Dumas Alexander, The Count of Monte Cristo, Informal Buddy Read, starts 20 June 2024 (previous read was 2018)

[Tahmina]

I'm way behind you guys but I have nothing planned this week except catching up on my books and cleaning .... so hopefully will be caught up sooon

@ Sarah: Yes there is so many characters Ive been keeping a list as I read but sometimes i get caught up in the reading and forget haha

[Tahmina]

So I made it a 1/6 into the book in one day (yay!!) and thought I would give some of my initials thoughts.

First thing is about the translation of this book :( Its super annoying. The person that translated this book, I realized today, has left out paragraphs and passages that were in the original text. So I am not actually getting the whole translation. But the best part is that he has also left out complete chapters. I know this because when I am out, I read an ebook and when I am at home I read the hard copy. So I started to notice discrepancies between them and I am just super annoyed. Does anyone else have that problem or is it just my edition?

And then some of the tranlation does not make sense. I have to go look at other sources to figure out what he is talking about it because I feel like his information is incomplete. So I think I am going to stick to my ebook version since that seems to be more complete.

So I'm 17% in

(view spoiler)[Dantes seems like a complete airhead to me. :( He's so clueless and Naive. I just can't imagine someone at that time and his age to be so innocent. Especially because he is a sailor and has to be away from his family all the time. So he would have to be accustomed to other people and the way that they behave. Not all people are good and he would be able to figure it out by now. If this was a 19 old today I can see it but back then when they had to go and work at a young age, it just doesn't make sense. And then all these people that like him instantly but then do the wrong thing .... is just weird. Not everyone you meet is evil.

But I am enjoying the book. He just met the other prisoner and again another person that likes him. Farra is helping him realize that he trusted the wrong people. So at least he seems to be learning from his mistakes.

I like the flow of the book as well. Its super fast paced and then every time you are like yes he's getting out something unexpected and crazy happens and then you just go nooooooooo!!!!!! So love that roller coaster ride and love that you can't guess what is happening. (hide spoiler)]

[Tahmina]

@ Caroline msg 82:
I think if his father was part of another conspiracy than it would make him look bad. Especially because he murdered someone. I myself don't understand why he doesn't turn his father in because he would look very loyal to the crown but then again it was good he didn't because Napoleon took over for 100 days and Villefort did not lose his job because of his father.

@Vicki Msg 218

Edmond (view spoiler)[I think its because Danglar is jealous and he wants the job and it is later revealed by chapter 15 (view spoiler)[ that Danglar was probably stealing money and Edmond challenged him to a duel but he didn't go so maybe he was jealous and scared (hide spoiler)] (hide spoiler)]

Mercedes: Yeah i think it was just like saying you are like a brother to me not a romantic interest if that makes sense.

HATE FERNAND: Definitely on my blacklist as well!!!

Caderousse: (view spoiler)[ OK RIGHTTTT!!!!! like how freaken stupid are you if you're going to act all surprised the next day when everything they said happens!!! (hide spoiler)]

The version I am reading, the narrator does not talk to the reader directly. My version is just horrible!!

[Sarah]

Tahmina wrote: "@ Caroline msg 82:
I think if his father was part of another conspiracy than it would make him look bad. Especially because he murdered someone. I myself don't understand why he doesn't turn his fa..."

I'm using Project Gutenburg's epub edition downloaded to GooglePlay. I have had 0 issues with the translation. And the narrators talk to me!

[Tahmina]

Ok maybe I should get that!!

[Sarah]

It was completely free and they had other formats, like PDF. I absolutely love Project Gutenberg and have used them for many books, especially Agatha Christie.

[Tahmina]

Oooo I’ve gone to their website before didn’t know that they had audio thanks Sarah!

[Sarah]

I aim to please! Let me know if the audio is any good...I may give it a whirl.

[Tahmina]

ok So I am have read up to Chapter 31:

Thanks to Sarah I feel like this book makes more sense!!

So reading this I see that Dumas keeps repeating certain things about lies and truth. When anyone sees Dantes they can instantly tell that he is good because of the way he talks and the look in his eye. Same thing when you have Dantes is listening to other peoples stories its the way they talk and look it's never because the facts match up or that they have proof. I feel like he really simplifies good and evil in this book. Not one person in this book is middle ground. He paints them as bad or good.

Dantes (view spoiler)[ I love how he has a million disguises and accents and not one person is like this guy looks familiar. Especially when he is going around asking people all this information about himself. Not one person looks at him a little closer. Though I guess its been like 14 years and he left at 19 so looks change a lot. But its really hard for me to believe that no one would be able to figure out who he is.

And why wouldn't Morreal try to find out why this guy is helping him. Wouldn't you be suspicious about who the guy was. (hide spoiler)]

Mercedes (view spoiler)[They talk about Mercedes and how she went and married Fernand but Dumas makes it look like she did a terrible thing. She waited for 18 months. Took care of his dad as best as he could and she was not even married to him, Just engaged. So I am not sure why they would think she would wait for him forever. And she had no idea that Fernand was the one behind his disappearance so I don't know. I guess I have to keep on reading the book to figure this out.

Sexist Line: Frailty, thy name is women (Boooo!!) (hide spoiler)]

Caderousse (view spoiler)[What a scumbag and his wife doesn't seem like she's much better. Made himself look so helpless and innocent though I was surprised the he admitted everything. But he never once went and helped the father but felt like he deserved the diamond. Just wow (hide spoiler)]

[Karen ⊰✿, Fiction Aficionado]

https://librivox.org is also a great site for free audiobooks (that are in the public domain). They are all read by volunteers and some versions are better than others.
I typically find a narrator I like and then search what other books they have done ;)

[Tahmina]

Karen ⊰✿ wrote: "https://librivox.org is also a great site for free audiobooks (that are in the public domain). They are all read by volunteers and some versions are better than others.
I typically find a narrator ..."

Thanks Karen will check it out

[Sarah]

Tahmina wrote: "ok So I am have read up to Chapter 31:

Thanks to Sarah I feel like this book makes more sense!!

So reading this I see that Dumas keeps repeating certain things about lies and truth. When anyone s..."

You're right in saying this book really portrays evil in black and white. People get so good at lying (Edmond would have to be when he played his aliases) that you would believe they were related to the Queen of England. Just because their manner of speaking and the look in their eye seems honest, doesn't mean they are truthful.

[Sarah]

Tahmina, Karen, Vicki....how are you doing? Jusr checking in on everyone's progress. I'm on page 933 and I have no idea where this is headed. Obviously, Edmund is taking his revenge on all those who wronged him. But where that leaves people, and what his revenge looks like, I have no idea.

[Tahmina]

I’ll update today! But I’m not sure either. He just got done rewarding everyone and now it seems like it payback time. Some seem to deserve it but not others

[Sarah]

Can you imagine if real duels existed in today's world? Ha! I wonder what would be more popular today, swords or guns?

[Tahmina]

Sarah wrote: "Can you imagine if real duels existed in today's world? Ha! I wonder what would be more popular today, swords or guns?"

And girls would be allowed to participate in them .. that would be interesting

[Sarah]

Ugh Valentine has (Chapter 80 spoiler) (view spoiler)[just been accused of the poisonings. I mean come on, we know it had to be the step mom but still.....ugh. I really hope this accusation doesn't go public. (hide spoiler)]

I never expected to connect to these characters so much. I'm not sure why, I guess I just assumed the older the writing, the harder it is to feel emotional for the characters.

[SandyL]

Sarah wrote: "Ugh Valentine has (Chapter 80 spoiler) [spoilers removed]

I never expected to connect to these characters so much. I'm not sure why, I guess I just assumed the older the writing, the harder it is ..."

I was so surprised at how easy this book was to read and get into the story too, Sarah. I usually struggle with the classics!

[Tahmina]

SandyL wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Ugh Valentine has (Chapter 80 spoiler) [spoilers removed]

I never expected to connect to these characters so much. I'm not sure why, I guess I just assumed the older the writing, the..."

I tend to like classics but they take me a while to get through. This one is super long but its very entertaining. I feel like if I didn't have so much to do right now I would have finished this in a couple of days. It was very easy to get into but also the characters were great too.

[Sarah]

I'm not sure if I want the Count to get his revenge on the children. You know, the whole sins of the father thing. I know centuries ago it was much more important what your family members did than it is today. So, back then maybe it would be more likely that an enemy of a father would also be an enemy of the son.

[SandyL]

Sarah wrote: "I'm not sure if I want the Count to get his revenge on the children. You know, the whole sins of the father thing. I know centuries ago it was much more important what your family members did than ..."

I know, Sarah - I was very worried about the collateral damage his scheme could cause!

[Sarah]

Up to chapter 111.

(view spoiler)[ Well, I never expected Edward to die. He's some of that collateral damage we talked about before. I suppose I should have seen it coming, based on the fact that Madame de Villefort was poisoning everyone for Edward's sake. She was so obsessed with him, it shouldn't have surprised me that she would kill him so that they died together.

Even though M. de Villefort was such a terrible person, I kind of feel bad for him, in a way. (hide spoiler)]

[Sarah]

Tahmina, Karen, and Vicki... in case you didn't hear, in order to get BR points for the challenge, all buddy reads must be finished by July 31st.

[Tahmina]

Sarah wrote: "Tahmina, Karen, and Vicki... in case you didn't hear, in order to get BR points for the challenge, all buddy reads must be finished by July 31st."

Thanks Sarah! I was just reading this because it was one of the books I planned on reading eventually. Its summer though and since I live in California we tend to get lots of visitors at this time. So have not kept up with any of my books unfortunately.

[Sarah]

So, I just finished. To be honest, I was a little let down by the ending but I was also not surprised that the ending was a little disappointing. Not sure why, but I was expecting it. Overall though, I thoroughly enjoyed this. Even though it took me so long to read, this is definitely a book I will read several more times in my lifetime.

[Vicki]

Sarah wrote: "Tahmina, Karen, and Vicki... in case you didn't hear, in order to get BR points for the challenge, all buddy reads must be finished by July 31st."

Yeah, I didn't know that because I have been traveling extensively and fell off the radar for some things and this buddy read was one. I'm disappointed because I have no idea when I'll ever finish it now and I was enjoying the book a lot.

[Tahmina]

Vicki wrote: "Sarah wrote: "Tahmina, Karen, and Vicki... in case you didn't hear, in order to get BR points for the challenge, all buddy reads must be finished by July 31st."

Yeah, I didn't know that because I ..."

I never finished either but i tried so hard and it was good!

[Moderators of NBRC, Challenger-in-Chief]

REVIVAL


Bringing this back out of the depths for a newly formed group of members who want to do a buddy read of this classic.

This informal buddy read will start on 20th June 2024.

[Eldarwen]

Hopefully this time I'm actually going to be able to get further and finish the story... it's painful with the doorstops sometimes when they're being read during challenges :-/

[Ashley]

I MIGHT join you all... this one has been on my list for.... well, forever.

[Beth]

I may join as well. But I tried to read The Brothers Karamazov recently and DNFed it.

I'm willing to give it a go!

[Sammy]

Beth wrote: "I may join as well. But I tried to read The Brothers Karamazov recently and DNFed it.

I'm willing to give it a go!"

I personally think this is 10x better than the brothers K! 😁

[Keely]

I thought I would be ready for this on the 20th, but I have several BOMs to catch up on and then a couple for the Battle so it might take me a bit longer to get to, but I definitely want to try and get this done for Round 2 of Book Games.

[Insiyah]

Let's go!

I'm going to try and complete Chapters 1 to 10 today.

[Ashley]

I'm going to try to start today!

[Sammy]

I've just started. My third read of this one.

14 and a half hours at my listening speed. And I'm hoping to finish it in about 2 days. Fun! lol.

[Ashley]

Ok, so I listened to Chapter 1 on the way to work, and I'm hopeful! I wasn't super confused, although I don't really know what's going on. I may try browsing a chapter summary to make sure I understand who the characters are... lol

[Sammy]

I'm on ch 17.

Poor Edmund. (view spoiler)[ It's one thing to be mistakenly accused of a crime. It's quite another to be stitched up like he was. Of course it was necessary, or it would have been a really, really short book 😆

I also love his digging his way into the other cell, but do wonder at the plausibility of that... (hide spoiler)]

[Preeti]

I am so happy... This is my favourite book and I have read it more times than I can count. I have decided to go slow this time and enjoy every bit.

Coincidentally, I came across a retelling on my audiobook subscription app today, and it sounds interesting. Similar to the TV series, Revenge, this is also a gender-swapped retelling.


So far, the two retellings I have enjoyed the most are
and .

[Eldarwen]

I read chapters 1-4 today and really enjoyed them.

I'll take it slow with this one though as I've got what feels like a gazillion other books on the go for challenge and book club, so I definitely be done in 2 days unlike some people ;-)

[Keely]

I made a start, but didn't get very far. I decided starting my re-read of Catching Fire was more interesting right now. I'm getting through it quickly so hopefully I will be able to get back to this one tomorrow.

[Ashley]

Ok, last update for the day on this one. I was able to sneak in 2 more chapters at work today and so far I'm only a tiny bit confused.

Who exactly is the person who is chasing/pining/being generally a creep... after Mercedes? He seems... like a lot.

[Insiyah]

Ashley wrote: "Ok, last update for the day on this one. I was able to sneak in 2 more chapters at work today and so far I'm only a tiny bit confused.

Who exactly is the person who is chasing/pining/being general..."

He's her cousin/suitor. She's never encouraged him, but he still keeps pining/proposing even though she keeps rejecting him in favour of Dantes.

[Sammy]

I managed to listen most of yesterday afternoon/evening (hubby was out at band practice, so I didn't have to do the human interaction thing, lol), and most of this morning too, so I'm down to only 6 hours to go!

It's funny really that the whole section in Rome around the carnival and Luigi Vampa is probably one of the most memorable sections to me (along with later on Valentine communicating with her grandfather with blinks). There are several sections that were quite vague in my memory, but that part I recalled vividly before I actually got to it.


I'm also seeing quite a lot of parallels between this and Les Miserables that I never gave any thought to before. Especially between the characters of Dantes and Valjean, their rise in station and their hiding behind multiple identities.

[Sammy]

Finished it today (slightly behind schedule because of an annoying interfering migraine, but I got there in the end!)

Once again I enjoyed it so much! What I love most of all, is that despite this being a story about revenge, Dantes consistently helps people along the way (the ones that deserve it, anyway). It's nice to see that despite the awful way he was treated, he retains his humanity and love for others.

[Insiyah]

Sammy wrote: "Finished it today (slightly behind schedule because of an annoying interfering migraine, but I got there in the end!)

Once again I enjoyed it so much! What I love most of all, is that despite this..."

The fact that you finished it in 3 days is amazing! I'm just 20% in. Though that's also due to the fact that I realised that Revenge is based on this book and then started semi-marathoning the first season...

Agreed - Dante is still so kind despite everything.

[Beth]

Oh, goodness, the 20th has already come and gone! Yikes! I've been so invested in the Arena Battle start date that I haven't paid any attention to anything else. Guess I better get started on this one!

[SandyL]

The last time I read this was during the previous buddy read here - it was my first time and I absolutely loved it! So this is a great opportunity to read it again. I'm up to chapter 7 so far and I"m loving it just as much. Except - now I know what's going to happen!

[Ashley]

Ok, so I've made it to Chapter 17 and I'm actually enjoying this. It is definitely wordy, but the story is good!

I feel suspicious of Dante's prisoner friend...

[Sammy]

For me, that's where it really starts taking off Ashley. I struggled up to that point the first time I read it, but the rest of the book was awesome.

now that I've read it a few times, the beginning is an easier read too, lol.