15 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Lesser known, but not necessarily lesser (at least not by much), June 5, 2007
I have been a big fan of Alexander Dumas ever since I first read an abridged version of The Count of Monte Cristo back in high school. I followed that up a couple of years ago with an unabridged version of the same novel, which I now consider my favorite novel of all time, and with the first two volumes of the d'Artagnan series, which is also excellent. However, I've been reluctant to start any other works by Dumas recently mainly because most are extremely long and I haven't had much free time, so I immediately one-clicked a copy of Georges once I stumbled upon this little gem. At less than 300 pages, it presented a much less imposing option versus continuing the d'Artagnan series (which I will do at some point), and I'm glad I picked it up.
Georges follows the exploits of the young mulatto Georges Munier and is set on the Ile de France, a small French (and later English) colony located in the Indian Ocean. While the population of Ile de France is racially diverse, it is not exactly tolerant, as the economy is based upon slavery and the large mulatto (and other free non-white) population can never achieve the upper echelon of society (can't marry a white woman, can't attend certain social events, can't march with the white regiments into battle, etc.). Georges, after his father sends him to Europe as a young teenager in order to complete his education, returns to Ile de France as a young man in his twenties in order to undertake the Quixotic task of eradicating prejudice from the island - a task which he is determined to either accomplish or die trying.
I won't get into the plot in any more detail in order to avoid spoiling any of it, but the novel is very enjoyable, although it could have used a bit more swashbuckling action. The characters are well crafted, with the vindictive young Georges very much resembling the somewhat more developed Edmond Dantes (Georges was released one year before The Count, and from reading both I get the impression Dumas experimented with the character in Georges before perfecting and recasting it as Dantes, although for all I know the release dates may not coincide with the timing of when the bulk of each was written, so I could be completely wrong). Georges' character doesn't quite achieve the depth of the excellent Dantes or d'Artagnan, but that's a given due to the much shorter length of this novel. The real antagonist isn't a man but rather an idea (prejudice), and Dumas does a good, though not quite perfect, job of personifying this via the characters it embodies.
The translation, in my opinion, is pretty good. I don't speak French and haven't read any other translations of this work so I can't give a very good review of the translation, other than to say it is easy to read yet for the most part it doesn't lose too much of the "feel" of the 19th century French speaking civilization. The writing itself isn't quite as enthralling as some of the other Dumas works I've read, although I can't say whether this is due to the translation or the original work.
In short - if you haven't yet discovered Dumas, read The Count of Monte Cristo or The Three Musketeers (in unabridged form!). If, on the other hand, you're already familiar with Dumas' writing and are merely wondering whether Georges lives up to the standards of his better known works, or if you don't have the guts to undertake a 1,000+ page tome, then I would whole heartedly recommend picking this up. For the latter group, reading Georges is by far a preferable option to reading an abridged (read: gutted) version of one of his longer works.
In my opinion, Georges isn't *quite* as good as the two works mentioned elsewhere in this review, but it's pretty damn good nonetheless. If half stars were allowed I'd give Georges 4.5 stars, as I consider it excellent though not quite perfect.
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7 of 9 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I LOVED it., May 30, 2007
Wow, what a great, exciting book! Love, betrayal, duels, revenge! Sea battles and hurricanes and slave riots! I read the whole book in one sitting. I liked it even more than The Three Musketeers. A must-read!
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
Dumas tackles race relations with mixed success, June 7, 2010
Dumas gives us a swashbuckling adventure set in the colony of Ile de France. What makes this novel intriguing - and why we read it today - is the title character's mixed racial heritage, an added dimension that sets this book a notch above standard adventure fare. As a study in racial prejudice, and how one exemplary young man attempts to deal with that prejudice, Dumas has given us a powerful document, almost a blueprint for living in a multiracial society: family first, be true to yourself, and be the very best that you can possibly be.
But as entertainment this reviewer found the book somewhat lacking. Perhaps too much is made of what an amazing young man Georges Munier is - it's hard to identify with someone who's so perfect in every way. And certainly the pace of this book is problematic; the first half of the book was painfully slow, then the second half almost seemed to move too quickly. Yes, there's no shortage of adventure: a horse race, a prison break, a native uprising, a wedding, a betrayal, an execution, a sea battle, surprisingly little man to man swordplay... but without the emotional engagement that should have made us really care about the characters, this reviewer felt the book fell a little flat. The easy-to-read prose of this translation makes it accessible enough for young people, but not all will find it much to their liking. Highly recommended for students of the history of race relations. For casual readers: 3.5 stars.
A note on the cover of the hardback edition: a very dark-faced Georges is shown holding hands with two white women, although Dumas makes it pretty clear that Georges is actually light-colored enough to "pass". One presumes this cover was designed to emphasize Georges' ancestry, and not just to generate controversy.
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