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The Count of Monte Cristo

Alexandre Dumas

Start date: January 1, 2021

Finish date: March 31, 2021

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What Members Thought

Dec 12, 2012 Chrissie marked it as to-read

Shelves: hf, classics, free, france, audible-uk, audible-plus-uk

Free for Audible-UK-Plus members with Bill Homewood as narrator,

BUT I have chosen to read The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo first..... Interesting that Dumas' novel is based on the life of his father. I absolutely loved The Orientalist: Solving the Mystery of a Strange and Dangerous Life by the same author, Tom Reiss, but is is best to read Ali and Nino: A Love Story first. You add one book to your list and three or four must follow!

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Aug 28, 2017 Kelly_Hunsaker_reads ... rated it it was amazing

Shelves: classics, 1001-books

UPDATED RATING: As I reread this book I discovered so much more about it. Now I give it a strong 5 stars without any hesitation! Apr 2018

4.5 stars.

This book is a beloved classic for a reason -- the story is solidly written and the characters are intriguing. It is a huge book which never feels too long. I enjoyed the story very much and never felt as though Dumas wrote too many pages. I am left wondering only one thing: why did I wait so long to read it? But, I have been asking myself that often ...more

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Mar 03, 2008 Laura rated it really liked it

Shelves: french-literature, book-and-movie, 1001-books-you-must-read-before-you

At the age of nineteen, seaman Edmond Dantès has a charmed life - about to be promoted to Captain, and engaged to the beautiful Mercédès. But Marseilles in 1815 is a dangerous place, and three of Dantes' acquaintances set in train a chain of events that will lead Edmond to fourteen years of solitary confinement in the notorious Chateau D'If. ...more

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Jan 01, 2012 Pamela(AllHoney) rated it it was ok · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, historical-fiction, vengeance-revenge, books-to-movies

I understand this is a classic and, as such, is beloved by many. I, personally, found it to be complicated and tedious to read. The plot itself is wonderful and I held on struggling through it to see how it went. I started reading it and discovered online that I could listen to it. Listening made it easier to get through. Its definitely thought-provoking. As I said before the plot was great but the style of writing was hard for me. So much information was given in conversations that could have b ...more

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Nov 28, 2009 Brianna rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Wow... what can I say? There is no way I can hit all the "highlights" of a 1000-page book. Someone good at summarizing his/her thoughts might, but for a babbler like me, it's nigh impossible. If I were to attempt it, I would begin talking about one aspect that I enjoyed, and get stuck on that one aspect for pages and pages, and in between it would probably cause me to think of other, related things, which may or may not be actually from the book, but from life in general, and eventually I would Wow... what can I say? There is no way I can hit all the "highlights" of a 1000-page book. Someone good at summarizing his/her thoughts might, but for a babbler like me, it's nigh impossible. If I were to attempt it, I would begin talking about one aspect that I enjoyed, and get stuck on that one aspect for pages and pages, and in between it would probably cause me to think of other, related things, which may or may not be actually from the book, but from life in general, and eventually I would arrive back at my point, but... You get the idea.
So, instead, let me just say that this book was AMAZING. MIRACULOUS. SPECTACULAR. EXTRAORDINARY. Et cetera, et cetera, et cetera.
It is the only work by Dumas, apart from The Three Musketeers, that I have read. May I just say that, in my opinion, it was ten...twenty...fifty...a HUNDRED times better than TTM. I know, it is not really fair to say that, as they are two completely different stories. And I am by no means suggesting that it is better simply because it is about twice as long as TTM. And I daresay there would be those who would find it terribly irksome to read because of all the millions of characters one must keep track of over a twenty-four-year period.
However, I must say that I found the story itself much more engaging and intriguing and suspenseful and...in general, interesting, than TTM. Not that TTM wasn't interesting! Not that I didn't care for the characters or what became of them! But somehow I found it much easier to sympathise with the characters in TCOM. Even the "bad guys." I say "bad guys" in quotation marks, because it was not really a matter of "bad" characters and "good" characters. Yes, certain characters treat the main character (forgive the vagueness; spoilers and all that) appallingly, sparking his desire to have vengeance on them. But the themes went much deeper than what three men did to another man. Along the way, secrets are uncovered - the reader discovers other sins in their lives that they had thought to keep hidden forever. And in the end, the main character realizes that he was sinning by playing the part of God. In short, nearly all the chief characters realize the filthiness in their lives; some repent and are redeemed; but most still suffer, to some extent, the dread consequences of their actions - for some, this means losing their lives.
All right, since I'm going to put a "spoilers" warning up, I suppose it wouldn't hurt to mention one specific: Edmond admits, at the end, that he, "like Satan," attempted to play God's role in others' lives, essentially repents of what he has already done to those who hurt him, and (FINALLY) leaves and marries the woman he loves. Had all that not happened, had he stubbornly clung to the idea that he was justified in administering judgment to those who had been responsible for his imprisonment, had it ended with his death or lack of repentance, I would not have been nearly as satisfied with this story as a whole.
However, Dumas has clearly shown, through this writing, that, whatever might be the state of his own heart in relation to God, he certainly knows what it OUGHT to be.
By the way, and this, I promise, is my last thought, that was what really stood out in TCOM as opposed to TTM: the sense of right and wrong. Obviously there is much wrongdoing in TCOM, but it is presented as such - not seen in any positive light - understood to be sin. In TTM, particularly the situation between d'Artagnan and Constance, it didn't really matter; so he was in love with another man's wife, so he would have probably stayed with her if she hadn't been killed, so what? It was presented as an acceptable thing. Doubtless Dumas was presenting things as they were; the characters probably didn't object because it wasn't anything strange or seen as wrong in that time and among the people with whom the musketeers associated. However, in TCOM, Dumas still presents the reality - for immorality is everywhere in the world, as it has been since Adam's fall, and always will be until Christ returns - but presents it in a much more negative light. The wrongdoers hide their wrongdoing, because they know it is wrong and that, were it to get around, their names would be spoiled.
Well, I had better stop there, even though it is a rather abrupt place to stop. ...more

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Feb 01, 2011 Amanda rated it really liked it

Shelves: ap-literature, 4-stars, classics

I am a massively, huge fan of "The Long Game" and any protagonist, evil or good, who does it at amazingly. Edmond Dantes is the master of the long game and this is the whole point of his story (not his two-a.m. saving grace).

I read this for someone dear to me and it took me off and on reading it for months, because it was really my at work lunch reading book. I got to keep her entertained with my endless commentary on it. And I stick by the two or three things I meant most that I said:

1. I lov ...more

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Jul 06, 2016 Jaci McCon rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: own, read-in-2016

Full Review on my website PostWordem

When a friend of mine recently said, “Hey, I think I’m going to read the Count of Monte Cristo.” my initial response was, “Oh, I have a copy of that” …and then I scoffed. But after some consideration, I realized that I had never actually picked it up and read it. The tales woven by Alexandre Dumas have become part of our culture in a way – we all know of The Three Musketeers, The Man in the Iron Mask…that elusive count. But do you really know the stories? Othe Full Review on my website PostWordem

When a friend of mine recently said, “Hey, I think I’m going to read the Count of Monte Cristo.” my initial response was, “Oh, I have a copy of that” …and then I scoffed. But after some consideration, I realized that I had never actually picked it up and read it. The tales woven by Alexandre Dumas have become part of our culture in a way – we all know of The Three Musketeers, The Man in the Iron Mask…that elusive count. But do you really know the stories? Other than a brief run in with Leonardo DiCaprio back in the day (when I was paying less attention to plot and more attention to other things), I got honest with myself and realized that I had no idea what these stories were really made of. So, I decided to try to tackle the Count head on.

And what a book it was. The first thing that struck me was the writing style – flamboyant and (seemingly, at first) overly descriptive. Do we really need this much detail or that much dialogue? But what Dumas was cleverly doing was setting the stage for the grand reveal(s) at the end – and by that point I was emotionally invested in the characters – thanks to all of the upfront groundwork. It read, in a way, like a soap opera, without all of the overt sexuality that usually comes with that territory. There are mysterious deaths, satire, romances, (almost) duels…and at 500+ pages in my edition, it surprisingly didn’t drag along. And without doing any research about the history of the novel (that’s coming shortly…), it feels as if the book were suited for serialization…each chapter leading into the next with finesse or cliffhangers that keep the pace moving or the reader wanting more.

The plot in in itself is a bit formulaic. You have your hero, who starts out innocent, in love, fairly happy. But alas, people jealous of his good fortune conspire against him, not just foiling his plans but essentially ruining his life. After 14 (yes, 14) years in a prison where some somewhat unbelievable things take place (who really tunnels under the floor of a jail?), he achieves his freedom and happens upon fortune. And the rest of the story follows his attempt to attain revenge against the families that destroyed his happiness. It’s actually quite intricate plot development, with the building of characters and causing them to overlap and run into one another. In some ways, it seems, that they further the plot along and assist the Count in exacting his revenge just by being themselves. Or perhaps he can anticipate their actions.

One of my favorite passages actually took place earlier in the novel, where Villefort visits King Louis XVIII in the Tuileries:

"There was a brief pause, during which Louis XVIII. wrote, in a hand as small as possible, another note on the margin of his Horace, and then looking at the duke with the air of a man who thinks he has an idea of his own, while he is only commenting upon the idea of another."

While placed historically to give the novel a familiar backdrop for readers at the time, the monarchy and the usurper (Napoleon) play interestingly limited roles in the novel. Once Edmond Dantes is convicted for plotting against the crown, the government fades in the novel and the different prominent families in the novel take over.

What struck me was how clearly Dumas painted the characters. They all come off the page in their own unique way. You can envision M Nortier blinking and motioning at his granddaughter Valentine, desperate to communicate. You can sense Mme Morcerf’s curiosity at the strange and new Count and the recognition in her eyes as she sees him for the first time. You can even tell that Mme Villefort is up to no good before everyone else does – and her kind of evil is of the most pure kind.

I also happened to like the ending of the novel. I don’t think the book is about whether or not you are on The Count’s side or whether you think he’s right or wrong in all of the chaos that he orchestrates. Four hundred pages in, it’s easy to forget that he was the original victim in the novel. Dumas finds a way to give him a level of happiness and redemption in spite of it all, though I’m not sure that the way he wrote it was 100% believable or natural.

If you are considering reading this book, I HIGHLY recommend that you make sure your edition of the novel is unabridged. I assumed that my Signet Classic copy was, but I was fooled and only realized halfway through my reading. I didn’t double back or try to reread it, figuring I had already made a considerable commitment to the book. But it does make me wonder what I really missed out on.

And why is The Count of Monte Cristo still relatable today? The themes of politics and wealth manipulating people to commonly devious ends. The themes of forbidden love, difficult parents, desire for adventure, and – but of course – the need for revenge when we are wronged so unjustly.
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Jul 10, 2020 Ellen Librarian rated it it was amazing

I finally finished this book which I started and put down three times. I listened to the John Lee audio. I'm not sure who the translator was but I recommend the version.

I'm giving the book five stars because it is definitely a masterpiece - but what a slog! I almost want to read it again because there is so much intricacy and intrigue that I know I missed some important points. But definitely not now!

That said, it was a good book to read during the pandemic as it was total escapism but with seri ...more

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