Customer Reviews

Three Musketeers (Penguin Classics)

5 star:		(183)
4 star:		(48)
3 star:		(13)
2 star:		(11)
1 star:		(7)

 

 

The only reason I picked up the book was because it was one of "those" books in the school library. You wanted to read it for the points, but everybody who picked it up gaze up and put it back down. *I* even tried to read it once and gave up. But I'm always up for a challenge. The next year I checked it out and informed everybody I knew that I was going to be one of the first people in our school to read the book. Then I decided to begin reading.

The first couple pages are basically one long paragraph that doesn't make sense unless you're re-reading it and already know the characters and what's going on. I was tempted to put it down, but I wasn't going to back down. By about page 30, it was easy to read, and I began to get into it.

What I discovered was that this is possibly one of the best pieces of fiction ever written. I couldn't put it down, and spent a whole Saturday reading it. I never expected it to be what it was from what I'd read on the back. But then, the plot is so complex, and there are so many sub-plots that you wonder how anyone can do it justice.

I read once that many people associate the word "classic" with the word "boring". As I've discovered, this is entirely not true. When I thought about it, the reason books become classics aren't because they're old and boring, but because people love them, because they are read by millions. The reason that they lasted for so long is because people kept them alive. I'm sure that in a century from now, only a select few books that we enjoy will still be in print, and those particular books will be the best of our time, just as The Three Musketeers was the best of its time.

I'm sorry if this review didn't suffice, I'm just hoping that maybe somebody will read it and give it a try. So far I haven't talked anyone I know into reading it, but they're not bookworms like me. People are intimidated by its size, but from my experience, the best books are the largest. When an author really has a story to tell, one that you will enjoy, one that has a complex, satisfying plot, then it's going to be long.

Okay, I'm done lecturing anyone who got this far. :)

First notice: do NOT read an abridged version of the tales. You will lose too much.

Second notice: do NOT be fooled into beleiving this is a history book. This is a work of fiction, and a magnificent one.

So, with that in mind, what can one say about The Three Musketeers? Athos, Porthos, Aramis, D'Artangnan, the great friends, the great heros, the part-time cads, the drinkers, womanizers, war heros, saviours of the Queen's honour, foils to M. le Cardinal -- these are the ultimate Larger Than Life characters. They foil dastardly plots, they involve themselves in high politics and affairs of state, the duel constantly, and still find time to learn lessons of friendship, honour, and betrayal.

This is not a children's book, no more than 20,000 Leagues Under The Sea is a children's book. It was written for adults and there are many scenes children will not understand and will become bored with. Do not let that stop YOU from reading it. Teach you children parts of the tale and then work them towards it. Do yourself a favour and find out just how rich and complex this tale is. You will enjoy it.

An "endless adventure" breathlessly moving from one scene to the next: sword-fighting, court espionage, sex scandals, poisonings, assassinations, undying love and so on.

'Les Trois Mousquetaires', first published in 1844, was soon translated into three English versions by 1846. One of these, by William Barrow, is still in print and fairly faithful to the original, available in the Oxford World's Classics 1999 edition. However all of the explicit and many of the implicit references to sexuality had been removed to conform to 19th century English standards of morality, thus making the scenes between d'Aragnan and Milady, for example, confusing and strange. The most recent and new standard English translation is by award-winning translator Richard Pevear (2006). Pevear says in his translation notes that most of the modern translations available today are "textbook examples of bad translation practices" which "give their readers an extremely distorted notion of Dumas's writing." Thankfully we have high quality translations like this one now available.

Long lines wait impatiently outside book shops for the latest issue of the magazine Le Siecle. On the streets and in cafes Parisians talked excitedly about each new installment of the thrilling adventure story, The Three Musketeers. (Like many novels written in the mid-1800s, Dumas' novel was serialized in a magazine before being published as a book.)

The public quickly recognized that a new literary genre had appeared - a fast paced, action story based upon a historical event. Previous historical fiction now seemed slow, wordy, and even archaic.

What is even more surprising is that 150 years later The Three Musketeers remains widely popular, both in print and on screen. Exciting duels, close escapes, political intrigues, and chivalrous romance still capture the imagination of today's readers.

Today's public undoubtedly remembers more about French history - at least history according to Alexandre Dumas - from The Three Musketeers, and its sequels, than from high school and university classes. Athos, Porthos, and Aramis - and their friend D'Artagnan, the irrepressible, courageous, handsome young Gascon who aspires to become a Musketeer himself - are modern icons. Similarly, Dumas' portrayal of King Louis XIII, Queen Anne of Austria, and Cardinal Richelieu are decidedly more interesting than the dry, factual historical characters found in textbooks.

And it impossible to forget the enchanting, notorious, and dangerous Milady de Winter, one of the more dramatic and memorable character created by any author. I am somewhat disappointed that Milady is fictional.

Choices: There are several good translations of Three Musketeers, including paperbacks like the Bantam Classic and Signet Classic editions. The slightly more expensive Oxford World's Classics edition is also quite good, and it offers an extended introduction and other supplementary material. Trident Press offers an attractive, deluxe gift edition profusely illustrated with the original ink drawings by Maurice Leloir. This version is a reprint of an edition first published by Thomas Y. Crowell and Company in Boston in 1879.

Advice: I strongly caution you to avoid the abridged editions. The Three Musketeers is indeed a lengthy novel, but it is one that warrants reading in its entirety, especially if you might someday read one of its sequels, like Twenty Years After or The Man in the Iron Mask.

THere is a reason that classics are regarded as classics: they are timeless and very fun to read, often more fun than you would imagine. THis is a long book, 900 pages in the French version, but I sliced through so fast that I was sorry when it ended.

The plot outline is simple. The four musketeers - for there really are four - want to help the queen in her love for Lord Buckingham of England. All the rest is intrigue and adventure related to that. But the episodes are so funny, the chemistry between the characters so subtle and realistic, that it makes for a truly great read. Indeed, the characters of the musketeers are so well drawn, their inter-relations so complex, that a film or even a miniseries simply cannot do it justice. The glimpses at historical personnages is also fascinating, from Richelieu to Louis XIII. Finally, you get a flavor for the Paris of that epoch, just after the religious wars.

Highly recommended.

Look, I love The Three Musketeers, absolutely love it. It's clever, adventurous, and laugh out loud hilarious. It is one of my all-time favorites, but this version is abridged. If you are going to go to all the trouble to read a book, why not read the whole thing? At the time I bought this book, I did not know it was abridged. When I began reading it, I realized little parts of the story were missing and I was not at all pleased. If you want Dumas, get unabridged. It may take a bit longer to finish, but it is very much worth it.

All translators must struggle with two competing goals: 1) being faithful to the original author and 2) making the translated text accessible to the reader. In this translation of _The Three Musketeers_, the translator, Richard Pevear, generally gravitates towards the first goal. His vocabulary choices almost always favor the original French usage rather than modern English usage. For example, early in the book, Pevear refers to Milady as Rochefort's "interlocutrix". Now I don't know about you, but I grew up going to California public schools, and if I ever used a word like "interlocutrix", I'd get my face bashed into a locker. My background notwithstanding, I think it's clear what's going on here. The word "interlocutrix" is an uncommon yet legitimate English word with French roots. Pevear has chosen to use the uncommon word in order to remain faithful to Dumas' original French text which presumably used the French cognate for "interlocutrix" whatever that is.

I could come up with literally dozens of such examples, and eventually I just started keeping a separate list of obscure words and definitions so I only needed to refer to a short list rather than slog through the dictionary every time I came upon one of those recurring obscure words. By the time I finished the book, I had a five page (12 pt. Times New Roman type, single-spaced) list of obscure words. They range from 17th century French clothing ("tabard", "doublet", "jerkin") to horse-related terminology ("caparison", "sorrel", "croup") to 17th century military terminology ("counterscarp", "revetments", "circumvallation") and many others. In all these cases, I'm convinced that Pevear chose to use the English cognates of original French words rather than more modern English equivalents.

In fairness to Pevear, he does provide extensive notes explaining the historical references made by Dumas, which is extremely reader-friendly, and I profited from them greatly. Even in these notes, however, he leaves out some obvious choices such as "Rosinante" and "Circe".

In short, if you're an English speaker with no knowledge of French but would like to get a feel for Dumas' prose style and usage, this is the book for you. It is a remarkably faithful translation that really gives you a feel for the nuances of the original text. If you're unfamiliar with the obscure words chosen for the translation but are willing to make repeated trips to the dictionary (or keep a side list as I did), you'll be richly rewarded with keener understanding of life in 17th century France as well as a greater appreciation of Dumas' prose style.

For what it's worth, a doublet is close fitting jacket worn by European men in the 16th and 17th centuries; a jerken is a hip-length collarless and sleeveless jacket worn over a doublet, and a tabard is a tunic or cape-like garment emblazoned with a coat of arms. A caparison is an ornamental covering for a horse or for its saddle or harness; a sorrel is a brownish-orange colored horse, and a croup is the rump of a beast of burden, especially a horse. A counterscarp is the outer side of a ditch used in fortifications; revetments is a barricade against explosives, and circumvallation is the act of surrounding with a rampart. Rosinante is the name of Don Quixote's horse, and Circe is the goddess of Greek mythology who turned Odysseus's men temporarily into pigs but later gave him directions for their journey home. And an interlocutrix is simply a woman who is participating in a conversation.

I'll close with my favorite quote from the book, spoken by Cardinal Richelieu. He was musing about finding someone to assassinate the Duke of Buckingham, but Milady argued that potential assassins would be afraid to proceed for fear of "torture and death". Le Cardinal replied, "In all times and in all countries, especially if those countries are divided by religion, there will always be fanatics who ask for nothing better than to be made martyrs." It's as true today as it was when Dumas' wrote it more than 160 years ago.

1 When I got this book, the name seemed very familiar. `Three Musketeers' was a phrase used by people to describe any trio of friends indulging in some activity or enterprise. Then I came to know about the movie made on the story of this book with the same name.

2 Initially, this book did not interest me at all. What a funny kind of language it has is what I thought. I wondered as to why it is such a famous classic when I am unable to find first few pages so interesting. But when I convinced my mind that this must be the language of times to which the book belongs (1844) and proceeded, It was evident why it is a classic. Masterly woven story line and plot. Thrill of not knowing what to expect next, the intrigue of the French court, helplessness of the Queen and power of the Cardinal all add to the boiling pot of this book's plot. Rise of its commoner hero D' Artagnan through intelligence, luck, hard work and musketeer friends has been convincingly developed. Even after long time from its release in 1844, `Three Musketeers' holds the readers captive till the very last page. A MUST READ.

There is a reason Alexandre Dumas' classic is still read and reread today. It is just plain fun to read, supposing you are not forced to do so for some sort of literature class. Gallant heroes, fair damsels, magnificent settings, war, love, duels, honorable gentlemen, nefarious villains, kings, queens, princes, French, English and Cardinal Richelieu, this book has everything.

Based mostly around the character of D'Artagnan, a young man trying to enter the Musketeers, the personal bodyguard of the King of France. Befitting a King, his bodyguard contingent is very large, but D'Artagnan befriends three of the company: Athos, Porthos and Aramis, in addition to their captain, whose name I cannot recall as I am writing this review. Befitting the central character, this book is written with the exuberance of youth in such intoxicating measure that the reader cannot help but feel genuine affection for the loyal, heroic, though occasionally hotheaded D'Artagnan and his well-matched friends.

The book slows down near the end for some rather unexciting, though very important, character development which itself leads to a vital development in the story. However, despite the fact the plot does tend to drag a bit in this section, it is, indeed, very important and, more importantly, the slowdown in that portion allows the frightful pace of the next few chapters to feel that much more urgent.

All in all, this book is just a rollicking good time. For people who want to read a well written book with an intense plot, characters for whom one can feel genuine affection and a vivid sense of setting: this is a book that belongs in one's personal library.

Richard Pevear's translation of the Three Musketeers is without a doubt the best I have ever seen. His translation makes the story flow much easier and makes the language much more intelligible to modern readers. My hope is that he continues to translate Dumas' other works where the Musketeers also make an appearance. I would recommend this book to those who have already read previous translations and those who are new to the works of Alexandre Dumas.