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The Three Musketeers

Alexandre Dumas

Start date: July 31, 2011

Finish date: October 22, 2011

Discussion: Side-Reads

Discussion leader: Loretta

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Side-Reads

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* Catalog for Side Reads
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* Introduction to Side-Reads
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What Members Thought

Jan 24, 2018 Greg rated it it was ok

Shelves: reviewed, 19th-century, 1001-books-to-read

Sorta messy. For the first 200 pages or so, desperately searching for a plot line, I kept notes. That didn't help because there is no central plot. This book is a series of three types of set pieces: 1-Sword fights for any reason, like when a musketeer drops a handkerchief ("On Guard"!) and 2- Escape scenes like when the author goes through ridiculous machinations to get a musketeer naked then dressed up as a woman and the shoes of a young maid just happen to fit(!) and 3-People all over the pla Sorta messy. For the first 200 pages or so, desperately searching for a plot line, I kept notes. That didn't help because there is no central plot. This book is a series of three types of set pieces: 1-Sword fights for any reason, like when a musketeer drops a handkerchief ("On Guard"!) and 2- Escape scenes like when the author goes through ridiculous machinations to get a musketeer naked then dressed up as a woman and the shoes of a young maid just happen to fit(!) and 3-People all over the place throwing out money and jewelry just when someone needs, for example, a diamond ring, or just when someone needs to get rid of, for example, an emerald ring. In "Count of Monte Cristo", we know what's happening immediately: a wrongly imprisoned man escapes to find treasure and get revenge. That's 11 words to sum up the plot. In "Three Musketeers" this is the best I can do: D'artagnan wants to be a musketeer but he has to impress the king, the cardinal, many ladies, uncover lots of secrets then kill the villain. But what's up with the Musketeer who doesn't care for the ladies and wants to join the church? And about those initials, B.C. on the handkerchief, I missed that explanation I believe. I found the middle of "Monte Cristo" to be a mess, much like all of "Musketeers" but the sensational and famous opening escape sequence was good enough for a 3-star rating for Cristo. Here in "Musketeers" I found set piece after set piece which perhaps Dumas pulled from different drawers of his desk in an effort to tell a cohesive story, but he fails. I'm giving "Musketeers" 2- stars, but mainly for the fascinating footnotes which told better stories than the novel itself. I know this novel is supposed to be one of the best historical novels ever, and I will say that the footnotes are fascinating and I did learn some history. But I'll take Hugo (The Man Who Laughs, Toilers of the Sea) any day over Dumas. There are two sequels to "Musketeers" and I think I'll read them, maybe to tie up some loose ends. Arturo Perez-Reverte has recently written a series of five novels in the same period with lots of swashbuckling and way more detailed romantic scenes: I've read three of those. I do like big historical novels. ...more

14 likes · Like · see review

Jun 08, 2020 Haaze rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: historical-fiction, lit-french, x_dumas, 2020, literature-19th-century

It was great fun to revisit d'Artagnan and his companions over the last few weeks. The novel is a delightful adventure through early 17th century France. It is not exactly a deep novel in terms of characterizations and psychology, but the blend of fiction and history created by Dumas certainly pulled me into the story. Long rides along dusty roads, red wine, companionship, loyalty, love, intrigues, storms and duels. Apart from such adventures it also triggered further interest in the history of ...more

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