The Three Musketeers

Quel plaisir de relire « Les Trois Mousquetaires » et de redécouvrir les aventures de D'Artagnan, Athos, Porthos et Aramis ! Je crois que c'est la troisième fois que je lis ce célèbre roman d'Alexandre Dumas et je prends fois un plaisir plus grand à replonger dans ce grand roman de cape et d'épée.

Je vais enchaîner directement avec la suite, « Vingt ans après ».

WHAT
A quintessential adventure consisting of a few distinct plots woven together through the recounting of the daily life of mighty figures from the 17th century French aristocracy. The King, the Cardinal (his main advisor), the Queen and four members of France's elite guard known as the Musketeers, all play an important role on this spectacular tale of bravery, loyalty and intrigue. The book feels a bit too mundane at some parts, and there is nothing epic about any of the plots, but the wit and charm of the main characters and the interesting situations they mix themselves with make this a worthwhile read.

TLDR
+ Friendship, bravery and loyalty unmatched by the four musketeers
+ Distinct characters fleshed out with interesting motivations
+ Interesting plots and intrigues, for a reality based (as opposed to epic fantasy) adventure
+ Humor helps to dissolve the absurdity of some scenes
- main character transitions from brash and foolish to prudent and wise in the blink of an eye
- unbelievable villain: I liked Milady fine until the part where she is held captive, which nearly ruined the book for me
- at times the book feels like having too much filler content

PLOT
The young d'Artagnan leaves his home and heads out to Paris, seeking to enlist himself with the King's Musketeers. Upon arrival, he manages to accidentally and consecutively insult three musketeers by the name of Aramis, Athos, and Porthos. He schedules a duel with each of them, but circumstances leads them to become the best of friends. Together they find themselves in mortal danger in defense of the honor and virtue the King and Queen, making in the way a powerful enemy in the of the figure of the Cardinal Richelieu.

The adventures of the main characters are told through distinct main story arcs, like the return of the Queen's Diamonds and The Siege of La Rochelle.

ANALYSIS
The four musketeers are not heroes. They have more vices than virtues. The very first scene of the book describes d'Artagnan as an impetuous sword fighter that seeks to duel and kill anything that moves. He settles his lust for combat by attacking a man just because he was laughing with his friends.

Athos is misogynous and arrogant. He believes his noble birth puts him above other men. He forced a vow of silence on his servant. He advised d'Artagnan to get himself a servant as the most necessary thing he should do. Upon acquiring such servant and not being able to pay him after a while, d'Artagnan decides to beat him up in order to keep him from complaining. When he sees that his method worked, he is very please with himself.

Porthos is avaricious, a glutton and a womanizer. They all are gamblers and ruffians that seek to duel, and often kill, anyone that looks at them the wrong way. They destroy public property without any consideration. They see in the Cardinal, the second in authority in France, as an enemy for the sole reason that he divided the musketeers in King's Musketeers and Cardinal musketeers. They will do whatever they can to thwart his plans, even when those plans would benefit the country.

Cardinal Richelieu is a machiavellian and powerful character. He is a true patriot, willing to do anything necessary for the good of France. He is the one who actually rules France, by negotiating with foreign ministers, deciding when to wage wars, keeping himself informed through a network of spies, coordinating assassinations and intricate blackmails.

I found the Cardinal be the hero of the story, the only one willing to do what it takes to get the job done, even in detriment to his own desires. He is flawed as well though, because his rejected love for the Queen guides some of his actions.

The book pays special attention to the musketeers servants as well, giving each of them a distinct personality and important roles to play during the events of the book.

The book looses some of its focus in between events and mostly towards the end. There are whole sections without any action, intrigue or interesting character involved. I kept reading on waiting for the next adventure to begin, but dismissing those passages as just fillers to the story.

There was one thing though that nearly destroyed the whole experience for me, and that was the scene where Milady was held captive by her brother in law. That whole portion of the book lacked the kind of wit I enjoy reading. There were no plot play/counter-play involved. Milady says she is going do something, spend the next many pages doing it, then moves on to the next thing.

Her brother in law says to the man he entrusted to keep her confined in a bedroom that she is the devil, that she is capable of the most outrageous acts and lies to get what she wants. He describes in details how she will try to seduce him, and act the role of the damsel in distress. The man truly believes him. Yet in a matter of 3 days or so he not only he helps her escape, but also goes on to kill Lord Buckingham, his country's own second in command in the war against France.The thing I was expecting the most in that whole scene was that the guard knew he was being played all along, that Milady whole act was just a ruse. But he decided to make her think he was believing her in order to make her more compliant, and then in the end he would crush her by telling how all her attempts were futile against his superior strength of character.I was also hoping that when Milady met Madame Bonacieux at the convent that the musketeers would have already reached her beforehand, and warned her. So when she mentioned them by name, they would suddenly appear and apprehend her.

The book has some clever and funny situations that I really enjoyed. During the Siege of La Rochelle, the four musketeers decided to go alone and unarmed into an abandoned Bastion in the middle of the battlefield in order to have breakfast. They knew that at any time the enemy would try to capture the Bastion, yet they kept cool and calm eating while attempts were being made to take the place by force.