Nothing But Reading Challenges discussion
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Dumas, Alexandre - The Three Muskateers - Informal Buddy Read - Starts June 27, 2017
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I only managed the first chapter today. I always forget how long it can take to get back in the swing of the language.
I just started the book today. I've wanted to read this book for a while, but I keep on dodging it!
Eunice wrote: "I just started the book today. I've wanted to read this book for a while, but I keep on dodging it!"How are you liking it so far? I'm a little over 150 pages in (that's about 20% in my edition) and I think I've just found the plot! :)
I hadn't read that much yet. I've been busy with school work and had little time to read but I'm trying to read more of the book today.
I'm only about a few chapters in. I'm sorry!D'Artagnan is a bit of a self-righteous bastard just because he's influential (or at least his father is) and is going to be a musketeer.
Ha, I finished two days ago and forgot to check in. No hurry, you'll get to it when you get to it!
I'll read about 50 pages a day on my commute, I can do more or less. What pace would you like to go at?
In my edition, that's about five chapters a day. Sounds good to me. I started reading today though and got to the start of Chapter 10. Let me know when you get there and I'll pick it back up and continue at pace.
Argh no! It didn't notify me of this message. I'm up to chapter 15.So what do you think so far?
D'Artagan goes from being a complete ass for a few chapters to being extremely reasonable for the next few, and then switches back again. Not sure where that's going.
Several classic novels I've read purely because I liked the sound of the storyline have turned out to be dull but I'm very glad this is not one of them.
I think it's actually quite entertaining and-mondieu!-the subtext! There's so much being said here and I'm sure I'm missing half of it because I'm not reading the original French. D'Artagnon didn't strike me as so much of an ass as just green and quick tempered. I'm only on chapter 10, but the plan he came up with to help his landlord is actually quite sound. I'll catch up today and let you know if that observation still holds. :)
Exactly! There must be parts that don't come across since it's been translated. And pardieu, there are small pieces where I think they're talking about one thing but it means something else.
10 pages about wagering their horses, GAH!!At least there is always something happening.
Up to chapter 30
Rebecca wrote: "10 pages about wagering their horses, GAH!!At least there is always something happening.
Up to chapter 30"
I'm really enjoying seeing what you're thinking now that I've finished.
Some final thoughts that I never posted:(view spoiler) Overall I suppose I liked it, but I won't be reading it again.
I can't figure out how all the little incidents are related. I'm liking this book less as I go along.
Seriously. It started out pretty entertaining, but it's getting kind of tedious.Also, the King bothers me soooo much. He's the biggest idiot of the them all. I don't really remember this period in French history too well, but this Louis strikes me as a petulant child.
It's striking that so much is made of a woman wanting to kill people she perceives as having wronged her, yet pretty much the whole book has been men galevanting q
It's striking that so much is made of a woman wanting to kill people she perceives as having wronged her, when pretty much the whole book has been men gallivanting around doing just that.
Rebecca wrote: "It's striking that so much is made of a woman wanting to kill people she perceives as having wronged her, when pretty much the whole book has been men gallivanting around doing just that."That's so true. From the outset, that's all D'Artagnon wants. I'm not going to lie. Though the plot itself is kind of fun and witty, I'm getting really tired of feeling like I'm not in on the joke. Or better yet, questioning whether I'm reading into something too much.
You could probably take an entire course on the language of this novel. That might actually be interesting.
Okay, I've finished the book.And I couldn't join all the dots.. wether this is because not everything comes across in translation or the pacing left me behind I don't know.
Some of it I really enjoyed but some of it was so long winded. And because I don't like just knowing the 'what' I also like to know the 'why' I don't think I enjoyed it as much as I could have.
I also have a pet hate for authors pulling a reader out of bookland and making you realise you're reading a book and this book had plenty of 'as the reader already knows' 'when we left the action' 'now we will join our blah blah blah.
But that's just my personal peeve.
I'm glad I read it, now I know what it's about and it was a lot more enjoyable than some classics I've read.
I agree. I'm not quite finished, but I'm getting the same vibe. There are parts when I get really excited and the story seems to move at a breakneck pace. Other parts, it's like slogging through an onerous history text.I didn't mind the narrator so much. I thought it was kind of a nice touch. It kept the story feeling more like a light adventure rather than a serious tale.
My biggest pet peeve is his overuse of epithet. I mean, there's nothing wrong with switching between a name and a pronoun with the occasional nickname to further hint at the character's personality or motives, but Dumas gives each character a dozen different names per page. It can sometimes get confusing. Luckily, there are very few women in the story, so I never mixed them up. The men, however, were trickier. Also, his love of "A" and "T" names caused me to get a few of the characters mixed up.
Synopsis
One of the most celebrated and popular historical romances ever written. The Three Musketeers tell the story of the early adventures of the young Gascon gentleman d'Artagnan and his three friends from the regiment of the King's Musketeers: Athos, Porthos, and Aramis.
Under the watchful eye of their patron M. de Treville, the four defend the honour of the regiment against the guards of the Cardinal Richelieu and the honor of the queen against the machinations of the Cardinal himself as the power struggles of 17th-century France are vividly played out in the background.
But their most dangerous encounter is with the Cardinal's spy: Milady, one of literature's most memorable female villains.