843.7 DUM

Swashbuckling, grrr. Go, Dumas, go!

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Georges is the youngest son of a wealthy mulatto plantation owner on île de France (now Mauritius). Georges admires his father for his strength and character, but hates his father's sense of inferiority to white society. Georges' father, Pierre Munier, is clearly their equal, if not their better. Georges is small for his age and prefers intellectual pursuits to physical activity. When Georges and his older brother are forced leave the island for their safety, Georges determines to return one day to confront and defeat the island's racial prejudice. To that end, he methodically strengthens his mind, body, and character in preparation for his return home. Although he earns respect and admiration from all segments of society upon his return, his goal of revenge leads to inevitable conflict and great danger.

The first part of the story reminds me of the old Charles Atlas ads where the 90-pound weakling transforms himself into a muscular man able to defend himself. The rest of the story is bit like The Last of the Mohicans if it had been written by Dickens. The action is well-paced and the uncertainty of Georges' fate kept me turning the pages. Some of the characterizations feel weak, though. Georges keeps a mental distance from everyone, including the reader. When he does eventually fall in love, the object of his devotion is a 16-year-old girl who reminds me a little of Lydia Bennet. If she hadn't been a teenager, though, I think she might have acted differently and thus changed the outcome of the novel.

The treatment of race and prejudice is problematic in the novel. Georges despises the inferior treatment he is subjected to by the island's white society. However, Georges' family owns hundreds of slaves, and Georges and his family seem to view the African slaves as inferior in intellect and will. I'd like to find out more about Dumas to see how closely this mirrored his own attitude toward racial issues. ( )

Alexandre Dumas, to whom I introduced myself in "Georges," is more widely known for "The Three Musketeers" and "The Count of Monte Cristo." If "Georges" isn't mentioned in the same breath as those classics, it's not for lack of swashbuckling adventure.

Georges Munier, the mixed-race man from Ile de France (today's Mauritius), leaves home with his brother in the early 19th century to be educated in France. He returns 14 years later determined to fight the racial prejudice he and his family and his fellow non-whites experience in the colony. Dumas portays his hero as extremely handsome in a non-racial way, wealthy, intrepid, and noble. Without experiencing Dumas's other work, I can't tell if he always uses this over-the-top-in-every-way characterization for his heroes, or if it's just Georges. (I doubt it.) But Georges does have a tragic flaw in his character: he is proud, in a rebellious way, and settles on a scheme to overthrow the now-British colonial government.

The action, which Tina Kover adroitly translates, proceeds with terrific pace, and we feel we know what will happen to Georges - it's all too inevitable given his treasonous course. We have an unexpected, thrilling turnabout, a daring daylight escape, and a truly swashbuckling chase and naval battle to finish the book.

This works really well as adventure, although Georges and the other lead characters become a little too cardboard-cutout for me. Maybe I ask for too much from a 19-century adventure story, but Dumas makes his theme a noble rebellion against racial oppression, so maybe I wanted something a little more real. Maybe I'm being unfair and unrealistic. Anyway, this is a good way to find out a lot about Dumas, and if you want to escape with a classic story from another time, try "Georges." It won't disappoint if you're looking for straight-up adventure.

http://bassoprofundo1.blogspot.com/2010/07/georges-by-alexandre-dumas.html ( )

I really enjoyed this book. It was exciting and fast paced. His main character, Georges, was a courageous man of steel, moral and intelligent. The one and only female character, Sara, was an unsurpassed beauty with unstained virtue. All typical of Dumas. Two things surprised me: First, this story takes place on Ile de France, not in Europe. Second, Georges is a mulatto. Not typical Dumas. The story centers around Georges vow to fight prejudice on the island. He does so in a very "in your face" manner, directed at the Malmedie family. A father and son combo, both bigot jerks.
The only criticism I have is Georges's lack of development. He basically came out of the womb courageous, moral and intelligent. The only things that changed were his age and strength.
However, all of that is small potatoes. This is a side of Dumas I have never seen, and I wish there was more. ( )