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Archive 08-19 GR Discussions
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Count of Monte Cristo schedule
Great Tera. Here we go with another chunkie~!
Woohoo! I plan on buying my copy from Borders (or B&N if they don't have a copy) this weekend! I'm excited!
May sound like a dumb question, but how do you know if a book is unabridged?
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Looking forward to it! Are we supposed to be through with Chapter 14 by 5/10, or starting by 5/10?I'm ordering mine from Amazon today. (Library's copy is abridged).
Whoo! I started CMC over a year ago and couldn't finish it within the library time limit, but I got about half way through and it was a fabulous book. Perhaps I'll have to join the discussions!
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Good because I won't be getting my book until Friday or Saturday...
I bought this at a sale awhile back because I wanted to reread it (I read it in high school) so I'm looking forward to this!
Got the book today from BN. Nice price, only $5.95.
so excited this is one of my read every five years books! i love this book! can't wait to get started!
Bought my copy from Borders today. Looking forward to reading along with everyone!
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I am going to start today. I just got The Time Traveler's Wife delivered though so contemplating what to do what to do :)
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I read The Time Traveler's Wife this week too. Once you start you cant put it down. Oh and grab some tissues. SO good.
Tera , are you reading both at the same time??
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Ok I will read TTW first and then start on the Count.
I haven't started yet, although I have marked the chapters. (Speaking of which, I noticed that you skipped June 21 on the above schedule. Should we add that one in or leave it alone?) I'm hoping to finish Love in the Time of Cholera tomorrow sometime and then start in on the Count. I've read the first half of the abridged version before and blew through it, so hopefully I'll have the same luck with the unabridged.
OK with the first week's reading. I am going to pose this question if that is ok.As I am reading I am surprised that there is not much in physical description of the characters, especially the women. Why do you think that is so?
Also, for those who read War and Peace, our old friend Bonaparte is back!
So far the setting is around 1815.
I would love to join in on the discussion! I'll be refreshing myself so that I can discuss too! :)
Can I join now even though i am a few days late? I've always wanted to read this one. :)
Oh, I wish I had a copy on-hand. This is on my "to read" list. I like the idea of Group Book Discussions like this one and look forward to future read-alongs.
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Meg I hadn't thought of that until you mentioned it. Then as I was reading last night I noticed it but it seemed to me that none of them really had a good physical description. My image of Edmond is based purely on the movie (which I loved btw) because I'm not getting much else from the book.
Interesting observation.
Petra wrote: "Oh, I wish I had a copy on-hand. This is on my "to read" list. I like the idea of Group Book Discussions like this one and look forward to future read-alongs. "
Petra, I'm reading this on www.dailylit.com. I know it's not the same as reading a book but it's free and I read my installment every morning when I check my e-mail...not so daunting when you don't see how big the book actually is :). It's been a great read so far.
Thanks Meg. Now that I think of it, I agree...there isn't a great physical description of the characters. However, I kind of like that as I can use my imagination. I usually try to read the book before seeing the movie so that I have my own ideas about the characters. If I see the movie first, then I have all these judgments based on the person in the movie and it takes away from my own initial impressions of the characters.
Monika wrote: "Petra wrote: "Oh, I wish I had a copy on-hand. This is on my "to read" list. I like the idea of Group Book Discussions like this one and look forward to future read-alongs. "
Petra, I'm reading t..."
Monika, I just checked out dailylit.com. Wow! I just browsed it quickly but what an assortment of books! Thanks!!
Tera, I noticed on the schedule that June 21 was skipped and didn't know whether that was intentional or what.I started my reading today. I'm about a quarter of the way through the 150 pages for this week. I'm amazed by how quickly I'm getting through it. I think having a lot of dialogue helps.
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It's no big deal. It's a ways off. I only noticed because I was tabbing the different sections.
I have to finish House of the Spirits, but will hopefully be catching up to you all soon. I actually started this book on a Classics application I bought with my iPhone but I bet it's the abridged version. Anyway, everyone who's read this had just loved it, so this should be great!
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We meet Dantes. He's young, likeable... infact loved by most everyone, a leader, loyal and fair. I think too a bit innocent or naive might be a better word.
We also meet our first 3 villians.
Danglers, the envious sailor that wishes for Dantes new position.
Fernand, the envious friend (?) who wishes for Dantes love Mercedes.
Caderousse who while not actually in on the plot to ruin Dantes does nothing to stop it.
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Here we meet Villefort and to a more subtle degree Napolean.
Villefort is driven by ambition. He is not out to do wrong by Dantes but when he sees a threat to his position takes advantage of his power and gets rid of Dantes while at the same time making a power play to rise in esteem to Louis XVIII.
We see the contrast of Villefort and Dantes. Both men are interrupted on the night of their wedding feast. Dantes simple feast filled with admirers and happiness. Villefort filled with aristocrats and political discussion. There is also the contrast of the father son relationship between the two men. Dantes is loyal to his father, Mercedes and Morrel. There is love and devotion to and from these people and Dantes. Villefort on the other hand clearly is ashamed of his father and as Louis XVIII says is so hungry for position that he would easily sell out his father. Villefort's father is a liability there seems to be no loyalty or loved loss.
The other character we are introduced to is Napolean. Although we don't meet Napolean he is a central figure in all of this and it in the style of Dumas. Those loyal to Louis the XVIII and the conservative rule, Villefort and Marquise de Saint-Méran, are villians in nature. While those associated with Bonaparte, Dantes, the dead captian, Morrel have a more heoric aspect to them. This is a reflection on Dumas and his beliefs. Dumas' father was a general in Napoleans army.
Best quote comes from Noirtier, “in politics . . . there are no men, but ideas—no feelings, but interests; in politics we do not kill a man, we only remove an obstacle.”
So far im ... ba ba ba ba ba... Im lovin it.
Man, I wish I saw this link last week, I will now have to play catch up!
I really thought that these chapters were like a first episode of a TV show--they introduce you to everyone and let you know a little bit about what the show is about. They set up the rest of the novel in a very topical way rather than provide a lot of the elements we generally look for in a good story. And it's totally fine that Dumas did this because he has over a thousand more pages to play with.
I am really loving this book. Thanx to Tera for picking this chunky. I am so enjoying it that I have surged ahead. You are gonna love it and I am not telling..............
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I read this in french back in college. I love reading Dumas. He is a favorite. Adventure tales before the time of guns are deffinatly one of my loves
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We just finished up chapter 20.
LOVED those last 5 chapters.
Within those chapters we meet the wise Abbe` Farria.
He becomes a father figure to Dantes during this time teaching all the knowledge he has gained but also being a friend to Dantes.
Farria is also the one who figures out the reasoning for Dantes imprisonment. It is then that the change starts to happen to Dantes. Up to this time Dantes has been loving and kind and almost unable to conceive someone doing anything evil towards him or because of him. After Farria shares with Dantes how it is possible that the 3 men betrayed him and conspired against him Dantes goes from God fearing and loving to consuming thoughts of revenge and anger.
Was ignorance bliss? Was Dantes better off not knowing?
Though their escape plan failed for the two of them Dantes takes the opportunity and manages to escape when Farria passes away.
Interesting summary I found...
Dumas compares Dantès's imprisonment to death, which casts Dantès's later actions and circumstances as a rebirth or resurrection. In Chapter 14, the narrator tells us that Dantès “looked upon himself as dead,” while in Chapter 17, Dantès himself refers to prison as “a living grave.” This morbid language signifies a metaphorical death: the happy, innocent Dantès of the early chapters dies and is replaced by the vengeful, bitter man of the remainder of the novel. This death is not merely one of innocence, but perhaps also one of humanity. The Dantès who emerges from prison is not simply vengeful: he is nearly superhuman in his mental and physical capabilities, while subhuman in his emotional capacity. He is something both greater and less than a human being.
Do you consider this prison time a rebirth for him? Does Dantes lose all grasp on his old self or is there still that loving and accepting nature within?
So I answered this one yesterday and my post disappeared...........Yes, I do consider his imprisonment a living grave. His life/attitude changed once he connected with the Abbe. The Abbe gave him reason to live on. The fact that when he does escape he is not simply vengeful is an amazing trait. I can't remember, the sailors that died were they three? I am thinking that was symbolic of Christianity as well.
I agree Meg, it amazes me that he was able to go back out and be a fairly normal guy. I've read this part before, so I don't know exactly what point you're up to. I also love that he spent his time learning as much as he could, but also retaining and improving his resourcefulness. I don't think ignorance was bliss. I think Dantes spent his time before prison seeing the world with rose colored glasses. I don't recall feeling a cynicism from Dantes after his time in prison, but a wisening.
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There really is a strong statement about Napoleon. Dumas was obviously a fan of him and it shows in the characters that seem to align with him vs those that don't. It makes me want to read more about Napoleon. That makes me want to read about Josephine. Reading is such a game of dominoe stacking!
Tera, keep reading War and Peace as well. These two novels make a good marriage.
Tera wrote: "I'm finding it really interesting as I'm reading and researching this book all the things I wouldnt have known or picked up on otherwise. There really is a strong statement about Napoleon. Dumas..."I'm still going through War and Peace. Now that I've allowed myself to slow to my own pace, it's easier to enjoy. It will proably be the same with the Count of Monte Cristo.
Something I like in LibroVox recordings is that you can here them in their original languates as well as in Engluysh, and I think having them side by side in print while listening to them is a great way to break into the languages. Kind of how children learn first by hearing language spoken, and then learn to read and write, and dont' get the grammar, and so fourth till 3rd or fourth grade.
As long as I don't get too intimidated about the subject or the language, and allow myslef to amble through the whole book instead of galloping, I like the books instead of feeling I am studying or a pop quiz. So my posts may run a month or two late.
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I have to admit I have read ahead. I cant seem to help myself.
This was a big week of Edmond. He made it out of prison. If his life in prison was a sort of death his escape from it was a rebirth, even in the sense that he escapes and comes out through water.
He is reborn with a new purpose of revenge. Even as he joins up with the smugglers we see Dantes is a new person. Before he couldnt think of deception and now with calm and coolness he takes up with the smugglers and lies about who he is and where he is from. The smugglers for that matter are portrayed as good guys, another subtle commentary by Dumas about social injustices.
When Dantes finds the treasure he is then bound to his quest for revenge. It becomes more than a goal it is now a reality he can exact. I think to that extent it becomes an albatross around his neck.
This begins Dantes work. It also introduces us to the many faces of Dantes. We meet Abbe Busoni when he goes to decide if Caderousse is an enemy or a friend, Lord Wilmore when he goes to Morrel, and Sinbad the Sailor when meeting with Franz.
What is your take on these different personas? Do they represent anything to you? How do they play to the design of Dantes plan?
I am not sure that Dantes is seeking revenge or just a new beginning. You will have to keep this question in mind as your read because your answer will continually change. I am loving this book but I am so far ahead now I can't reply completely because I am not sure where in the book you are!
(5/10)Chapters 1–14
(5/17)Chapters 15–20
(5/24)Chapters 21–30
(5/31)Chapters 31–39
(6/7)Chapters 40–53
(6/14)Chapters 54–67
(6/21)Chapters 68–76
(6/28)Chapters 77–84
(7/5)Chapters 85–93
(7/12)Chapters 94–102
(7/29)Chapters 103–108
(7/26)Chapters 109–117