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3.96 AVERAGE
3.96 AVERAGE
adventurous
funny
slow-paced
READ: 06/01/24-07/31/24
4.5
I read this with a dear friend, and that made the experience itself amazing. It's difficult to try and review this without just thinking of my friend and her reactions as we read on. So many little moments that I can't possibly put down my every thought, but I will summarize as best I can.
This story follows a young lad named D'artagnan. A young man from Gascony out to seek his fortune, by hopefully joining the king's Musketeers. Along the way, he experiences many troubles, adventure, friendship and the political machinations of King Louis XIII and the Cardinal Richelieu.
I enjoyed this book. The writing was really approachable, it reads really fast and exciting. The translation I read by Richard Prevear was top notch, I also learned some French due to the glossary. I'm glad the honorifics and certain terms were kept in the original French.
The framing device of the novel is that Dumas discovered a historical memoir that informed his tale. As a result, the novel references to "back in those days, this was the norm" and there's fun poked at characters for being foolish or temperamental. It lends to the air of adventure and japes.
I loved the way that scenes would be structured. For example, when D'artagnan is challenged to duels by the titular musketeers, it happens in threes, he runs into Athos, then Porthos, then Aramis, and this pattern added to the feel of the story (and the comedy) when we get a similar scene progression when D'artagnan travels to London with his friends.
The friendship is outlandish, larger than life as one night expect, but also very straight men coded. They're there for each other, and they bond with D'artagnan after trying to kill him, and then fighting alongside each other through the years.
Aramis is my fav, he's just a fun character to follow. I have mixed feelings on Athos because of the whole murder of his wife. Prothos is okay but not a standout character for me.
D'artagnan. Oh D'artagnan. He is so fucking dumb, he's like a classic jock character. I was with him though, rooting for this shocking shrewd, loyal to the death lad. But man, his made me angry. Man deserved to be taken down a peg at this point but even Athos barely schools him for being an asshole. He's still a great character to follow though, and I like that he's an active protagonist.
My absolute favorite character is Milady. She's clever, ruthless, and also full of rage. I adore her, she's the baddest antagonist by far, and she comes the closest to killing D'artagnan. The scenes where she were so tense and well written.
I was floored when she That was straight up evil and I thought... How did she get to this point? I know we get her backstory, but we don't get the most important thing: why? Is she an undiagnosed sociopath? Did she have internal justifications for her actions? I just feel like I see something human in her, and I wanted more from the narrative about her.
As I reflect back on my time with this book it's clear how much I enjoyed it given my extensive opinions and how memorable the story was for me. It has everything I wanted form it. My only real quibbles with quality are some minor pacing issues but even then I think it's a matter of preference.
The end also made me sad. What do you mean they split up? Nooooooooooooooo T-T I'm in denial about that.
I am really glad I read this, at last!
Page of Wands - that's out of your comfort zone (Week Five Significator: The Lovers - Read any book featuring a romance)
4.5
I read this with a dear friend, and that made the experience itself amazing. It's difficult to try and review this without just thinking of my friend and her reactions as we read on. So many little moments that I can't possibly put down my every thought, but I will summarize as best I can.
This story follows a young lad named D'artagnan. A young man from Gascony out to seek his fortune, by hopefully joining the king's Musketeers. Along the way, he experiences many troubles, adventure, friendship and the political machinations of King Louis XIII and the Cardinal Richelieu.
I enjoyed this book. The writing was really approachable, it reads really fast and exciting. The translation I read by Richard Prevear was top notch, I also learned some French due to the glossary. I'm glad the honorifics and certain terms were kept in the original French.
The framing device of the novel is that Dumas discovered a historical memoir that informed his tale. As a result, the novel references to "back in those days, this was the norm" and there's fun poked at characters for being foolish or temperamental. It lends to the air of adventure and japes.
I loved the way that scenes would be structured. For example, when D'artagnan is challenged to duels by the titular musketeers, it happens in threes, he runs into Athos, then Porthos, then Aramis, and this pattern added to the feel of the story (and the comedy) when we get a similar scene progression when D'artagnan travels to London with his friends.
The friendship is outlandish, larger than life as one night expect, but also very straight men coded. They're there for each other, and they bond with D'artagnan after trying to kill him, and then fighting alongside each other through the years.
Aramis is my fav, he's just a fun character to follow. I have mixed feelings on Athos because of the whole murder of his wife. Prothos is okay but not a standout character for me.
D'artagnan. Oh D'artagnan. He is so fucking dumb, he's like a classic jock character. I was with him though, rooting for this shocking shrewd, loyal to the death lad. But man, his
Spoiler
treatment of MildayMy absolute favorite character is Milady. She's clever, ruthless, and also full of rage. I adore her, she's the baddest antagonist by far, and she comes the closest to killing D'artagnan. The scenes where she
Spoiler
slowly seduces Felton, carefully observing himI was floored when she
Spoiler
killed Madame Bonacieux.As I reflect back on my time with this book it's clear how much I enjoyed it given my extensive opinions and how memorable the story was for me. It has everything I wanted form it. My only real quibbles with quality are some minor pacing issues but even then I think it's a matter of preference.
The end also made me sad. What do you mean they split up? Nooooooooooooooo T-T I'm in denial about that.
I am really glad I read this, at last!
Page of Wands - that's out of your comfort zone (Week Five Significator: The Lovers - Read any book featuring a romance)
Heroes, super-villains, femme fatales, swashbuckling adventure, love, betrayal, friendship... all presented by one of the most talented voices in recitation. Fantastic! A definite favorite.
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
better than I expected, not as good implied.
Odd I know but how else can I describe a classic that delivers more than I could have asked for but being a bit of a mess because of it.
Odd I know but how else can I describe a classic that delivers more than I could have asked for but being a bit of a mess because of it.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Loved it! Exactly what I wanted out of something like this
I wish I had read this before The Count of Monte Cristo. The Three Musketeers is a wild adventure, with duels, daring escapes, abductions, affairs galore, political machinations, treason, betrayal, romance and friendship. Milady is a clever villain, brilliant evil, and the four 'heroes' were almost as bad - vain, callous, manipulative and adulterous. The book is fun, but having really loved The Count of Monte Cristo, I was disappointed.
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I know Milady de Winter killed people but truly she should've done worse.
Honestly? I didn't enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed The Count of Monte Cristo. The plot dragged at times, with people to-ing and fro-ing like seven times to achieve one result. I didn't care for any of the main four musketeers - I didn't like how they acted or thought - and whilst you can write stories with unsympathetic protagonists, you are very much supposed to see them as The Cool Ones.
They aren't cool. They're dicks.
Partly it's of its time I guess, and partly it's set in the past with the narrator noting more than once that although the way they act seems bad to us it was normal for them but still. Not a fan
I did like all the digs that Dumas kept taking at England though, they were great
Honestly? I didn't enjoy this book as much as I enjoyed The Count of Monte Cristo. The plot dragged at times, with people to-ing and fro-ing like seven times to achieve one result. I didn't care for any of the main four musketeers - I didn't like how they acted or thought - and whilst you can write stories with unsympathetic protagonists, you are very much supposed to see them as The Cool Ones.
They aren't cool. They're dicks.
Partly it's of its time I guess, and partly it's set in the past with the narrator noting more than once that although the way they act seems bad to us it was normal for them but still. Not a fan
I did like all the digs that Dumas kept taking at England though, they were great
"You know the history of the Saraband?"
"Pardieu! Know it!" replied d'Artagnan, who knew nothing about it, but who wishes to appear to know everything that was going on.
adventurous
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes