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I originally discovered Arturo Perez-Reverte through Johnny Depp’s film The Ninth Gate (based on Perez-Reverte’s book The Club Dumas). I was quickly enamored with his writing, which is fluid, descriptive, and intrinsically character based. My only complaint with The Club Dumas was the ending. I felt that Perez-Reverte had failed to give enough attention to completing his antiquarian book thriller, leaving the reader wanting for a better conclusion. When I picked up The Fencing Master, I expected a repeat of The Club Dumas — fantastic style with a disappointing finish. To my surprise, Perez-Reverte pulled together a much more satisfying story with a conclusion that was far tidier than the previous novel. Set against the backdrop of the 1868 Spanish Revolution, Perez-Reverte gives us an extremely sympathetic main character in Don Jaime Astarloa, an aging fencing master who is witnessing the demise of not only his profession but his code of ethics as well. It’s the internal machinations of Don Jaime that drive the novel and gives this story a convincing tone. Like The Club Dumas, The Fencing Master is well written, leisurely paced, and thick with vivid descriptions. As in the former novel, Perez-Reverte makes use of a fairly obscure profession to draw the reader into a realistic, yet commonly unknown world. There are times, however, when Perez-Reverte seems to spend too much space on secondary characters. Don Jaime’s set of café companions, for example, add little value to the overall story. Even though one of these characters plays prominently later in the story, the numerous scenes with this handful of eccentrics merely drag the plot unnecessarily. Nonetheless, this one minor complaint is nothing compared to the loosely pulled together ending of The Club Dumas, giving The Fencing Master a far more entertaining aftertaste. Even though I enjoyed the previous novel (and the movie it spawned), if asked, I’d have to recommend The Fencing Master to anyone interested in Perez-Reverte’s work.

2022-10-11 03:21