Title: The Thousand and One Ghosts
Author: Alexandre Dumas (Translated by Andrew Brown)
Genre: Fiction
About the Book...
After having just had his own ghostly encounter, the protagonist joins a group of men to dine and participates in an exchange of stories pertaining to other ghostly and supernatural encounters they've had. First published in English in 2004 and then revised in 2018, this is a review for the later edition.
What I Think...
I really had no idea what to expect from this book as Dumas tends to veer in various directions when it comes to subject matter and his other supernatural book Castle Eppstein is not among my favorites. This wasn't that bad, though.
I
love that it follows the group gathered around the table exchanging
stories frame format similar to that of The Canterbury Tales, The Decameron, and, of course, as the title indicates, One Thousand and One Arabian Nights.
The stories while somewhat predictable in most cases are engaging and I ended up reading
through this is fairly short order (I might add that it is under 200
pages). They vary in setting and tone, with some a little darker than others and one moving into the subject of vampires. The first story was probably my least favorite, but I found that they improved as the book continued.
Some of the stories are more politically focused, mostly pertaining to the French Revolution, but not so much that if you aren't up to snuff on your French history that you'll miss out on anything and a Notes section is included at the end to provide at least a little clarification.
To Sum it All Up...
A little uneven at points and not the best (but certainly not the worst!) Dumas book I've read, but overall an intriguing and interesting read that I can see myself dipping into again! ♥
