous owner was hung himself to death. La Porte than ask Corso to check the manuscript's authenticity. Not a long time after that, a rich book maniac gave him an extraordinary j...more
3 likes · like · see review
6.0 stars. Another book on my list of "All Time Favorite" novels. This is a book that I started reading with very high expectations and, lo and behold, those expectations were actually met if not exceeded. This book had so many aspects to it that were right in my wheelhouse. First, it is set in the world of rare book collectors with endless references to rare editions to excite the book nerd in us all. Second, there are two related subplots involving (i) an original manuscript of The Three Muske...more
22 likes · like · see review
I realized as I got 1/4 into this book that I've read it before. It's sort of a confusing tale - I was pretty sure I had read this years ago when I read The Flanders Panel and The Seville Communion. The book I thought it was started with a man in the library of a home that is burning down, but the summary on the back cover wasn't ringing any bells, so I thought that maybe I was wrong about reading it before. I was right that I'd read it before, but it wasn't the book with the man in the fire.
It...more
It...more
4 likes · like · see review
May 31, 2007
Kelly
rated it
4 of 5 stars
Recommends it for:
bibliophiles, fans of the swashbuckling adventure, Dumas fans (obviously)
This book is an homage to the swashbuckling adventure story, particularly the Three Musketeers like stories of Alexandre Dumas, pere. But I recommend it to anyone with a deep love for books (... which I would assume would be anyone who has taken the time to join this site in the first place...). I think that you'll recognize yourself in some of the characters, even in their most ridiculous adventures. I found myself variously giggling aloud, gasping in shock, and turning pages faster and faster...more
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There were some deliciously clever turns of phrase, but they did not make this book worth the read. As other reviewers have said, the characters were flat and the plot is a bit too intentionally clever (without actually being so) to hold my interest. The book did get easier to read as time went on, but when all was said and done, it was just a more high brow version of a bad Dan Brown novel. The best parts of the book happened when characters meta-talked about readers, authors, and their respons...more
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This was a very odd book unlike anything I've ever read. Fortunately, it was a very intriguing odd book, but also a book that required a vast literary background to really understand. Every other word seemed to be an allusion to some famous classic. Besides the fact that you MUST have read The 3 Musketeers before this book, other recommended titles include: The Count of Monte Cristo, Twenty Years After, Paradise Lost, Dante's Inferno, Mutiny on the Bounty, Notre Dame de Paris, Cyrano de Bergerac...more
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I just can't get enough of books about books! I actually discovered this book via the Johnny Depp movie The Ninth Gate. The movie changes much of the book's plot, as most film adaptations of novels do. The novel is fuller, with A and B plot strands which interweave throughout; The Anjou Wine vs. The Nine Doors. I really enjoyed this book. I found it to be a nice mix of Chandler-esque hard-boiled detective fiction with a dash of comedy, an ounce of historical Da Vinci Code like intrigue, with a h...more
The movie The Ninth Gate (yay johnny depp) was based on this novel. It's the second (and a half) i've read by this author. I really liked his second book, The Fencing Master, but found it a little cold; the characters and plot were interesting but you felt a little removed from them (I started another of his more recent books but couldn't get through it). This book is fun to read (and it's a really really good translation, very fluid, as though it were done by someone who actually speaks English...more
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This book was listed by someone as a favorite ever book. I hadn't heard of it before, so I looked it up--it sounded pretty good and I always enjoy this type of story. It's a thriller about books and reading. What could be better?
I don't want to go too much into the plot because it's very twisty and I like to make sure I avoid spoilers. Let's just say it has to do with rare book collecting, extreme fans of Alexandre Dumas, and the occult. There's a lot of action.
Even though I did get really into...more
I don't want to go too much into the plot because it's very twisty and I like to make sure I avoid spoilers. Let's just say it has to do with rare book collecting, extreme fans of Alexandre Dumas, and the occult. There's a lot of action.
Even though I did get really into...more
Well, this one is a good one. For those who like puzzles this book is a great option. It runs through three lines: Corso, the main character is hired to do some research about an ancient book, of which every copy was burned in Italy in the 16th century, due to charges of witchcraft and satanism. On the other side, it runs along some of the hand written texts the Dumas novel The Three Musketeers and the Count of Montecristo. It also has as an intertext the topic of the Devil in love.
Pérez-Reverte...more
Pérez-Reverte...more
This book was as fantastic as I expected it to be. I recently read all three of Dumas's books about the musketeers: The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After and The Vicomte de Bragelonne. While this is not necessary to fully appreciate The Club Dumas, I was glad I had the background. Knowledge of the story of The Three Musketeers would certainly enhance your reading experience. At any rate, this book is a book nerd's dream. I was ecstatic that within a couple chapters both
The Vicomte de Bragel...more
I saw "Ninth Gate" in the theater in Denton, TX. At the end, a redneck stood up and said, "That's bullshit." I agreed and was disappointed in the quick wrap-up.
The book, however, shows another storyline that was completely ignored by the movie. The ending was good and not bullshit.
I love charts in novels and this one has them. It also has the engravings from the book that the novel is based on.
I hope to find a novel based on Event Horizon.
Other good novels with a movie brother: Jaws, The Postman...more
The book, however, shows another storyline that was completely ignored by the movie. The ending was good and not bullshit.
I love charts in novels and this one has them. It also has the engravings from the book that the novel is based on.
I hope to find a novel based on Event Horizon.
Other good novels with a movie brother: Jaws, The Postman...more
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I'm currently reading this aloud with Sam. So far, we're enjoying it -- although the author is WAY too fond of analogies and can hardly construct a sentence without one. Still, the over-the-top language and description makes it fun to read out loud and provides lots to laugh at along the way. Also, the main character studies the nineteenth century French novel and, since I study the nineteenth century British novel, I alternate between affection and annoyance with his academic show-offiness. I w...more
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The Club Dumas is an interesting mystery revolving around Lucas Corso's attempt to authenticate a couple of manuscripts. One is a chapter of "The Three Musketeers" apparently handwritten by Alexandre Dumas. The other is a copy, perhaps "the" copy of "The Book of the Nine Doors to the Kingdom of Darkness," rumored to be co-authored by none other than, um...Satan.
Perez-Reverte does a commendable job in at least one aspect; the character of Corso is one of the best I've come across. Being a rare bo...more
Perez-Reverte does a commendable job in at least one aspect; the character of Corso is one of the best I've come across. Being a rare bo...more
Mar 20, 2013
Tristram
rated it
4 of 5 stars
·
review of another edition
Shelves:
contemporary-literature
Weit mehr als nur ein spannendes Buch
Arturo Pérez-Reverte dürfte den meisten Lesern vor allem als Verfasser der Romane über den Hauptmann Alatriste, die 2006 von Augustín Díaz Yanes mit Viggo Mortensen in der Titelrolle verfilmt worden sind, bekannt sein. „El Club Dumas“ ist meiner Meinung nach ein noch viel atmosphärischeres Werk, und auch die Verfilmung dieses Buches von Roman Polanksi als „Die neun Pforten“ (1999) vermag nur, einen blassen Eindruck von dem kunstvollen Labyrinth zu geben, in d...more
Arturo Pérez-Reverte dürfte den meisten Lesern vor allem als Verfasser der Romane über den Hauptmann Alatriste, die 2006 von Augustín Díaz Yanes mit Viggo Mortensen in der Titelrolle verfilmt worden sind, bekannt sein. „El Club Dumas“ ist meiner Meinung nach ein noch viel atmosphärischeres Werk, und auch die Verfilmung dieses Buches von Roman Polanksi als „Die neun Pforten“ (1999) vermag nur, einen blassen Eindruck von dem kunstvollen Labyrinth zu geben, in d...more
The Club Dumas started off in a promising lead: a book detective, seemingly trapped in a story that uncannily paralleled to the story of the three musketeers.
At first, I found this brilliant, almost genius, as each character showed how Dumas would have pictured them. I also have developed a keen interest on the way the author inserted factual tidbits as of how Dumas created his masterpieces, although I don't care as much if they were true or not (my deepest apologies, if they were true); as I e...more
At first, I found this brilliant, almost genius, as each character showed how Dumas would have pictured them. I also have developed a keen interest on the way the author inserted factual tidbits as of how Dumas created his masterpieces, although I don't care as much if they were true or not (my deepest apologies, if they were true); as I e...more
After flipping through the first few pages of all of the Arturo Pérez-Reverte novels in the Vanderbilt Library, I decided to select The Club Dumas as my next read. I based my decision on two things. First, the opening chapter of this novel is a cliff-hanger; police detectives are examining the body of a man who is hanging dead from a light fixture. Maybe Perez-Reverte read the same “how to get your book published guide” that I did, the one that says the first five pages are critical to every ag...more
Comme je vous le disais, c'est par hasard que j'ai découvert ce roman, alors que je parlais du film La neuvième porte avec mon libraire. J'ai donc décidé de le lire dans une optique toute scientifique pour le comparer au film de Roman Polanski.
Premier constat, le film prend de nombreux raccourcis, car le roman s'avère bien plus étoffé, non seulement sur les péripéties mais aussi sur les protagonistes. Tout d'abord le film se concentre sur Les neufs portes, un roman qui pourrait être une clef pou...more
Premier constat, le film prend de nombreux raccourcis, car le roman s'avère bien plus étoffé, non seulement sur les péripéties mais aussi sur les protagonistes. Tout d'abord le film se concentre sur Les neufs portes, un roman qui pourrait être une clef pou...more
Best novel you've never heard of. This book formed the basis of the Roman Polanski movie "The Ninth Gate". Typical of other book-to-film adaptations, the book is so much richer. Set in modern-day Spain, it follows a rare book purveyor/mercenary who has been hired by two separate clients. One client wishes him to authenticate a "missing" chapter from The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas entitled "The Anjou Wine." His other client tasks him with authenticating a Medieval book which instructs th...more
So when I started this book I was looking forward to it. But after passing the mid section my attention began to wane. The main character was just so,... dispassionate. I understand in his line of work it paid to be so... but the profanity, indescriminate sex, and so on... just dragged through. There was no point to any of it and it added nothing to the plot. The two storylines being interwoven was great, but the ending to each left me lacking. I just thought the ending was dull. It would have b...more
Lucas Corso is a book detective - that is, he finds and authenticates various rare volumes for wealthy collectors. In this tale, he finds both an original manuscript of a chapter from The Three Musketeers, as well as The Nine Doors, a manual for summoning the devil that was supposedly burned some four hundred years ago. While verifying both texts, Corso comes across some unusual differences between the engravings of the three existing copies of The Nine Doors. People start dying, and Corso keeps...more
What a fun, weird book. Very smart. NO, clever. Definately will appeal to Dumas enthusiasts. Anyone who seriously loves literature and book collecting will be vastly entertained. I guess it's sort of an international mystery kind of story. The action (despite it's heavy intellectual bent it's got rather a lot of action) takes place all over Europe. There are swanky flats in Paris, cool but creepy castles and beautiful young girls who seem/are hundreds of years old but I won't tell you more abou...more
Arturo Pérez Reverte es una de mis debilidades como autor, lo reconozco. A veces sus finales me dejan un poco raro, pero el viaje que me proporcionan sus libros me compensa completamente. Y en éste, en el que vuelca su amor por los libros antiguos, por Dumas, por los folletines, y ese mundo de aventuras y pillos, vuelve a conquistarme. Que no os engañe la adaptación cinematográfica, este libro es bastante diferente. No quiero soltar spoilers, por supuesto, pero hay suficientes diferencias entre...more
I actually read The Club Dumas because I was frustrated with the ending of The Ninth Gate. Roman Polanski made his film like a noir mystery, but never really provided the explanation at the end that you expect from this kind of movie. Grrrr
I’m glad though that it made me check out this book. I so rarely read contemporary, I would have missed this.
The Club Dumas is much different. Unlike the movie there are two books and two stories that run parallel to each other. I love how Arturo pulls you in...more
I’m glad though that it made me check out this book. I so rarely read contemporary, I would have missed this.
The Club Dumas is much different. Unlike the movie there are two books and two stories that run parallel to each other. I love how Arturo pulls you in...more
5 likes · like · see review
| topics | posts | views | last activity | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| The Ninth Engraving [spoilers] | 4 | 41 | Mar 03, 2013 01:33am | |
| It All Sounds Gre...: "Λέσχη Δουμάς" : Πώς το αξιολογείτε; | 61 | 66 | Dec 21, 2012 06:13am | |
| South African Boo...: The Club Dumas by Arturo Pérez-Reverte | 50 | 18 | Nov 30, 2012 12:31am | |
| Giving this author another try | 12 | 69 | Sep 05, 2012 06:55am | |
| Need to read The Three Musketeers? | 6 | 38 | Jul 13, 2012 02:35pm | |
| Around the World ...: Louise recommends The Club Dumas | 2 | 14 | Nov 16, 2011 10:55am |
Spanish novelist and journalist. He worked as war reporter for twenty-one years (1973 - 1994). He started his journalistic career writing for the now-defunct newspaper Pueblo.
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“One is never alone with a book nearby, don't you agree? Every page reminds us of a day that has passed and makes us relive the emotions that filled it. Happy hours underlined in red pencil, dark ones in black...”
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19 people liked it
“Because God and the devil could be one and the same thing, and everybody understood it in his own way.”
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11 people liked it
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