Binding: Paperback
Dewey Decimal Number: 843.7
EAN: 9780375756740
ISBN: 0375756744
Label: Modern Library
Manufacturer: Modern Library
Number Of Items: 1
Number Of Pages: 640
Publication Date: 2001-02-13
Publisher: Modern Library
Release Date: 2001-02-13
Studio: Modern Library

First published in 1844, Alexandre Dumas's swashbuckling epic chronicles the adventures of D'Artagnan, a gallant young nobleman who journeys to Paris in 1625 hoping to join the ranks of musketeers guarding Louis XIII. He soon finds himself fighting alongside three heroic comrades—Athos, Porthos, and Aramis—who seek to uphold the honor of the king by foiling the wicked plots of Cardinal Richelieu and the beautiful spy "Milady." As Clifton Fadiman reflected, "We read The Three Musketeers to experience a sense of romance and for the sheer excitement of the story. In these violent pages all is action, intrigue, suspense, surprise—an almost endless chain of duels, murders, love affairs, unmaskings, ambushes, hairbreadth escapes, wild rides. It is all impossible and it is all magnificent."

Customer Rating:
Summary: What started as a chore, became quite enjoyable
Comment: I have put off reading this book for years... mainly because of its size, and the fact that it was written in French, and I just didn't want to put that much work into anything. I finally convinced myself that I really needed to read this because I enjoy the movies so much.

In the beginning... I was worried. The language was easy enough to follow (concern number 1 gone) but the writing style seemed a bit loose and haphazard. Rather than my mind being boggled, I found myself getting irritated by the wandering I felt that the book was doing. For the first quarter of the book I had started to question my choice of reading this. At first D'Artagnan irritated me because he seemed so stupid, and ready to fight anyone and everyone over anything, then our introduction to the three musketeers Athos, Aramis and Porthos were also ready to "cross swords" with anyone at even the most minor offence. The first several sword fights were rather sparse as far as description and excitement so it didn't "thrill" me the way I had hoped.

Enter the Cardinal, he was interesting... devious and maniacal... I thought to myself that the book could be picking up. But sadly the first half of the book really was nothing but D'Artagnan pining over women, and the Musketeers drinking, eating or spending money on more equipment. I was a bit weirded out by their lackeys... each of them had a servant who was all but a slave. These servants were only mentioned when they were being scolded, or offered up to do their master's bidding.

The story began to get interesting with the introduction of Milady, one of the most intelligent and evil villainesses I have encountered in a book. Vile of nature and black of heart she is a truly evil being that really spices up the book. Once she was brought into the picture, the tedious story opened up into an interesting tale of intrigue, a battle of wits between her, the cardinal and the musketeers.

There is a fair amount of history in this book, however much of it has been altered with creative license so I wouldn't take the events as gospel. I guess I can see why this is a classic, however I would have to say I preferred "The Count of Monte Cristo" to this. Had the first half been more entertaining I would have really loved this book. I'm just glad I kept reading so that I could get to the interesting part.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: great book yet don't look at with modern values
Comment: Its a fast-paced book with few lulls, not 2 many dead moments. It is much funnier than I thought before picking it up, and the interaction between the 4 friends is classic. The style is brisk and light, often tounge-in-check. While long, it breezes by. But a few warnings: do not look at it with modern eyes. The value system is flawed (in addition Dumas has a habit of both glorifying & making fun of them nearly symultaneously) but this is not a book to read for a complex theme or deep thinking. To Dumas' credit, that is not at all what he set out to do, so its unfair when people hold that againist him. What this book is is a fun adventure that resists being put down.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Three cheers!
Comment: This is the story of a poor, young, French man, named d'Artagnan Gascony. He leaves his home with only a sword, an old horse, and his family name. Fate steps in and he manages to meet and make angry not one, not two, but three of the kings swordsman, known as "Musketeers". They each decide to duel him, one right after the other, but only d'Artagnan knows this. When the first duel is to begin, all three Musketeers arrive, one to fight and the other two to act as seconds. Just as they begin exchanging blows the Cardinal's guard arrives and attempts to arrest the three Musketeers and d'Artagnan, forcing them to act together. The four defeat the Cardinal's guards and the adventure begins.

This book is loaded with characters who are either extremely evil such as the conniving Cardinal, or the wicked Midlady de Winter, or righteously heroic like the musketeers, d'Artagnan, his faithful servant Planchet , and love Constance. There are many tense moments, sword fights, and situation which require skill and offer danger to the friends of d'Artagnan.

When you consider that The Three Musketeers was written in 1846, over one hundred and fifty years ago, it is amazing that it can hold the attention of the modern reader, but that it does. Alexander Dumas allows you to see through his writing the details surrounding the situations, you are not a reader, but a by stander in d'Artagnan's exciting life. So dig in and be prepared to be transported back to France, in the 1800's, where wit, bravery, friendship and sword play will have you cheering for the Musketeers!

-- Peter Brodnax

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Customer Rating:
Summary: "Meung, a pretty market town on the Loire..."
Comment: In the very midst of the last Harry Potter being published, I picked up this title from my library, mainly because of the attractive cover and easy-to-read design and typeface. I also wanted to see what a great classic felt like. I was highly rewarded.
Certainly this amazing and ground-breaking work is dated in places, particularly when men are disposed of without the least thought and women are placed on pedestals like goddesses. Nonetheless, the ease with which Dumas develops the ties between Athos, Porthos, Aramis, and D'Artagnan is a work of art in itself. One cannot say these sophisticated gentlemen are utterly carefree, but they deal with what life offers them with a very modern sense of skepticism, romance, and adventure. No religious figure can fool them with absurd piety. No falsity can entrap them. Each protects and supports the other, yet each character is unique, and we feel we know them thoroughly.
The plot tumbles forward, full of adventure, intrigue, romance, betrayal, and evil. Dumas is a great story teller, although at times wrapped up with himself to the point of tedium, but those passages can be read over quickly. A rich supporting cast of characters, from Cardinal Richelieu to Queen Anne to Milady, who is the incarnation of evil, make this work amazingly entertaining, even over the course of 600 pages.
It would be a great exercise to contrast this one work with that of Harry Potter. Obviously, Dumas, who was enormously popular, is writing for an adult audience, and does not spare us sexual exploits. But the forces unleashed are similar in both works: good, loyalty, and truth versus evil, deception, and falsehood. Interesting.
Just a word on the translation: It was lively, modern, and smooth. No awkwardness was apparent. Descriptions were crystal clear.

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Customer Rating:
Summary: Vocabulary too advanced to hold childrens' attention
Comment: I bought this classic novel on cd thinking it would hold the interest of my 2 grade school boys, who enjoy books on cd while driving to and from school. They did not like the narrator's snobby french accent nor could they understand many of the words. This is a great cd for high school or adults but not children. A bust for us.

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