The Club Dumas (Hardcover)

~ (Author), (Author, Translator) "My name is Boris Balkan and I once translated The Charterhouse of Parma..." (more)
Key Phrases: nine doors, nine engravings, blue duffel coat, Liana Taillefer, Varo Borja, The Three Musketeers (more...)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

As Lucas Corso investigates the authenticity of a manuscript by Alexander Dumas--received from a man later found hanged--he becomes embroiled in a search for a rare book of satanic lore, pursued by a sinister stalker and a mysterious woman. By the author of The Flanders Panel.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 362 pages
• Publisher: Houghton Mifflin Harcourt (HMH); 1st edition (February 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0151001820
• ISBN-13: 978-0151001828
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 5.9 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (255 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #60,505 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

103 of 106 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Mind Candy (not to be swallowed by everyone), July 7, 1999

By	Natalia ([e-mail] (Manila, Philippines) - See all my reviews

This review is from: The Club Dumas (Paperback)

"The Club Dumas" kept me at home, curled up in bed the whole weekend despite a long-awaited Saturday rave. It was THAT good.

The plot is enough to keep you on edge until the last line. It starts of with an investigation on the suicide of a well-known bookseller, who had left a manuscript of "The Anjou Wine", a chapter of Alexander Dumas' "The Three Musketeers". Lucas Corso, the central character of the novel, is a book detective hired to authenticate the manuscript. His investigation leads him to a vortex of mysterious events, and he becomes involved in puzzling murder scenes and even demonology. To add to his stange experiences are the people he meets, who bear a puzzling resemblance to characters in the Dumas masterpiece.

This book was so interesting. It had twists and surprises that didn't use tired formulas of old mystery novels. I must add, though, that this book may not be enjoyed by everyone. If you're looking for an easy, fast read, well, you might have to think twice before reading this. There are various allusions to classic literature (particularly 19th century French literature), medieval history, religion and demonology. A reader not versed in Dumas' works may get confused. (And I haven't even mentioned all the Latin phrases yet). I DO recommend this book, however, to all bibliophiles, fans of classic literature and murder mystery genres. All the little literary tidbits, particularly on Alexander Dumas, will be mind candy, indeed. The author, Perez-Reverte, was compared by some critics to Umberto Eco in this novel. I have to disagree a bit, though...for although "The Club Dumas" resembles "Foucault's Pendulum" in that it freely alludes to history, ancient texts and esoteria, finding connections to otherwise unrelated events, I think that Perez-Reverte's writing is easier to take in. ( I didn't need a dictionary for the first sentence). The plot of "Club Dumas" also reminds me of another, not-very-known book, "The Eight" by Catherine Neville, because of the protagonist's entanglement with juicy puzzles and references to historical figures. I was also particularly impressed by the ending of the novel, which I thought was clever. Not a lot of books I've read these days have endings that satisfy me. (Hell, not a lot of books can keep me antisocial for the weekend!)

33 of 37 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The Devil and Alexander Dumas, January 31, 2007

By	T. Burger (Chicago) - See all my reviews (TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (REAL NAME)

This review is from: The Club Dumas (Paperback)

While many of the literary references were over my head, it was amazingly easy to follow the paper trail (pun intended). We have two trails: a document that appears to be part of The Three Musketeers, and a `demon book', "The Book of the Nine Doors of the Kingdom of Shadows". The two don't seem to have much in common, but as Corso (a "book detective") continues his investigation of both the document and the book, disturbing similarities begin to appear.

What should be a simple case of authentication becomes a race against time, and a desperate attempt to stay alive. A girl with dubious intentions and origins joins Corso after many chance meetings, and her presence thickens the stew. Who is she? What is she? Why does she care about Corso?

The questions pile up, and answers aren't in abundance. Friends seem, at times, to be enemies, and enemies seem to be friendly. Corso's actions, as well as others around him, seem to mirror events from The Three Musketeers, and the characters seem to be playing their parts - Milady, Roquefort, and Richelieu. Everything seems tied in together, but how? The Three Musketeers and a "demon book"?

Three copies of the "Book of the Nine Doors of the Kingdom of Shadows" exist, and Corso's charge is to find them all, compare them, and verify their authenticity - though his employer tells him that the copy he gives Corso is most certainly a forgery, although he will not tell Corso how he knows that. The content of the book is fascinating, and Corso's investigation into comparing the texts and the meaning behind everything within opens deadly doors - doors, perhaps, to Hell. Doors that could bring Satan himself into the material world. There is also reference to the "Delomelanicon", a book purportedly written by Lucifer himself, apparently a precursor, of sorts, to the "Book of the Nine Doors..."

The narrative structure of the story is ingenious. It starts in first person, and then switches to a seemingly odd third person telling. At first, you will wonder why the author chose that particular structure, but as with everything else, that question will be satisfactorily answered.

Some say this is Umberto Eco `light'. Probably. I have a difficult time getting through fiction that Eco has written since "The Name of the Rose". You could also call this Dan Brown for Intellectuals. Whichever. They're both compliments.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars textual healing, April 29, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: The Club Dumas (Paperback)

In The Club Dumas, Reverte takes the idea of the novel-within-a-novel to an entirely new, compelling level. The levels of references within the novel are rich, nearly impenetrable, from the more obvious connection to Dumas's Three Musketeers to the fact that the central female character is named Irene Adler, who was "the woman" in Conan Doyle's Sherlock Holmes story, "A Scandal in Bohemia." The Club Dumas is a mystery about books, and Corso is a book detective. The reader must act as a detective as well, sorting through the woodcuts, the diagrams, and the references in order to follow Corso's journey.

Reverte is successful in that he creates an experience for the reader that mirrors Corso's own experiences; whether that experience is enjoyable for the reader remains to be seen. "Books play that kind of trick," Reverte writes, and the tricks within this book can actually reach the point of tiresome at times. Nevertheless, this remains one of the most fascinating books I have ever read. The narrative style is compelling and rich, even if it takes a bit of time to be fully digested.

The Club Dumas is a testament to bibliography and the treatment of books as physical objects as well as intellectual entities. The books within the novel interact with each other as they interact with the characters and with the reader. There are many ways to read this novel, but if nothing else, Reverte's novel is a love story to the book. It is difficult, if not impossible, to read it without feeling Corso's, or Reverte's, emotional connections to text.