The Fencing Master | 
|  | | | Title: | The Fencing Master | | Author: | Arturo Perez-Reverte | | Publisher: | Harvest Books | | Type: | Book / Paperback | | Publication Date: | 07 June, 2004 | | ISBN / ISBN-13: | 0156029839 / 9780156029834 | | List Price: | $14.00 | | You Save: | $2.80 | | Amazon Price: | $11.20 | |
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Product Description
The unstoppable thrust is the arcane fencing technique known only by Don Jaime—and the deadly maneuver that a beautiful young woman wants him to teach her.What begins as a rather bold request leads Don Jaime into the shadowy politics and violence of mid-nineteenth-century Madrid.
Amazon.com Review
In The Club Dumas, Arturo PĂ©rez-Reverte explored the labyrinthine world of antiquarian book dealers, spicing his tale of mystery and murder with characters straight out of Paradise Lost and The Three Musketeers. Next came The Flanders Panel, a brilliant puzzle comprised of art, chess, and untimely death whose resolution lies in a painting by a Flemish master. In The Seville Communion, PĂ©rez-Reverte turned his sights on the tangled politics of the Roman Catholic Church as an appropriate backdrop--for murder. In his fourth novel translated into English, the Spanish writer changes centuries (if not his focus on homicide), returning to the mid-1800s to follow the exploits of Don Jaime Astarloa, the eponymous fencing master. The year is 1866 and revolution is brewing in Spain. The corrupt Bourbon queen, Isabella II, is slowly losing her grip on power as equally corrupt exiled politicians vie to be her successor in a new republic. Against this background of political upheaval, Don Jaime goes about his business, teaching a dying art to a dwindling number of students. This is a man who resists changing times; to a friend he explains, "I have spent my whole life trying to preserve a certain idea of myself, and that is all. You have to cling to a set of values that do not depreciate with time. Everything else is the fashion of the moment, fleeting, mutable. In a word, nonsense." But then Adela de Otero--a woman with a mysterious past and an amazing talent for swordplay--comes into his life, and Don Jaime's world is turned upside down. As always, PĂ©rez-Reverte offers literary excellence, a thumping good mystery, and fascinating insight into an arcane practice, in this case, fencing. Though the 19th-century politics in the book may resonate more with a Spanish audience than with English readers, the moral at the heart of The Fencing Master is universal: "to be honest, or at least honorable--anything, indeed, that has its roots in the word honor." In this, Don Jaime and Arturo PĂ©rez-Reverte both succeed. --Alix Wilber
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Customer Reviews:
• Honor And Intrigue! 23 May, 2008
This is another good book from this author that is very entertaining. The plot thickens and increases in intensity until the climax spills over and our hero is left standing with honor and pride, as he should. This is not a complex or overly intricate story, but it is very enjoyable, fast paced, and thrilling, till the very end. You won't be dissapointed.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A3A4WX83NZASRQ
• Tries To Be Dumas-esque, But Is Too Modern 12 July, 2008
This was the first Perez-Reverte book I have read, and I was very disappointed. I have heard him referred to as the modern day Dumas by multiple reviewers. He comes nowhere near earning that title, at least with this book. Perhaps his other books are better, as previous reviewers have suggested, but this book was downright mediocre at best, and boring and poorly executed at worst.
Perez-Reverte's major blunder is his obsession with character sympathy and believability. Don't get me wrong, I am all about things being believable if possible, but being believable should never be one's focus. He spends such a ridiculous amount of space giving us psychological insight into Don Jaime that it is blatantly obvious that he is trying to explain why he does all the things he does. This would already have been bad, but the fact that Don Jaime is a very annoying character to read about makes it unbearable. As a previous reviewes has said, Don Jaime is a "bumbling, clueless idiot." A simple page describing his psychological motivations would have been entirely sufficient, but instead we get something in the vicinity of 25 pages (not all in one place, of course). As another previous reviewer noted, the book is "populated with believable characters." The problem is that their believability is forced; it is something that was obviously purposefully done, and because of that it feels even more unbelievable than the "unmodern" characters of classical fiction. There is one exception to this: the antagonist. For all the effort put into the other characters, the antagonist is the most cardboard-cutoutish character I have come across in some time.
Perez-Reverte is missing a vital component to joining the ranks of the great swash-bucklers like Dumas: naturalness. Dumas' novels and characters flow naturally. Perez-Reverte is obviously obsessed with creating believable characters and a main character people will remember and respect. Yes, we understand that Don Jaime is a relic of a past age. We don't need to hear it repeated on every other page. He has lost sight of the story in his obsession with the individual character, and it makes both story and characters boring.
This makes me think that it is far more comparable to a character study in the manner of Jane Austin than a Duman novel, but the cover explicitly advertises it as an action/suspense book. The "suspense" doesn't come in until toward the very end, and the "action" consists of two short sword-fights (unless one counts practicing fencing as "action"). It was compared by a previous reviewer to Don Quixote. However, it fails to suceed in any of the three categories I mentioned: it has too little action or adventure for a Dumas comparison, it is not nearly witty or profound enough to be compared to Austin, and there is no humour. It fails as historical fiction because the only history contained in it is found in randomly inserted conversations about the politics of the Spanish revolution (and he gives no background, so the reader can't really follow it very well).
Let me summarize what the book actually consists of. There are four parts. First, there are lengthy descriptions of the psychological motivations of Don Jaime and a few other characters. Second, there are numerous political conversations largely unrelated to the plot. Third, there are lengthy descriptions of Don Jaime's daily life, which are about as exciting as describing any normal persons daily life (because the author was trying to surround him with "believability"). Finally, there is a brief "suspense" section at the very end, with a "surprise" plot twist that the reader guesses about 30 pages into the book (if not sooner). The fact that the author presents it as a huge surprise is simply insulting.
One final note. Was it really necessary for Perez-Reverte to include a romantic sub-plot between Don Jaime (who is in his late 50's) and a woman in her young 20's? Really?
Overall grade: D
- Reviewed by customer ID: A10T0OW97SFBB
• The Fencing Master 09 May, 2008
Exciting,gripping,addictive; I could not put this book down.I was completely under its spell,and like a true artist the writer deliberately involves the reader so realistically and deeply in the thrilling conclusion ,that I was just as exhausted and spent as the "Fencing Master" . It would have scored five stars from me, except for the fact that due to translation from Spanish to English, there was an unnecessary use of descriptive phrases,which sometimes detrimentally slowed the pace from this truely racy thriller.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A1TSMWZZO40GXP
• A Splendid Performance. 20 September, 2008
Review of "The Fencing Master" -- Arturo Perez-Reverte
Background abstract from the text: "In Madrid in 1868, fencing master and man of honor Don Jaime is approached by a mysterious woman who seeks to learn the secret of the unstoppable thrust, an arcane technique known only to him. All too soon he finds himself in the vortex of a plot that includes seduction, secret political documents, and more than one murder. Rich with the historical detail of a decaying world that agonizes--as does the world of fencing itself--over the ideals of honor and chivalry, The Fencing Master is superb literature and a true page-turner."
This is the second Perez-Reverte book I've read and I have to admit I really like his intelligent style of writing. I found the first half of the book to open very slowly building the back-story for the protagonist (Don Jaime Astarloa) and potential love interest with Adele De Otero who insistently pleads with him to teach her the fencing secret he perfected; "the unstoppable thrust."
*Spoiler here* The second half of the book quickly builds suspense and intrigue ending with a shocking conclusion. The final part of the story ends with Don Jaime discovering that Adele was acting as the agent of espionage for powerful economic interests. She attempts to kill her Maestro with the same fencing thrust maneuver she learned from him but with which he executes with the skill of "The Fencing Master" leading to her demise (with the thrust through her eye socket).
Well done and rife with a vivid historical backdrop and references. Five stars.
JP
- Reviewed by customer ID: A21FWV7IMMPSXP
• An Excellent Character Study; A Less Satisfying Mystery 26 May, 2008
This was the first Arturo Perez-Reverte I ever read -- and I firmly hold it to account for my ongoing interest and respect for this fabulous author. In this earlier work of his, we see all the trademarks of the APR style: an unabashed fascination for the foil and dust world of 19th Century Spain, it's heroics and its royal uncertainties. APR has an extraordinary capacity to recreate the past -- perhaps not a 'past' that the academic historian would like to see -- but a past that appeals to the lingering romantic in some of us.
APR loves chess, fencing, Latin, esoteric Catholicism, good cigars, fourth vow Jesuits, and outmoded virtues . . . this list should give you a sense of where his sympathies lie. If you share them, then you'll love his work.
_The Fencing Master_ is, above all, a character study, however. In describing Don Jaime, the archetypal man at odds with the changing values of his time, APR summons up a bold portrait of chivalry in decline. But his style goes much deeper than mere whimsy. APR, undoubtedly, possesses the sort of keen insight and probing powers of observation that all great mystery writers possess. Using these talents, he pulls together a most engrossing world in which foils clash, pride gets rattled, and the coffee always comes with witty conversation.
This book, certainly, will not rank among his best in terms of plot. Both _The Club Dumas_ and _The Flanders Panel_ contain far more ingenious plots, evidentiary structures, and incredible narrative devices. _The Fencing Master_ does not have much in the way of stylistic tricks. But, in Don Jaime, APR presents an intense vision of modesty and nobility that beat beneath a dented plastron. In terms of dialogue and psychology, the book rewards immensely (thanks to a great translation) with some rich turns of phrase and potent reflection on a dying art. As such, the book above all presents a lament for a decline in concentration and dedication in favor of shallow trends.
"God is inconsistent and irresponsible. I have no use for Him. He is not a gentlemen."
The highest praise I can give could only be that, over an iced coffee, I polished this book off at a local Greek-run cafe in the span of a perfectly summer afternoon. Whenever the local constable sparked his cigar, I had to have one as well. Whenever Don Jaime kept to his anachronistic principles, I felt like one day I needed to recover my own. In short, the book led me into a different world for a few hours. Now that's some spectacular adventure writing.
As I said, not his best -- but hands down beats all the crap out there like Stephenie Meyer (sp), Da Vinci Code, etc, etc. What a cruel world we live in when such authors sell millions. Don Jaime, however, would hardly be surprised.
- Reviewed by customer ID: A24CILGYK8RFHD
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