Having just read a biography of Dumas's father (for which I thought I'd written a review but apparently not) I was happy to dive into this great classic of French literature hiding on my Nook.
The basic story is fairly well known - a young man, d'Artagnon, arrives in Paris looking to join the fabled Musketeers. This is an elite group of guards assigned to the King. He first fights, then is befriended by, three musketeers, Athos, Porthos and Aramis. Together they drink and fight and laugh together through adventures that will take them to England and back. Along the way they will face some dangerous foes.
To be honest my impression of the story before I turned a page came from the movies. Which seemed to be mostly men in the absurd (to my eye) clothing of 17th century France having sword fights and being drunk. It all seemed rather lightweight and silly. On the other hand this novel (originally a serial) is highly regarded and it launched the fame of the elder Dumas. So I swung into it.
What I found was a wonderful story and fabulous characters. I know that d'Artagnon is the romantic lead and seems to get the hero worship but for me it was the silent but wise Athos that drew me in. He is a man with secrets and burdens. At the same time he watches over his friends and is there for them when needed. In the movies Aramis always seems a bit hypocritical in his devotion to the church. Dumas shows a young man struggling between his calling to God and earthly callings like friendship and duty.
As with any work translated into English the phrasing is sometime awkward. It's obvious that idiomatic phrases in French were rather woodenly translated into English so at times the writing is a bit strange. That's clearly not the fault of the author. Once source notes that one early translation by William Barrow discretely deletes any scene that seems to be about intimate relations. While that may have made sense in 1800s England it is foolish now and you would lose some of the quality of the novel by reading such a translation. My copy is the Barnes and Noble Classics edition and the translator is listed as unknown.
This is a great fun adventure novel filled with wonderful characters of real depth. Well worth the read.
Rating - **** Recommended
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