About this title: Lucas Corso, an antiquarian book-hunter-for-hire based in Madrid, traffics in only the rarest and most exquisite volumes. He has just accepted two jobs: one to determine the authenticity of a recently discovered manuscript reputed to be the original 42nd chapter to THE THREE MUSKETEERS, and the other, to find and compare three copies of THE BOOK ...
read more
Note: This is a general synopsis. Each listing is described below.
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 362 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. VERY MILD SHELFWEAR TO THE COVER. JACKET. THERE ARE NO BENDS, NO MARKINGS, NO SPINE CREASES, NO PRICE LABELS, NO PRICE LABLE RESIDUE, AND NO TEARS. MOST ITEMS ARE SENT OUT THE NEXT BUSINESS DAY, INCLUDING SATURDAY. MOST PACKAGES HAVE TRACKING. ALL OF OUR BOOKS ARE IN AIR CONDITIONED AND SMOKE FREE AREAS. WE DESCRIBE OUR BOOKS AS WELL AS WE CAN, ACCORDING TO ... read more
Edition: Illustrated.
Binding: Trade paperback
Publisher: Vintage Books USA
Date Published: 1998
ISBN-13:9780679777540ISBN:0679777547
Description: Very good. No dust jacket as issued. Trade paperback (US). Glued binding. 384 p. Contains: Illustrations. Audience: General/trade. read more
"The Club Dumas isn't your typical mystery. Lucas Corso isn't your typical detective. So if you would enjoy something outside of the formulic mystery genre this novel will keep you reading late into the night. I couldn't put this book down. Like the main character Lucas Corso, I just kept getting more into the "game" as the story went on. Arturo Perez-Reverte has created an intriguing novel about about the world of antique booksellers and dealers. The reader is treated to details about the literary world and the quirky people who inhabit it. Lucas Corso describes himself as a literary mercenary who could possibly sell his soul to get the best aquisition. We follow him as he begins the story helping his only friend Flavio Lapont by authenticating a manuscript written by Dumas himself. Simultaneously, he is hired by a client to verify the fact that the book The Nine Doors of the Kingdom of Shadows is a forgery. Somehow these missions become intertwined as Corso's life becomes enmeshed in the mystery of the Dumas manuscript "The Three Musketeers" and the satanic significance of the Nine Doors novel. During his quest, Corso encounters a mysterious female and various characters that he names after characters from the "Three Musketeers." As the mysteries become more sinister and life threatening the pace picks up and the reader is swept into the bizarre world of the people who hold the other copies of the Nine Doors book and the simultaneously flowing plot about the Dumas manuscript. This isn't a light read but heavy on inferences with an ending that may leave some unsatisfied. I loved the detailed story with the references to historical facts interwoven with fantasy about the devil. An excellent novel."
"When I first read The Club Dumas, it inspired me to learn more antiquarian books and book collecting. On this my third read of what is one of my favorite books, I find that I want to learn more about book making or, if nothing else, the composition of paper. There is a conversation in the book stating that the paper in today's books will last sixty years. Perhaps that lack of quality and craftsmanship will be a collective push for e-readers.
I recommend this book a bit. I bought a copy and put it in our library system. The supernatural (a book containing nine illustrations by Lucifer, etc) elements seem to be a turn off for our patrons. But what I love most about The Club Dumas is the information sown to and fro about bookmaking and Alexandre Dumas and his ghostwriter.
For three days, I put off reading the last ten pages. Some momentum is lost at the end, but it is well worth the journey.
"Took this with me to San Francisco when we went out for bumma's west coast memorial. It took me a loooooong tome to get into it, what with sons and nephews an cousins and other assorted family members and distractions. Plus there was loads of good music at the Stanford Jazz Festival.
I only got past the extremely convoluted and detailed bit on the trip home. Before that, I almost abandoned the book a half dozen times. Ultimately, what interested me more were the details about antique books and book collecting rather than the twists of the plot. The shift between narrators did nothing for me, beyond getting me confused.
I think that if I happened to be a huge Dumas fan, I might have gotten caught up with the joy of it all a bit more. (I'm one of these "no, but I've seen the movie" folks with regards to his books. They're on my "someday" list to read.) I did enjoy the steady, methodical approach Corso took in his tracking of the book he was seeking. And I did enjoy the basic writing. I just got lost in the paths of the journey sometimes."
"I'm really torn with my three-star review here. On one hand I enjoyed this book immensely and hardly put it down in the 24 hours or so it took me to complete it. On the other hand, I'm left feeling kind of empty and unresolved.
The translation was pretty darned good - there were only one or two times where it fell through with a thud. I liked the writing style, but I didn't like the choice of narrators. It's all delivered under the pretext of "Let me tell you a little story" and then it immediately transforms into a third-person pseudo-omniscient - it just felt unnecessary and clumsy. I liked Corso, but he was a little too smart to be playing the sad sack hero. And finally I enjoyed the big reveal but then it turned out that it wasn't the full reveal, and the true ending fell flat, too many questions unanswered but not in a cliffhanger way. It's as if Pérez-Reverte just said, "Eh, you don't need to know" and dismissed it all with a wave of his hand.
And yet, if I ever find myself in that position where I want to re-read something just for entertainment's sake I'll probably pick this one up again."
We guarantee every item's condition, as described on Alibris. If you are not satisfied that an item is as described, return your purchase for a refund.
rating
