“Period: mid-seventeenth century. Scene: Venice. Central character: a printer by the name of Aristide Torchia, who had the idea of publishing the so-called Book of the Nine Doors of the Kingdom of Shadows, a kind of manual for summoning the devil. It wasn’t a good time for that sort of thing . . . “
Lucas Corso is given two commissions by two different people — one to determine if “The Anjou Wine” is truly the handwritten manuscript by Alexander Dumas and the other, more sinister commission to authenticate Book of the Nine Doors of the Kingdom of Shadows for Varo Borja.
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TITLE:
THE CLUB DUMAS
WRITER:
by Arturo Perez-Reverte
GENRE:
Horror, Mystery, Suspense, Literary.
DESCRIPTORS:
Literature, Antique Book Hunter, Antique Books, Sudden Violence, The Three Musketeers, The Anjou Wine, Book Of The Nine Doors To The Kingdom Of Darkness, Authenticating, Alexander Dumas, Madrid, Paris, Book Hunting, Satan, Conjuring The Devil, Mystery Women, Theft, Double Cross, Forgery,
CHARACTERS
Lucas Corso, A cynical antique book hunter.
Boris Balkan, The story’s narrator.
Varo Borja, Varo hired Lucas to authenticate a book on summoning the devil..
“Irene Adler”, A mysterious woman who seems to be helping Corso.
“Rocheforte”, The scarred man who is following Corso.
“Milady”, A beautiful woman who is also following Corso.
SUMMARY:
Lucas Corso, a middle-aged, tired and cynical antique book hunter is a mercenary hired to hunt down rare editions for wealthy unscrupulous clients. Thus it seemed natural that Boris Balkan, who also serves as the novel’s narrator, would be asked by Corso to authenticate a chapter from The Three Musketeers entitled “The Anjou Wine”, to see if it was the author’s original rough draft. Unable to do so, he gives the hunter the name of someone who could help and the quest begins.
However, Corso is given a second commission, this time by Varo Borja to authenticate his copy of the 17th century Book of the Nine Doors of the Kingdom of Shadows against two other — possibly forged — copies of the same book.
“Black is the school of the night.”
Instantly Corso is catapulted into a labyrinthine plot of international intrigue. He befriended by a mysterious young woman who calls herself Irene Adler and hounded by a scarred man and a beautiful woman he nicknames “Rocheforte and Milady”. Death follows Corso on his dual quests and he struggles to unravel the threads of the mysteries surrounding him.
Besides the mysteries and a fascinating look into the world of antique book collecting and forgery, Perez-Reverte treats the reader to remarkable glimpses into the life of Alexander Dumas, complete with pictures and wood carvings. The ending is fascinating because different readers will come away with different version of what really happened.
APPEAL:
The Club Dumas is a suspenseful and intelligent mystery with horror overtones. A lot happens in the plot as Corso travels to authenticate the Book of the Nine Doors of the Kingdom of Shadows and figure out whether “The Anjou Wine” is the real manuscript. The Club Dumas is more densely written than most modern mysteries but it isn’t impenetrable.
There is an anormous amount of fascinating detail about book manufacturing, book publishing, searching for antique books, selling them and forging them. The background is rich and highly detailed covering a variety of subjects including the life and writings of Alexander Dumas, to 17th century book publishing to analyzing a book for forgery to book collecting. It all contributes to a charged atmosphere and a distinctive flavor to the story. It also has illustrations of the woodcuts from Book of the Nine Doors of the Kingdom of Shadows and pictures of Alexander Dumas and others.
The story is told by a narrator who mostly watched from the sidelines and listened to other people’s stories. It’s told from Corso’s point of view with the narrator taking pains to let the reader know when he’s deviating from Corso’s P.O.V.
“All the books you see here have the same central character: the devil.”
Arturo’s characterization is important to the story. He takes what should be an unlikable character and makes him sympathetic. Corso gets the most development throughout the book but Adler, Balkin and Borja are developed to a lesser degree too. The reader comes to see Corso’s vulnerabilities and soon likes him. Adler and Borja are the most important secondary characters and they open the door on a possible occult angle.
The novel works on several levels — you can read it as a straight mystery or as a horror novel or as a story that consciously deconstructs itself. The author wants you to think about the story — toy with its possibilities and and play with its inherent slipperiness.
NOTES:
If you’ve seen the movie The Ninth Gate, don’t worry. The plot and ending are different especially where the movie rolls Boris Balkan and Varo Borja into one character. Johnny Depp, however, did an excellent job playing Lucas Corso and I kept his image as my Corso when I read the novel.
This book would make a great choice for a book discussion group.
READALIKES:
Finding readalikes for this book is challenging but possible: The Fencing Master by Arturo Perez-Reverte, The Name of the Rose by Umberto Eco. However, for a horror novel like this, I can’t think of a single title although my brain says there is one or two. If you can think of anything, how about leaving a comment and helping a poor Undead Rat out?
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