the protagonist Corso is a lot of fun. a shady, efficient, highly intelligent, deeply contemptuous, globe-trotting purveyor of literature from antiquity - the gumshoe transformed into book detective. he is perhaps the most enjoyable part of the novel and it is a pleasure (although a familiar one) to be seeing events through his eyes. in a way, he saves The Club Dumas from being completely forgettable.the narrative is shaped as a fast-paced mystery, perhaps along the lines of The DaVinci Code (a book i never finished). it is, unfortunately, a very shallow mystery. well, actually, two mysteries and two pieces of literature at the heart of these mysteries: one an unpublished chapter by alexandre dumas and another a diabolical tome of which only three exist and whose publisher was burned at the stake. the mysteries are - perhaps - entwined. unfortunately, the mysteries are rather standard and the identities of the two villains (one per mystery!) are grindingly obvious. was this intended? i certainly hope so, because otherwise including a quote from a very relevant agatha christie novel as one of the chapter sub-headings was an amateurish move. why show your cards that way, unless it is intentional?
nevertheless, this is a quick and rather agreeable read. highly disposable and annoyingly repetitious at times (about a zillion descriptions of Corso looking rabbity and his companion's wise face and constantly bare feet - wtf?)...but the tight plotting, witty dialogue, and the obvious erudition of the author make it all easy to swallow. i just wish there was more to it all. sigh.
