Where the Jester is the Smartest Guy

Chicot the Jester by Alexandre Dumas
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

This is one of those Dumas books that rolls along merrily with lots of action and plotting and polite enemies making dates to kill each other. Chicot, the king's jester, is the heart of the story, though the original French title is La Dame de Monsoreau--the beautiful woman who is pursued by three different gentlemen. One of them, the Count de Bussy, could also be the title character; he's the one that the poor Diane really loves, the one trying to protect her from two possessive noblemen (including Anjou, the king's brother).

Gradually becoming familiar with the French court, I mostly kept the details straight here--who was related to the king, who was on whose side, which titles matched which given names, who was Catholic and who wasn't--but it was a bit of struggle. A couple times I just shrugged and kept reading until it became clear again. For the most part, though, I think a modern American reader will make sense of it. (Students of history will do better.)

The story compares favorably with the Three Musketeers, IMO, and is a lot of fun to read. There is good scheming and humor and action, and it has an ending that is satisfying in most ways. Still, a few parts of the story have to be concluded in the third part of this series, leaving some questions unanswered. If it had been completely self-contained, I would have liked it a touch more...

(I hunted down the sequel on eBay, though it's less common and so more expensive than the other books so far. I hope to find it as enjoyable as this one.)

Chicot is a clever guy, keeping his secrets and manipulating events like an Aramis, and the hero Bussy, a superior swordsman who fears nothing, is a lot like D'Artagnan. And now I think of it, the fat monk, Gorenflot, is a simple man who eats and drinks more than anyone, is a bit like Porthos, but unlike the musketeer he's a coward. I'm not sure who might be like an Athos here; nobody in the story is as completely honorable as he was. In fact, betrayal and false friendship was a theme of this book.

Overall--fun book, with lots of action and quick pacing. The novel is heavy on the dialogue, which I enjoy, because that's part of what keeps it rolling along so quickly. I recommend it for Dumas lovers, especially those who have read the previous book, Marguerite de Valois, although it's not crucial for comprehension. You'll catch up.

Just be careful about the spoilers. Most of these characters are real people you can look up on Wikipedia, and you might learn more than you mean to. :)

View all my reviews