The Fencing Master, by Arturo Pérez-Reverte

In The Club Dumas, Pérez-Reverte crafted a mystery with book sellers and lost manuscripts; here, the adventure revolves around fencing and 19th-century Spanish politics. Don Jaime Astarloa is the fencing master of the title, an older man who is expert in a dying art. A mysterious woman appears and wants to be taught the killing thrust for which he is famous, and his life starts to spiral out of control after that. Mix in secret political documents, a throne in jeopardy, and a noble man living in the past and an exciting thriller begins to unfold.

The Fencing Master was both captivating and well-written, but I simply don’t know enough about fencing to be drawn in to the obviously well-researched sections. I could follow the duels and the intensity of the fights came through well, but I suspect that there was an artistry that would have been more poignant if I was better versed in swordsmanship. I still loved the book, however, and look forward to others by this author!

First Sentence:

Much later, when Jaime Astarloa wanted to piece together the scattered fragments of the tragedy and tried to remember how it all began, the first image that came to his mind was of the marquis and of the gallery in the palace overlooking the Retiro Gardens, with the first heat of summer streaming in through the windows, accompanied by such brilliant sunlight that they had to squint against the dazzle on the polished guards of their foils.

The Club Dumas, by Arturo Pérez-Reverte

Dumas is one of my favorite classic authors; when I saw this novel about an investigator trying to authenticate some handwritten pages from the original manuscript of The Three Musketeers I couldn’t resist. And I was very glad I didn’t—this was a fantastic read! During the course of the book the investigator found himself not only chasing Dumas, but also a hidden book of the occult; in addition to being chased, our hero also found himself pursued by a man that strongly resembles Rochefort, a villain from The Three Musketeers. It isn’t often that I find an historical fiction novel I can’t put down!

The twisty plot was both exciting and intelligent. I love books that don’t talk down to the reader, and this one doesn’t stop to explain much. My favorite example of this was a mysterious ingenue who gave her name as Irene Adler; a throwaway comment that she was the woman that out thought Sherlock Holmes is the only explanation given. Many chapters later, her home address is recorded as 223B Baker Street which causes the protagonist to guffaw. Why he laughs isn’t explained, but bibliophiles will recognize this address as being next door to Homes himself. Another section finds us in a discussion of seventeenth century writers, where the author’s preferences are made very clear. “Verne’s cold, soulless heroes had no place in a discussion of passionate tales of cloak and dagger.” Clearly, Dumas was chosen not only as a plot device, but because he is a favorite of Pérez-Reverte.

One of the most interesting statements was that d’Artagnan is the only French character familiar to the world at large even without most people having reading the book. I’m not sure I agree with this sentiment, as both the Phantom of the Opera and Jean Valjean have made appearances on Broadway and Quasimodo was immortalized by Disney. Plus, an informal survey shows that while the Musketeers are very well known, the names of the famous troupe (or the fact that there are actually four of them) are not. Regardless, this kind of highbrow discussion I found thought-provoking. This is an excellent novel that I recommend to anyone that truly loves books.

First Sentence:

My name is Boris Balkan and I once translated The Charterhouse of Parma.