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missgloop 's review for:
Amazing. Simply astounding. One of the best books I have ever read, truly. I found the subject to be completely captivating and the writing really solid. Race relations in 18th-early 19th century France was something I had never even considered before. I had no idea that issues of race were so complicated and tragic. Who knew that so many free men of color lived in France during the period of the revolution? Alex Dumas' story itself is full of action, adventure, and ultimately tragedy. I couldn't help but imagine the movie version of this book while reading it, the story was so compelling, the people so full of life. I have another book on hold, but I think I might go out and read "The Count of Monte Cristo" just to see how many parallels his author son really did draw from his father's life, a point Reiss makes quite frequently. There was one thing I really disliked about the book. The author made frequent references to coins with Dumas' face on them, finding the only known photograph of the statue of Dumas that was destroyed by the Nazis, hundreds of handwritten letters etc. I would have really enjoyed seeing reproductions of these in the book. Particularly that notoriously catty letter to Napoleon! What did his handwriting look like? Could we have gotten ANY reproductions of paintings referenced or architecture? I would have loved to connect more visually with the story, but other than maps of campaigns there is nothing. I'll just have to wait for the movie.