Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
adventure, chivalry, romance - a lost world, 6 Jan 1999
By A Customer
This is one of my favourite books of all time. It's come in for a bit of criticism in recent years for the way "foreigners" are portrayed, and I have to admit that Wren does use some awful stereotypes, but as long as you remember that he was writing in the 1920s and not the 90s you can take it with good humour. The story is told in several parts, from a couple of different perspectives, but basically this is the story of Michael "Beau" Geste, a magnificently heroic and noble young Englishman, as seen through the eyes of his hero-worshipping younger brother John. To sum up the plot in a few lines, somebody steals a magnificent jewel, and Beau (though John, and by extension the reader, knows it is impossible) confesses to the crime. His brothers follow him into exile, and they wind up in the French Foreign Legion. Numerous adventures take place in the desert, but running throughout the whole book is the most important theme - who stole the jewel and why would Beau sacrifice his reputation and maybe his life to cover for them? This book has got the lot: gallantry, true love, thwarted love, humour, sadness, bravery, forts in the desert, mutinous soldiers, loyal officers and unflappable gentlemen, honour and self sacrifice. It really succeeds in bringing to life the vanished world (maybe it never really existed but we all love to think it did) of the perfect English gentleman.
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6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
4.0 out of 5 stars
for valour, 30 May 2000
By A Customer
At first i thought this book slightly ludicrous. Boys playing at men, awarding each other titles like "faithful hound" and "stout fella". It all seemed so anachronistic and focused on the upper classes and their, perhaps, slightly effortless existences "I was wakened by David the under foot-man bringing in my hot water at the usual time" etc. They are slightly cruel to the boy who stays with them at their Aunt's country home calling him such horrible names as "cheesemite" and other names which cannot have been too unkind, even then. But there is much more to these three boys. After the slightly confusing opening chapter which is in fact a sort of prologue from a different perspective, we meet the family and then we follow their lives in the foreign legion. One come to realise that they are in fact character s of immense courage, love and warmth. They are ready to die for each other, in fact almost vying for the opportunity to do so. They are gallant beyond compare, fair and scrupulous. They refuse to disobey orders or entertain mutinous thoughts in the legion and can see the positive attributes of everyone, even their hitherto detested sergeant Lejaune. They are prepared to leave behind everything they cherish to protect innocent brothers and sisters from being unjustly accused of a crime. They join a nomadic people, rootless and without loyalty or affiliation to anything or anyone. A gang of hopless desperadoes who, in contrast, think nothing of perpetrating crimes against brothers in arms. It is an exciting book, the battle scenes set the heart racing and the thought of what these talented boys have left behind and what they will now never achieve brings tears to the eyes. I think this book still has a lot to say to those who believe in values such as loyalty and friendship. Theirs is a triumph of self-sacrifice over personal greed and ambition. It is also a very realistic book and does not glamourise the legion at all. In fact the descriptions of life ther are remarkably similar to Simon Murray's much more recent, "Legionnaire".
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2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
Three brothers join the French Foreign Legion, 5 Jun 2006
In the 19th century adventure writers used to imbue their tales with the morality of the time. Made simple, people will come across good and evil in their lives, it's how you face it that defines who you are. Honor is an admirable quality, acting dishonorably is, well, dishonorable.... And it is worth struggling through adversity for a good cause. Acting with courage and strength, can yield great reward. GA Henty, H. Rider Haggard, P. C. Wren, C. S. Forester, Anthony Hope and Baroness Orczy crafted their careers on these very foundations with, thankfully, a lot of page turning action.
About 25 years ago, I tore through BEAU GESTE, BEAU SABREUR, and BEAU IDEAL one after the other and had a great time reading them. Having recently become reacquainted with `the swashbuckler' as an entertaining read, I thought I'd pick up a copy of Beau Geste and see if the excitement still held. I wasn't disappointed. What's not to like, really. Three noble English brothers battle a sadistic sergeant, fight violent desert tribes in North Africa, and unravel the mystery of a stolen jewel. Great stuff! Sure the story telling technique and the world view may come across as a little old fashioned to many a modern reader, but all I can say is there were a couple of very late nights where I was literally unable to put this book down. Enjoy!
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