El club Dumas
Arturo Pérez-Reverte
Publicado: 1993 | 308 páginas
Novela Intriga Policial

¿Puede un libro ser investigado policialmente como si de un crimen se tratara, utilizando como pistas sus páginas, papel, grabados y marcas de impresión, en un apasionante recorrido de tres siglos? Lucas Corso, mercenario de la bibliofilia, cazador de libros por cuenta ajena, debe encontrar respuesta a esa pregunta cuando recibe un doble encargo de sus clientes: autentificar un manuscrito de Los tres mosqueteros y descifrar el enigma de un extraño libro, quemado en 1667 con el hombre que lo imprimió. La indagación arrastra a Corso —y con él, irremediablemente al lector— a una peligrosa búsqueda que lo llevará de los archivos del Santo Oficio a los libros condenados, de las polvorientas librerías de viejo a las más selectas bibliotecas de los coleccionistas internacionales. Construida con excepcional talento narrativo, El Club Dumas sitúa pieza a pieza una trama excitante, minuciosa y compleja, donde se dan cita los ingredientes de la novela clásica por entregas, los relatos policiacos y de misterio, los juegos de adivinación y las técnicas del folletín de aventuras.

On the plus side of The Club Dumas, I learned a lot about The Three Musketeers author Alexandre Dumas. And the plot of the novel itself was suspenseful, if a bit complicated. But on the negative side there was a character in the novel, Irene Adler who just showed up and started following around the main character. When he would ask her why she was following him around she would respond I'm here to look after you. Like I said earlier the plot of the story was complicated and while the author summed up things pretty well at the end, a satisfactory reason for why she was following him around was never provided. ( )

2.1

An enjoyable read. ( )

Set in Spain, Portugal, and France, antiquarian book dealer Lucas Corso is hired to research the authenticity of a rare manuscript purportedly written by Alexander Dumas. He is provided a copy of another book, The Nine Doors, that is rumored to contain information on how to summon Satan, and asked to investigate the two remaining copies, which may be forgeries. During these two investigations he meets people who resemble characters in Dumas’ The Three Musketeers.

This is a book for lovers of books. It contains a mystery within a mystery. It contains a plethora of literary references, past book printing and binding techniques, historical information about the life of Alexander Dumas, and an in-depth examination of the characters in The Three Musketeers. This book requires active engagement by the reader and is not a quick read. It is an elaborate puzzle, and the reader will need to pay close attention to details, especially early in the story, as these come into play later on. Though the author provides context, to get the most out of this book, it is helpful to have somewhat recently read The Three Musketeers.

I enjoyed the portions about Corso traveling around Europe to immerse himself in ancient book collections. Once it gets to the possible connections to the occult, it gets a little outlandish. Do not be surprised if it is difficult, if not impossible, to solve the mystery before being provided a large amount of information near the end.

3.5
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