28. Alexandre Dumas - The Three Musketeers

I am completely and utterly ashamed that it took me about three weeks to finish Alexandre Dumas' The Three Musketeers. I don't know what has befallen me, but not studying has not done me any good. I used to read Classic after Classic, and now I struggle to understand sentences written by Dumas. I shudder to think what will happen when I pick up another James Joyce novel one day. That is exactly why I'm doing this challenge though. I need to keep reading!

The reason I picked up this novel is not only because a new film came out, but also because I wanted to read a book by Dumas for a long time now. However, I don't think The Three Musketeers was the best first choice, as it doesn't interest me as much as I thought it would after watching all those TV series and films about it. I always thought it was about an evil cardinal who does everything to prevent the Musketeers from succeeding in any mission given to them by the king. It may be so in the television series and films dedicated to this book, but not in the original story. 

I am not completely mistaken though in remembering that D'Artagnan is not actually a Musketeer at the beginning of the book. He would like to join them though and that is how he becomes acquainted with "the three musketeers" Athos, Porthos and Aramis. 

This story is not, however, entirely about the adventures of our friends. It's mostly about the story of one of the Cardinal's devilish followers known as Milady. Most of the last 150 pages of the book are devoted to her fiendish plots. And I'm not exaggerating when I say that she is really one of the most heartless female killers in older literature.

For me to start describing the plot in detail would be too strenuous and I need to start reading the next book. So I am going to leave you with these wise words, which is the thing about this novel that will linger in the collective memory for a longest amount of time: "All for one - one for all." (Dumas 84)   

27. Roald Dahl - The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me

And another Roald Dahl book and to be honest I'm starting to really appreciate his writing style. This time I read The Giraffe and the Pelly and Me. Before this I thought the way he made up words was annoying, now I actually think it is quite cute. In this book he gives a whole list of candy that doesn't exist in real life but the way he says we all know it, is really nice. 

This book is about a window cleaning company consisting of a pelican, a giraffe and a monkey. They clean windows without a ladder and they can reach every window because giraffe has an extendible neck. The monkey cleans, and the pelican is the bucket. 

This book has a really cute ending. Maybe I'm just in a sentimental mood because I can't seem to finish The Three Musketeers, but I really like it:

We have tears in our eyes
As we wave our goodbyes,
We so loved being with you, we three.
So do please now and then
Come and see us again,
The Giraffe and the Pelly and me.
All you do is to look
At a page in this book
Because that's where we always will be.
No book ever ends
When it's full of your friends
The Giraffe and the Pelly and me.  (Dahl 73)

 

26. Ira Levin - The Stepford Wives

This is the second novel I've read from Ira Levin for this challenge. And just like A Kiss Before Dying The Stepford Wives failed to thoroughly impress me. You probably all know the story about a little suburban town called Stepford where the housewives are beyond perfect, scarily so. Joanna Eberhart moves into this little community and she also notices straight away that something is fishy in suburbia. Maybe fishy is not the right word, maybe I should say roboty...

It could be just me, but I seem to remember that a lot more of the actual events are shown in the film with Nicole Kidman. We actually see an army of robots. Not here. Levin keeps it all very secretive (I am going on a limb here by assuming I'm not giving anything away when I'm describing this book. I feel that saying The Stepford Wives is about robots is the same as saying American Psycho is about a American psychopath). What Levin gives us is the desperation Joanne feels when she can't reveal the Men's Club's secrets and when she might be next after  all her friends have turned into those things. 

I reckon this novel was very much with the times in 1972, nowadays, it would be unthinkable that men control women. If a woman would move into a suburban town where all other women are just doing housework without any ambitions of their own, there would definitely be something wrong. The strength of this novel lies in the fact that we really don't know if that's the case here (well we do, but I'm talking about the original readers from back then) We wouldn't know if Joanne is feminist who is ahead of her time or whether there is actually something wrong in Stepford. Nevertheless, this novel is a classic and I wouldn't dare to talk it down because it is slightly outdated. 

25. Gabriel García Márquez - No One Writes to the Colonel

Gabriel García Márquez' book I don't understand at all. I'm aware that this is not the best way to start a blog, but it has to be said. No One Writes to the Colonel is a really short novel, with I believe a deeper message, but I can't find it. I don't know if I've been reading it half-heartedly or whether the story is just not that interesting but I didn't get into it at all.

It's about a colonel who is waiting for a letter every Friday by the docks and also about the colonel's rooster. I understand more of this story when I read the back of the cover where it says that the colonel, who together with his wife, is really poor, has been waiting for 15 years for a letter about the Army pension, which he hasn't received yet.

I did not get that from the story to be honest. It's probably a really beautiful book, but my heart wasn't in it. Next week I hope I can write a more passionate story because I notice that the last few weeks my love to read is slowly diminishing. I will not let this little reader's block get me down though, so I will carry on reading just like I have done for 25 weeks now.

24. Roald Dahl - Esio Trot

It was time for another Roald Dahl book. This time Esio Trot. I tried to finish a really short book by Gabriel Garcia Marquez this week, but I didn't make that either. I had friends from Holland visiting this weekend and next weekend I'll be in Liverpool so this means I have about two weeks to finish The Three Musketeers. Yes, I'm combining books these weeks. I need to get back into my rhythm.

Anyways, this week a love story. Mr. Hoppy is madly in love with his neighbour Mrs. Silver. She, however, is crazy about her tortoise Alfie. Mrs. Silver's biggest dream is that Alfie would grow though and Mr. Hoppy finds in that request a chance to win Mrs. Silver over. He buys hundreds of tortoises and in the course of a few weeks he puts a bigger tortoise in Mrs. Silver's flat. It's a simple story but for once it's just really cute. Although I feel kind of bad for Alfie who has been with Mrs. Silver for 11 years and is abruptly taken away without her even noticing. Poor tortoise... 

Luckily, my Dahl books are not running out just yet so I have some more short stories for if I get more deadline issues. Let's hope it doesn't happen too often though, I already feel ridiculed by my boyfriend who doesn't understand that Roald Dahl changed the way children's book were written.