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Read Twenty Years After (1993)

Twenty Years After (1993)

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Rating
3.98 of 5 Votes: 1
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ISBN
0192838431 (ISBN13: 9780192838438)
Language
English
Publisher
oxford university press

Twenty Years After (1993) - Plot & Excerpts

Avete mai provato quella sensazione intrisa di un misto di felicità e inquietudine nell’andare incontro ad amici che non vedete da tanto tempo? Felicità per il ritrovamento, inquietudine per la possibilità di trovare qualcosa di sbagliato, o anche più di qualcosa.E’ con questo spirito che mi sono decisa a leggere ‘Vent’anni dopo’ a distanza di nove mesi dal primo capitolo della rocambolesca saga dedicata ai noti moschettieri. Ero ansiosa di riaprire le pagine di carta a loro dedicate, quasi che la carta potesse ferire o deludere, riportarmi alla vista i miei eroi magari deformati, sicuramente invecchiati, magari non avvincenti come una volta, eppure la curiosità di sapere che ne fosse stato di loro ha vinto sui timori, e così, dopo quattordici intensi giorni di lettura, mi ritrovo a dire che, se I tre moschettieri è bello, Vent’anni dopo ha in sé tutte le carte per rasentare la meraviglia.E’ come se Dumas, da un anno all’altro, avesse fatto un ulteriore salto di quella qualità di abile narratore ed intrattenitori che già possedeva, come se fosse divenuto più maturo nella capacità di mettere i suoi lettori al corrente delle avventure dei moschettieri che, se pur invecchiati di vent’anni, sono ancora più forti, ancora più tenaci; insomma, su di essi il tempo ha avuto l’effetto che ha sul buon vino che deve invecchiare per raggiungere l’apice del suo percorso saporoso: un effetto di invigorimento.Per tutta la lettura avventure e intrighi si susseguono sul palcoscenico della Storia che questa volta non vuole come attori protagonisti Richelieu e seguito, ma Giulio Mazzarino, l’odiato cardinale italiano in Francia, Carlo I e Cromwell, un Anna d’Austria invecchiata di vent’anni e prostrata dal suo popolo che le muove guerra. Sono avvenimenti noti a chiunque abbia studiato la storia europea e che intrecciano loro tutti questi illustri personaggi quelli che da Dumas vengono narrati con tanto stile ed enfasi e sotto il fervore della sua penna divengono ancor più coinvolgenti, interessanti, quasi fanno sperare che il valoroso Carlo I non muoia nonostante si sappia benissimo che fine farà la sua testa. Il merito di questa interessante rivisitazione storica è tutto dovuto alla presenza dei nostri incredibili quattro che ancora una volta daranno mostra del loro valore, ma con più spiragli di dubbio ed egoismo rispetto al primo capitolo delle avventure in cui d’Artagnan e seguito sono rappresentanti fin troppo valorosi, quasi disinteressati rispetto ad un proprio ritorno pur di riuscire a salvare gli interessi della regina. Insomma, vent’anni dopo i nostri uomini sono ormai uomini di affari che non esitano a prendere le parti loro convenienti e in questo cambiamento sta tutta la bravura di Dumas: quando uno si aspetta di sapere già tutta la storia, in realtà ancora non ne sa nulla. Colpi di scena, duelli, donne astute e maliziose serpeggiano per tutta una trama che supera le aspettative del lettore già affezionato facendogli capire che non c’era affatto bisogno di inquietudine, ci sono personaggi che non deludono mai. E con questo spirito sognante e colmo di nostalgia per la conclusa lettura mi avvio ad aspettare il momento più adatto per riaprire la partita leggendo Il visconte di Bragelonne. I personaggi non deludono mai, ma staccarsi da essi in maniera definitiva è uno dei drammi che il lettore deve essere in grado di affrontare.Quindi il nostro per ora non è un addio, ma un arrivederci, capitano d’Artagnan.

This book pales in comparison to The Three Musketeers only because Mordaunt is a much less interesting villain than his mother, Milady. Again, it would not be too difficult to twist this story so that Mordaunt becomes no villain at all. His goal is simply to avenge the murder of his mother. To that end he stabs a man who was already dying, he kills another of the murderers on a field of battle, and he tries to blow up the remaining four. In his mind, he's simply trying to get for himself the justice that the world denies him. That's not much different than what the Musketeers did to Milady at the end of the first book. But even with this moral ambiguity, Mordaunt is neither as interesting, nor as fun as Milady.I loved the treatment of royalty in this book. The Musketeers are fierce royalists. Athos and Aramis have learned to distinguish the office of royalty from the person wields the power. Porthos is too thick to really get the distinction. And D'Artagnan is learning. His main teachers are Anne and Mazarin, the new prime minister since the death of Richelieu. After his brilliant service twenty years before, D'Artagnan has been largely ignored, and remains a lieutenant in the service of the Queen. She has shown no appreciation at all either for his extraordinary service to her, or for his remarkable loyalty and abilities.During this book, there is an uprising in Paris which threatens the lives of Anne, Mazarin, and the young King Louis XIV. At their pleading, and their promises never to forget such a service, D'Artagnan uses tremendous audacity to save the three of them, and to deliver them all to safety outside of Paris. Without reward, he is then sent to England to deliver a message to Cromwell. That is the extent of his orders, and he delivers the message. Then, he goes outside the scope of his mission (but without actually violating any orders), and tries unsuccessfully to save the life of King Charles. When he returns to France, his service to Anne is of course completely forgotten, and he's thrown in prison with the intention of letting him rot there forever. Such is the gratitude and loyalty of actual monarchs.The amazing thing is that the Musketeers all remain fierce royalists in spite of all the evidence. They are convinced that the only problem with the system is that the wrong ministers are advising the monarchs. Also, from what we see in the book, it looks like the only alternatives available is the despotism of people like Cromwell, or those even worse. Thus, even though everything ends up pretty happily for our four heroes, I found this to be surprisingly bleak in its outlook. But even so, Dumas has a knack of being exciting and fun even when bleak. I'm looking forward to the third installment of these books, but its a monster, and will probably take me quite some time.

What do You think about Twenty Years After (1993)?

Just as good as the original but in it's own way this book sees us rejoin with D'Artagnan, Portos, Athos and Aramis two decades after the Three Musketeers at a time of civil unrest, disobedience and war. We follow the four friends as they travel their seperate paths to England and the attempt by a brewer's son to de-throne Charles I bringing them face to face with their past in the form of Mordaunt, the son of Milady, bent of revenge for what he sees as his mother's murder. Although the four friends are at odds with each other and have lost some of their humour, they are all the more real because of it. This sense of humanity and vulnerability makes them more endearing and makes their journeys and adventures all the more epic as they face not only their enemies but each other. Dumas once again brings history to life with the depth of his writing and his characters bringing to mind the slow burning complexities of Monte Cristo which I loved so much.
—Sam

This is the sequel of The Three Musketeers, depicted the four musketeers after twenty years of separation. Only d'Artagnan who was still serving the Kingdom (now ruled by Anne of Austria--because King Louis XIV was still a boy, together with Cardinal Mazarin). Athos and Porthos have live quietly in their chateau, while Aramis served the Church as an abbe.Dumas plotting them all to have a bittersweet reunion, this time they were at two opposite sides, and must went through disputes and trusting crisis among them. Fortunately, their friendship is srtonger than everything else. It's so entertaining to follow their adventures this time. Twenty years After, for me, is much deeper than The Three Musketeers.
—Fanda Kutubuku

If he's not the greatest writer that ever lived, he's in the top five. I've read 3 of his books in the past year and all 3, The Three Musketeers, The Count of Monte Cristo and now, Twenty Years After, are 3 of my favorite of all time (The Count is in my top 3, if not the top). Twenty Years After takes place 20 years after the end of The Three Musketeers. Our 4 heroes are a bit older, but just as heroic, faithful and downright fun to follow!!! Pick this up and I guarantee you won't put it down quickly...
—John

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