The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas: Readalong Post II

Guys, this is going to be another lazy-lazy post. I'm not sure exactly why, but this week is leaving me totally drained. At least the semester is almost over!

I found myself enjoying the second half of the book much more than the first half. In the first half, the Three Musketeers and D'Artagnan seemed to just be messing around, spending all their money on foolish things and picking fights. The second half of the novel seemed much more serious to me. Suddenly, they had a goal (at times tenuously defined, it is true) - they wanted to protect Madame Bonacieux, the Duke of Buckingham (well, some of them wanted to do that...) and above all, D'Artagnan. They have a defined nemesis - while they are always more or less against the cardinal, Milady is their true enemy, and it is she against whom they are fighting. Once the Musketeers had a purpose, I saw a point in their escapades. They still did stupid things, but at least they were doing something other than trying to earn money, buying horses, losing the horses through gambling, etc. (How many times did that happen?)

In this more purposeful section, I noticed a strong disparity between the Musketeers - almost as if they were cut in half and divided into two groups. On one side of the spectrum we have Aramis and Porthos. These men are comical and (more) foolish. Porthos is obsessed with women, money, and fashion. He is a bumbling, dramatic man (but does have his good points). Aramis is more serious, but also foolish because he holds so fiercely to his ideal of becoming a priest, and yet cannot stay away from women. One the other side of the divide, we have Athos and D'Artagnan - also made fools by women, it is true, but able to calculate, to plan their next advances. I really enjoyed the character of Athos, with his quiet intensity and his ability to attend to his silent servant with hand-gestures. And while D'Artagnan is young and overly passionate in this story, it's obvious that he is intelligent and brave enough to plan his own destiny.

As I glanced through that last paragraph, I realized that in different ways, the main weakness of all the Musketeers (I just automatically consider D'Artagnan as a Musketeer) involves women. Porthos needs money, and he can only get money by seducing women. Aramis believes he is called to a holy life, but keeps messing around and putting off his ordination - because of women. Athos drinks all the time because a woman ruined his life, and D'Artagnan is in agony because of the two women he falls in love with in the story. So it makes sense that the arch-nemesis of the Musketeers is a woman, Milady Clarik.

I have always said that Kathy in East of Eden by John Steinbeck was the most evil character I have ever read, but Milady could give her a run for her money. Armed with beauty, a sweet voice, and a razor sharp desire for revenge, Milady ensnares men with her charms and then leaves them to die. Even though it was horrible, I was fascinated by how carefully plotted Milady's attacks were and the way she was able to be so sure of the effect of her charms. At the same time, I was bothered that Dumas chose to portray women as the downfall of men. I really think this was a major theme of the novel. I even think Dumas quoted some proverb about women being the downfall of men... but I'm too lazy to look it up now!

To sum up... this book was a decent read, but longer than it was enjoyable. Things got better toward the end. There are multiple sequels to this novel that are waiting for me on my Kindle. I think I need a little break, but I'll be curious to see if the musketeers ever grow up. I don't think Porthos will.

The Three Musketeers by Alexandre Dumas: Readalong Post 1

This is the probably the book that has spent the longest amount of time on my TBR. We're talking over ten years. Like Allie, the host of this lovely challenge, I have put it off due to its length (and a slight fear that it would embark on historical monologues like The Count of Monte Cristo). In this respect, my fears have been put to rest. So far, The Three Musketeers has in many ways been the opposite of what I expected.

Like I said, no historical monologues. (Thank goodness). The book is pretty much straight-up action. Almost everything that happens is important to the plot. While at times the plot and characters get a little convoluted (for some reason, I am still really confused about who exactly Madam Chevreuse is, other than somehow connected to the queen and the paramour of Aramis), in general everything has a purpose and is interesting.

I do have to say I am a little disappointed by the flippancy of the book. I'm not sure how to explain this exactly. It is a completely biased opinion and is, I think, a direct result of my mood and not the book's merits. I was expecting a serious, gut-wrenching, poignant book. That is how I experienced The Count of Monte Cristo. The romances were rending, there was deceit and greatness and passion. This book is a little more... silly. The characters constantly pick fights and kill men for insults to their honor such as offering a fallen handkerchief with an incriminating coat-of-arms or drawing attention to the fact that one's baldric is only half golden. So many of the characters' actions were foolish.

But like I said, my mood probably influences my reaction. I have been in the mood for a heavier book, and while The Three Musketeers is heavy in weight, it is not heavy in volume. I think now that I know what to expect, I am beginning to settle in and enjoy the jokes a little more. I have really enjoyed learning the secrets of the three musketeers as d'Artagnan is getting to know them better. I do think their characters are well fleshed out and interesting, but it drives me crazy to see them do stupid things like spend all their money on wine, or gamble away their horses, or kill someone just because he looked at them cross-eyed. So far, mixed opinions of this one. I like it but I don't think it will be a favorite. Still, I'm glad that I am finally getting to it. Onward to the second half!

The Three Musketeers by Andre Dumas: Read-along Start-up Post

I had a great experience with A Literary Odyssey's February read-along for Oliver Twist by Charles Dickens, so I'm all aboard for the March read-along.

The Three Musketeers has been on my TBR for about thirteen years. When I was in grade school and middle school, I was known for loving to read, especially big fat books. There was a hardcover version of this book in our middle school library, and every time we went in there for a class assignment, someone in my class would pull it off the shelf and tell me that I should read it. I'm sure there were bigger books in our school library, but this one was a very large and imposing hardcover edition. I always intended to read it, but while I did end up reading The Count of Monte Cristo for a project in high school, I never got around to The Three Musketeers. After seeing Slumdog Millionaire (which I'm a little obsessed with, and which features the novel in a few key points), I knew I needed to read it and soon. So here we are. I'm a little nervous about getting in all the reading I have planned for this month (who let me sign up for all these challenges and accept all these ARCs?!?) but I am looking forward to it at the same time.

Donc, la schedule: (saying it in French. Because Alexandre Dumas is French).
15 mars - les premieres 29 chapitres
31 mars - les dernieres chapitres (j'ai oublie combien)
(I haven't spoken or written in French in about two and a half years... don't judge)

Commence swashbuckling.