The Three Musketeers in Pick-a-Shelf

Dec 23, 2009 Gaijinmama rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: fiction, classics

It has taken me weeks to post this! Meanwhile, I've been grumbling about this book in my groups. I finished it, and didn't hate it, but it bothered me. In fact I nearly chucked it across the room a few times, but as a rule I do not finish books that I don't believe are worth my time. This one was. My rating is sort of an average between a 5 for the book's literary merit and just barely a 2 for my enjoyment (or lack thereof).

First the good stuff: it's a classic and deservedly so. I'm glad to say ...more

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Jan 05, 2014 Rebekah rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: rating-4, e-book, genre-classics, genre-classics-classic-literatu, genre-historical-fiction, genre-literature, genre-adventure, genre-novels, genre-literature-19th-century, genre-romance

I'm trying to put together a coherent review.

First of all, the thing that struck me the most reading this book is how wildly different it was than my preconceived notions about it. I guess through primarily pop culture references, I viewed this book as a harmless heroic action story. It is definitely more than that, and NOT that.

The Musketeers are vivid and interesting. At the beginning they seem like 17th-century French "Bros." Hard drinking, womanizing, arrogant, picking fights for no reason, I'm trying to put together a coherent review.

First of all, the thing that struck me the most reading this book is how wildly different it was than my preconceived notions about it. I guess through primarily pop culture references, I viewed this book as a harmless heroic action story. It is definitely more than that, and NOT that.

The Musketeers are vivid and interesting. At the beginning they seem like 17th-century French "Bros." Hard drinking, womanizing, arrogant, picking fights for no reason, immature, money hungry, Bros in this frat called the King's Musketeers. Dumas writes them so elegantly and vividly that I began to view them as satirical characters, and had many laugh out loud moments. I was beginning to think this was a social satire of the French aristocracy and the French wannabes.

The plot moves quickly and is entertaining but did have that "to be continued..." moment at the end of almost every chapter, which made me wonder if Dumas was writing this in a serial like Dickens or getting paid by the word.

Then things start to take a darker turn, with the Musketeers themselves moving from somewhat annoying bros to something darker, sadder, and sociopathic. The Musketeer we are supposed to admire the most, Athos, abuses his servant and does not let him speak. D'Artagnan falls in love with a married woman, Milady, and Milady's servant girl at the same time and treats them all horrendously, and he's for all purposes, a rapist. They kill people fairly indiscriminately and feel little remorse about it.

Then things finally start to get really interesting towards the last third of the book, which I could not put down. We move from the Musketeers to Milady, who has to be one of the most interesting and powerful female characters ever written. Dang!

It ended in a way that to me felt quite melancholy and disturbing. So overall I cannot tell you what this book is. I'm not sure if Dumas was writing a scathing social satire, a dumb action/romance story full of misogynistic characters, or something in between, a condemnation of our love and worship of people who are wealthy and powerful and adventurous. In the end, the lives of the Musketeers did not seem that glamorous or happy and had taken its toil on all the characters.

Overall, VERY DIFFERENT from how the Musketeers have been portrayed in movies and tv! Right? As happy, heroic, loyal, loveable, swashbuckling, harmless little ragamuffins?

...more

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Mar 15, 2011 Melinda rated it liked it

Oh dear....where to start? Firstly: the title... Should have been called 4 Dudes with Swords, since none of them ever used a musket. I really wish this book was less popular than The Count of Monte Cristo, because it just is not in the same league, IMHO. Where the Count is cool smart and calculating, the Musketeers are liars, foppish, stupid and not even living their own credo "All for one and one for all!". They are only like that when it is convenient for them.

I give props to Dumas for Milady ...more

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Sep 22, 2009 Sam rated it really liked it

Shelves: adventure, proper-books, classics

This was a fantastic swash buckling adventure, filled with intrigue, conspiracy, unyielding loyalty, betrayal, love, hate and everything you can think of that fits in between. Dumas gradually builds on the depths of his characters rather than telling the reader everything about them at the beginning making the story an incredibly compelling read. It shows all sides of the human condition and shows that the bad guys can have good sides and the good guys can have bad sides, with the Musketeers bei ...more

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Aug 27, 2009 Lindsay rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: bookcrossing, classics, 1001, z2009

I had a lot more fun reading this book than I expected to. The characters were fantastic and the sense of adventure that filled the book wonderful. An excellent read.

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