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3.59 AVERAGE
3.59 AVERAGE
I wanted to like this more, as it has a female fencer in it. I started out disliking it, then loving it, then hating it, then, at the very end, being mostly okay with it. Probably not a book I'd recommend to friends, or even fencers. I feel either the author or the translator did a clumsy job.
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Aquí Reverte ya nos empieza a mostrar a sus héroes cansados, en la forma de D. Jaime Astarloa, uno de los últimos maestros de esgrima del XIX, cuando Prim ya da círculos alrededor de Isabel II. Una joven desconocida no solo quiere dar clase con él sino que le pide que le enseñe la estocada de los 200 escudos, uno de los movimientos más letales ideados por el maestro.
La novela está entretenida. Hay momentos en los que baja la acción, pero mantuvo completamente mi interés. Luego Reverte iría puliendo líneas para hacer todo más continuo, opino, pero ya aquí (la novela es del 85) estaban las líneas maestras de su estilo bien trazadas.
¿Fue responsable este libro de que yo empezara a hacer esgrima ese año? No diré que sí, pero tampoco que no...
La novela está entretenida. Hay momentos en los que baja la acción, pero mantuvo completamente mi interés. Luego Reverte iría puliendo líneas para hacer todo más continuo, opino, pero ya aquí (la novela es del 85) estaban las líneas maestras de su estilo bien trazadas.
¿Fue responsable este libro de que yo empezara a hacer esgrima ese año? No diré que sí, pero tampoco que no...
adventurous
lighthearted
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
Set in the Madrid of 1868, it introduces us to the title character, Don Jaime--fencing master and a gentleman who still holds to the code of honor. This makes him an anachronism--even in 1868. Because the Madrid of this time period is full of political intrigue and there are men (and women) willing commit all sorts of of dishonorable deeds to bring down members of rival political parties. (Does this sound at all familiar?...the more things change, the more they stay the same. But I digress.) Don Jaime is busy trying to fulfill his life's ambition--to develop the perfect, unstoppable thrust. With this fencing move, he will be able to put the final touches on the fencing manual which he has been writing.
Although Don Jaime is often regarded as old-fashioned, he is still acknowledged as one of the best fencing masters, particularly of the old-style. He is approached one day by Senora Adela de Otero who asks him to take her on as a student and to teach her his secret thrust (a separate move from the "unstoppable thrust"). At first he refuses, saying that he has never taught a woman, but soon finds that her skill both as a fencer and as a negotiator are more than he bargained for. This proves true for the remainder of the book as Don Jaime is pulled deeper and deeper into the political intrigues that he has studiously ignored for so long.
This historical detail of this novel is amazing. I was completely transported to Madrid. And absolutely believed that I was seeing it as it was in the mid-1800s. Pérez-Reverte's descriptive powers are wonderful. He also has quite a way with his characters--especially Don Jaime. I admired the fencing master's sense of honor....and felt very deeply the betrayal that envelopes him at the end. If Don Jaime has a fault, it his innocent belief in what people tell him. It was very sad to see him disillusioned. The mystery/suspense portion of the novel was decent...although I didn't feel that Pérez-Reverte built up the suspense quite as well as he manages his descriptions. Overall, this is a very enjoyable novel and I look forward to reading The Club Dumas which is waiting on my TBR pile. Four stars out of five.
Although Don Jaime is often regarded as old-fashioned, he is still acknowledged as one of the best fencing masters, particularly of the old-style. He is approached one day by Senora Adela de Otero who asks him to take her on as a student and to teach her his secret thrust (a separate move from the "unstoppable thrust"). At first he refuses, saying that he has never taught a woman, but soon finds that her skill both as a fencer and as a negotiator are more than he bargained for. This proves true for the remainder of the book as Don Jaime is pulled deeper and deeper into the political intrigues that he has studiously ignored for so long.
This historical detail of this novel is amazing. I was completely transported to Madrid. And absolutely believed that I was seeing it as it was in the mid-1800s. Pérez-Reverte's descriptive powers are wonderful. He also has quite a way with his characters--especially Don Jaime. I admired the fencing master's sense of honor....and felt very deeply the betrayal that envelopes him at the end. If Don Jaime has a fault, it his innocent belief in what people tell him. It was very sad to see him disillusioned. The mystery/suspense portion of the novel was decent...although I didn't feel that Pérez-Reverte built up the suspense quite as well as he manages his descriptions. Overall, this is a very enjoyable novel and I look forward to reading The Club Dumas which is waiting on my TBR pile. Four stars out of five.
Un aburrimiento. La primera mitad del libro es "El maestro es viejo, se ha quedado anticuado, y se pone cachondo con Adela", no hay más. En la segunda mitad todo es apresurado y el final es de risa.
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
An interesting character, but after while I got bogged down in the details of the Spanish politics and lost interest.
60/100. Entretenida.
Leído en agosto de 2021.
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Leído en agosto de 2021.
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Romero había pasado de la turbación al recelo; se manoseó nerviosamente la chalina mientras eludía la mirada de su interlocutor.
—Estoy en contra de cualquier tipo de violencia, personal o colectiva.
—Pues yo no. Hay en ella matices muy sutiles, se lo aseguro. Una civilización que renuncia a la posibilidad de recurrir a la violencia en sus pensamientos y acciones, se destruye a sí misma. Se convierte en un rebaño de corderos, a degollar por el primero que pase. Lo mismo les ocurre a los hombres.
—¿Y qué me dice de la Iglesia católica? Es contraria a la violencia, y se ha mantenido durante veinte siglos sin necesidad de ejercerla nunca.
—No me haga reír a estas horas, don Marcelino. Al cristianismo lo sostuvieron las legiones de Constantino y las espadas de los cruzados. Y a la Iglesia católica, las hogueras de la Inquisición, las galeras de Lepanto y los tercios de los Habsburgo… ¿Quién espera que sostenga su causa por usted?
El pianista bajó los ojos.
—Me decepciona, don Jaime —dijo al cabo de un instante, hurgando en el suelo enarenado con la punta del bastón—. Nunca sospeché que compartiera los argumentos de Agapito Cárceles.
—Yo no comparto argumentos con nadie. Entre otras cosas, el principio de igualdad que con tanto brío defiende nuestro contertulio, me trae al fresco. Y ya que menciona el tema, le diré que prefiero ser gobernado por César o Bonaparte, a quienes siempre puedo intentar asesinar si no me placen, antes que ver decidirse mis aficiones, costumbres y compañía por el voto del tendero de la esquina… El drama de nuestro siglo, don Marcelino, es la falta de genio; que sólo es comparable a la falta de coraje y a la falta de buen gusto. Sin duda, eso se debe a la ascensión irrefrenable de los tenderos de todas las esquinas de Europa.