The Club Dumas in What's the Name of That Book???

Dec 06, 2013 Maryse rated it really liked it

Shelves: to-buy-my-own-copy, ebook, books-to-film

A love letter to reading the classics

Like I said, I read this primarily because I enjoyed Roman Polanski's "The Ninth Gate". But the movie only touches on a few plot points found in the book, and removes a bulk of the story -- I.e. : the entire Dumas plot line -- reducing it to a more devil-worshiping detective mystery than a historical-romp-through-the-classics-do-you-believe-in-the-devil story it really is.

I'll polish this review when I have more time but reading "The Club Dumas" surprisingly A love letter to reading the classics

Like I said, I read this primarily because I enjoyed Roman Polanski's "The Ninth Gate". But the movie only touches on a few plot points found in the book, and removes a bulk of the story -- I.e. : the entire Dumas plot line -- reducing it to a more devil-worshiping detective mystery than a historical-romp-through-the-classics-do-you-believe-in-the-devil story it really is.

I'll polish this review when I have more time but reading "The Club Dumas" surprisingly paralleled reading Dan Brown's "The DaVinci code". Both books delved a lot into history and into our notions of God or Devil; both left me wanting to know more about other historical readings of Jesus and the devil. And both ends up with the protagonist finding some sort of connection with Jesus or the devil. But while Dan Brown reads like a paperback mystery, "The Club Dumas" feels richer, more thought out, and it reeled me in with its intriguing world of rare books. In an age where nearly everything can be found in the internet, and nothing is hidden anymore, mysteries are welcome reprieve. So, where else can one find the best mysteries other than in books? Paper books, that is. Old books that hold more than what their musty old spines tell.

Even at this early in the millennium the thought of real books, bound and written in paper, has started to sound old fashioned -- and, gasp -- archaic that paper books are beginning to elevate into an art status. Less for practically, more for art. Like paintings where once cameras came, or Polaroid films when digital cameras arrived. And that thought reverberates, especially to a book lover like myself. There is no mystery in an Ebook. We don't touch a machine and wonder who bound it, who cut the pages, who has touched this pages before us, and perhaps did they poison it, a la Arabian Nights, and so on. All we get are a bunch of letters in a faux sepia screen.

The Club Dumas is a nostalgic ode to reading, to getting lost in the pages of a good book, to opening new chapters and living different lives other than ourselves.
To discovering more than what is just written on pages
To biting the apple and knowing ...more

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Aug 05, 2007 Michelle rated it liked it

Shelves: spanishlit, historical-fiction, fiction

I read this book about 15 years ago in Spanish. I'm not bragging (okay, maybe un poquito de "bragging") but I remember thinking that it was decent but not "off the charts good." And I remember wanting to eventually read it in again in English because I figured that something was literally lost in translation. I recently re-read it and I still maintain that the book is decent but not not "off the charts good." I'm still giving it a solid 3 stars. I love books about books and books about people ob ...more

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Sep 06, 2007 Julie rated it liked it

Shelves: mystery-thriller

I found this a very complex book and will probably have to re-read it to thoroughly understand it. That being said, the book was hard to put down. I think there is a movie version of this book starring Johnny Depp.

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