The Club Dumas discussion

I just gave up on Perez-Reverte's most recent book, The Painter of Battles, but because his writing is top-notch, I want to give this one a try. The Club Dumas received better reviews, and I find the plot summary intriguing. I'll give it a go.

...and I'm an Alexandre Dumas freak. Anyone who hasn't read The Three Musketeers or The Count of Monte Cristo must add it to their list.

I gave up on this book too. The movie version is much better.

Ooo, bummer. There's a movie version of "The Club Dumas"?

The Ninth Gate with Johnny Depp. It is an older movie from 1999 and it is quite good

It took me three tries to get through this book, but I'm glad I did. FWIW, I liked the book better than the movie.

Read this book! I found it very clever (when I read it ages ago) and an interesting amalgamation of literary history, bibliophilic idiosyncracies, magic, action, and character focus. Lucas Corso is a wonderfully intriguing protagonist (antihero?). And the movie is terrible! Takes out everything unique about the Dumas story threads and only focuses on what I assume the box office/production team thinks is a bigger draw, the black magic.

Katie wrote: "Read this book! I found it very clever (when I read it ages ago) and an interesting amalgamation of literary history, bibliophilic idiosyncracies, magic, action, and character focus. Lucas Corso i..."

Agreed!

I preferred The Flanders Panel and The Seville Communion; the latter has some truly hilarious scenes. Reverte is one of kind and something of an acquired taste but one well worth cultivating.

Try The Flanders Panel - it is an art history mystery and a great read. I much prefer his older books than the newer ones.

I disliked the movie too. One of the worst Johnny Depp has been in.

Like you, I'm thinking of giving Perez-Reverte another shot--mainly because I enjoy his subject matter. I read Club Dumas and thought it was not bad. Sorry, but I thought the movie was terrible--even unwatchable.

I found the book intriguing and very enjoyable. I agree with some of the other readers here that the movie was horrible.

Goodness, I hadn't realized I've read five of Perez-Reverte's books and liked all of them (3 stars). I don't remember having any difficulty getting into the books and enjoyed them because they give a different perspective in many ways from what we would see if the same subject was covered by an American author.

The movie was terrific. Polanski actually rescued Perez-Reverte from himself. I read the book after watching the movie and wished I hadn't bothered; it's lame, boring, and just peters out at the end. I couldn't believe Polanski managed to see such possibilities in a nearly hopeless book like that...

but that's why he's a gazillionaire movie director, and I'm not... .

I loved the 9th Gate movie and the Club Dumas book. (Saw the movie first, then read the book much later. I should point out, that I love that movie, and watch it on a semi-regular basis.) I was quite intrigued by how they managed to make the movie so close to the book while completely removing the whole Dumas part. I did not enjoy Painter of Battles. I thought it would have been better done as a short story. I haven't read anything else, but am planning to read the Flanders Panel.

I loved loved loved the movie!! One of my favorites. Saw it when it came out. Loved it immediately!! And saw, hey it's a book??...let me check that out....and I did!! And loved loved that too! Which led me to allll of his other books....and it has been a wonderful love affair ever since!!! The Flanders Panel and The Queen of the South and The Fencing Master are especially wonderful to me. So, I have to thank that movie for introducing me to a fantastic writer and giving me some of my most meaningful reading experiences. :) :)

Btw The Flanders Panel was also made into a movie called "Uncovered" with Kate Beckinsale.
I did buy it. It is not very good :( but I still like it....just cuz....

I think it's the first time I preferred the movie over the book.
I mean I liked the book too but I think the direction the movie goes was waaaay better

Hi! You should read La Tabla de Flandes, by Pérez Reverte too. I`m afraid I don´t know the title in english language. But don´t watch the movie before reading the book, because the movie is horrible.

Dot wrote: "Try The Flanders Panel - it is an art history mystery and a great read. I much prefer his older books than the newer ones."

me too :(

This was a terrific book ... I enjoyed "Ninth Gate" and all, but would recommend reading the novel.

Mary wrote: "Hi! You should read La Tabla de Flandes, by Pérez Reverte too. I`m afraid I don´t know the title in english language. But don´t watch the movie before reading the book, because the movie is horrible."

I read La Tabla... I think it was the first book I read of Reverte, I read it in spanish as I always try to read books by latin authors in the language they were first written in. I thoroughly enjoyed it as well as other books by Reverte.

I actually liked the book better, but the movie is done pretty well. Maybe I should dig up more books by this author.

It is definitely a book meant for Dumas/Sabatini etc. fans and not for general readers. All the references to classics are delicious to someone who knows them. But, yes, it peters out towards the end and I remember criticizing it for that in my review.