Tom Reiss - The Black Count
Nov. 20th, 2020 10:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
satalasers An incredibly fascinating book!
- I've known about this book for a while, my brother got my dad this book, an autobiography about Alexander Dumas' father, and he highly praised it, and I decided to watch Gankatsuo, a scifi futuristic retelling of the Count Of Monte Cristo, and then I asked my friend if she'd seen any good adaptations of TCOMC, and she said that she was actually reading a biography about Alexander Dumas' father. Which is a really neat coincidence, so I figured, why not read the autobiography as well!
- I still haven't actually read TCOMC, but still, it's fascinating so see how elements of his life inspired his son. (And also how it reflected on the anime.)
- It's really interesting how racism was viewed 200 years ago. Like, oh man, it's a complex system, and how mixed raced people were perceived, was just. It was eye-opening.
- This year I kind of relistened to a couple of Hamilton songs, and while i'm not saying that the musical was 100% accurate, I did get some amusement that there was some overlap, between the two? IDK, I just liked that both Lafayette and Washington were mentioned, and also saw a little of what they were up to. The thing about history is that it's really easy to think that history is happening to one country at a time, and forget that *multiple* things are happening to various countries, so of course there's overlap, but tunnel vision makes it harder to remember what's going on in other countries.
- I can't believe how Napoleon tried to erase Alex Dumas from history. Like, I knew it was going to happen, but still. I also just kind of think the gift of hindsight helped this book, because of course at the time, when Napoleon was just starting out, Alex Dumas wasn't going to pay him much attention, but then with how history turned out, the author was going to be like: oh!!!!.
- This autobiography totally makes me wonder about the book Alexander Dumas wrote about his own father? (Not TCOMC.) Like, the extracts were lovely, although I did like how Tom Reiss was like 'please take it with a pinch of salt, IDK how true it was either', but at the same time, it's very sweet of Alexander Dumas to write like that? Also: I forgot this, but I did read the first musketeer book: what a lovely sense of humour. I really should reread just for that.
- It's a bit sad that Alex and his romance with his wife wasn't that detailed, but it seems so sweet, all the same. I wouldn't have minded more of it, TBH.
- I can't believe the first alien invasion story was social commentary on imperialism in the late 19th century. I just. It never occurred to me at all, but I kind of liked that the autobiography noted this.
- It was an incredible story, and I liked how thoroughly well researched the story was.
- Apparently there's going to be a movie in the works, but I feel like it's still is a long time before it'll actually happen.
I would like to reread it again, or just read more Dumas novels. So, I also recommend this book about fascinating figures that history tried to erase.
- I've known about this book for a while, my brother got my dad this book, an autobiography about Alexander Dumas' father, and he highly praised it, and I decided to watch Gankatsuo, a scifi futuristic retelling of the Count Of Monte Cristo, and then I asked my friend if she'd seen any good adaptations of TCOMC, and she said that she was actually reading a biography about Alexander Dumas' father. Which is a really neat coincidence, so I figured, why not read the autobiography as well!
- I still haven't actually read TCOMC, but still, it's fascinating so see how elements of his life inspired his son. (And also how it reflected on the anime.)
- It's really interesting how racism was viewed 200 years ago. Like, oh man, it's a complex system, and how mixed raced people were perceived, was just. It was eye-opening.
- This year I kind of relistened to a couple of Hamilton songs, and while i'm not saying that the musical was 100% accurate, I did get some amusement that there was some overlap, between the two? IDK, I just liked that both Lafayette and Washington were mentioned, and also saw a little of what they were up to. The thing about history is that it's really easy to think that history is happening to one country at a time, and forget that *multiple* things are happening to various countries, so of course there's overlap, but tunnel vision makes it harder to remember what's going on in other countries.
- I can't believe how Napoleon tried to erase Alex Dumas from history. Like, I knew it was going to happen, but still. I also just kind of think the gift of hindsight helped this book, because of course at the time, when Napoleon was just starting out, Alex Dumas wasn't going to pay him much attention, but then with how history turned out, the author was going to be like: oh!!!!.
- This autobiography totally makes me wonder about the book Alexander Dumas wrote about his own father? (Not TCOMC.) Like, the extracts were lovely, although I did like how Tom Reiss was like 'please take it with a pinch of salt, IDK how true it was either', but at the same time, it's very sweet of Alexander Dumas to write like that? Also: I forgot this, but I did read the first musketeer book: what a lovely sense of humour. I really should reread just for that.
- It's a bit sad that Alex and his romance with his wife wasn't that detailed, but it seems so sweet, all the same. I wouldn't have minded more of it, TBH.
- I can't believe the first alien invasion story was social commentary on imperialism in the late 19th century. I just. It never occurred to me at all, but I kind of liked that the autobiography noted this.
- It was an incredible story, and I liked how thoroughly well researched the story was.
- Apparently there's going to be a movie in the works, but I feel like it's still is a long time before it'll actually happen.
I would like to reread it again, or just read more Dumas novels. So, I also recommend this book about fascinating figures that history tried to erase.
