Georges (Modern Library Classics) (Paperback)

by Alexandre Dumas (Author), Werner Sollors (Editor), Tina Kover (Translator), Jamaica Kincaid (Foreword)
Key Phrases: petite montagne, pig chase, Pierre Munier, Alexandre Dumas, Lord Murray (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Review
“Georges is an illuminating, instructive, and enduring blueprint of racial conflict and strife, as compelling and relevant today as it was back in the 1840s, when it was first published.”
–Adrienne Kennedy, author of Funnyhouse of a Negro

“I know this is a novel of great historical and cultural significance and that it explores complex issues of race and colonialism and all, but what matters to a guy like me is, it’s a hell of a read. Sea battles and land battles, a steamy setting and hot-blooded gallantries, ancient enmities and sweet revenge, forbidden love, insults and duels, bravado and bravery and redemption, hot pursuit and desperate flight and crushing captures and daring escapes. What a story! And Kover’s translation lets all the lushness and the romance and the passion come through with cinematic clarity.”
–David Bradley, author of The Chaneysville Incident

“A remarkable discovery that expands the corpus of Alexandre Dumas. Rendered in beautiful language, this is a tale that transports us to a time and place that still speaks to us in our present circumstances. We are indebted to Werner Sollors and Jamaica Kincaid for their framing documents that provide us with a critical lens for the journey Dumas has created for us out of his own generous and expansive imagination.”
–Rudolph P. Byrd, Emory University

“A brilliant example of the French Romantic novel, far too infrequently read and . . . deserving of a broader audience.”
–Barbara T. Cooper, professor of French, University of New Hampshire


From the Hardcover edition. --This text refers to the Kindle Edition edition.

Review
“Georges is an illuminating, instructive, and enduring blueprint of racial conflict and strife, as compelling and relevant today as it was back in the 1840s, when it was first published.”
–Adrienne Kennedy, author of Funnyhouse of a Negro

“I know this is a novel of great historical and cultural significance and that it explores complex issues of race and colonialism and all, but what matters to a guy like me is, it’s a hell of a read. Sea battles and land battles, a steamy setting and hot-blooded gallantries, ancient enmities and sweet revenge, forbidden love, insults and duels, bravado and bravery and redemption, hot pursuit and desperate flight and crushing captures and daring escapes. What a story! And Kover’s translation lets all the lushness and the romance and the passion come through with cinematic clarity.”
–David Bradley, author of The Chaneysville Incident

“A remarkable discovery that expands the corpus of Alexandre Dumas. Rendered in beautiful language, this is a tale that transports us to a time and place that still speaks to us in our present circumstances. We are indebted to Werner Sollors and Jamaica Kincaid for their framing documents that provide us with a critical lens for the journey Dumas has created for us out of his own generous and expansive imagination.”
–Rudolph P. Byrd, Emory University

“A brilliant example of the French Romantic novel, far too infrequently read and . . . deserving of a broader audience.”
–Barbara T. Cooper, professor of French, University of New Hampshire


From the Hardcover edition.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 336 pages
• Publisher: Modern Library (June 10, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0812975898
• ISBN-13: 978-0812975895
• Product Dimensions: 7.9 x 5.1 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 8 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (4 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #813,487 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

8 of 10 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

By	Adam - See all my reviews

This review is from: Georges (Modern Library) (Hardcover)

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.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Correction to the list-maker's comment, November 20, 2008

By	ATXGirl (Austin, TX) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Georges (French Edition) (Paperback)

As they all said, this really is such a good book! But just to correct the person who made the list I saw it on, Dumas was a quarter black, not half.

3 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A great lesson on tolerance, even today!, December 7, 2007

By	Aimee L. Kover (Colorado) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: Georges (Modern Library) (Hardcover)

I enjoyed this book very much! The translation was perfect, not an emotion or imaginary description was lost. This is a perfect lesson on tolerance, an old story with a timely message. A Must READ!!!