{2022 - The Count of Monte Cristo} General Discussion

[Sean]

The first 6-Month book study of 2022 has been selected. Use this thread for general discussions about The Count of Monte Cristo and the author, Alexandre Dumas.

[Christelle]

This is great timing, I had planned to read it this year :)

[Sean]

Here's a link to the book on Project Gutenberg:

https://www.gutenberg.org/files/1184/...

[Alice]

I read it years ago - the unabridged version. Enjoy. I’m reading last year’s choice - Les Mis.

[George P.]

I was also planning to read it this year before it was selected, so glad it was chosen. I believe I read an abridged version about 40 years ago. There are a lot of those out there, so if you want the unabridged it should be 117 chapters and the audiobook about 37 hrs long at normal speed. Other readers say that the story moves along well and they didn't get bored with it despite it's great length.
Most of my GR friends have already read it and all rated it highly. I looked on the Listopia for “Best French lit” and see that it is rated no. 4. It's also on the Guardian 1000 list (put out by a British newspaper I think).
The E-audiobooks from the public libraries here have a wait of several weeks, so I'm starting with an ebook on my Kindle, and may switch to the e-audio later. I already have a long audiobook going anyway (The Idiot). Being public domain, some of the ebooks are poorly done- if you are looking for a Kindle version, I got a $2 one from the amazon kindle store done by “Mogul Books” that is very good. It doesn't say who the translator was- few of the ebooks and audiobooks do.
I started yesterday and have read the first three chapters, which are short, so will so you in the first section thread.

[MaryAnn (EmilyD1037)]

I found my copy today, yay !!
It is abridged, but I have an audio that is unabridged.

[Sammi]

Finished this book - was ok but not my favorite Dumas work. I do appreciate how easy it is to read his texts and the short chapters are always a plus.

[George P.]

Sammi wrote: "Finished this book - was ok but not my favorite Dumas work. I do appreciate how easy it is to read his texts and the short chapters are always a plus."

Did you read an unabridged (1200+ pages) edition? That was very fast if so! This will be the second-longest novel I've read, after War and Peace.

[Chantal]

I am also going to start this book! Wanted to read it for so long now...

[Ramona]

I read this book years ago and loved it! I never read it all at once as I was a busy mom! It was so long I’d read and then put it down for a shorter read, then come back to it. I’m so happy I finally finished it all because it was fabulous. I loved it. All that to say, I’m going to reread it this year. Thanks for picking such a great classic. It’ll be my very first book to be read twice. I never do that!📖♥️

[George P.]

Ramona wrote: "...I’m going to reread it this year. Thanks for picking such a great classic. It’ll be my very first book to be read twice. I never do that."

Same here, I think I've read no more than five books twice out of 700. Nice to hear you enjoyed it so much. I'm 3/4 of the way to the end now and enjoying it.
I pulled up a tab of a helpful site to remind me of the characters and how they relate at https://www.litcharts.com/lit/the-cou...

[Ben]

Just finished it today. I think I’m a little ahead of schedule.

But it was a truly great experience to read. I thoroughly enjoyed the climax and - without revealing any spoilers - it made me reflect a lot on the concept of ‘revenge’ and what it’s purpose is.

[George P.]

Ben, congratulations on your completion. I've made it a habit to read one percent each day with my e-audiobook version which is so well-performed by John Lee. This is roughly half an hour at my 115% speed setting. I often reach my 1% near the end of a chapter so I just go on to the end of the chapter. I'm now at 86% so about two weeks worth remaining. I think I will miss this novel after this lengthy association, as I did with Dickens' Bleak House. However I look forward to the plot elements being tied up and explained.
I continue to be appreciative of the notes I mentioned previously to keep the characters straight. This is made more difficult by those who go by more than one name- Dantes/The Count uses several aliases and "Morcerf" was the former "Fernand". Count Andrea Cavalcanti is actually the (illegitimate) son of Villefort. IMO Dumas overdid these changes of identity. I also noticed in a couple scenes that Dumas referred to a character as The Count, when it was perhaps unclear which of the several counts he referred to.
I like that the novel has some significant female characters including Mercedes, Haydee and Mme Heloise and Valentine de Villefort.

[Ben]

George P. wrote: "Ben, congratulations on your completion. I've made it a habit to read one percent each day with my e-audiobook version which is so well-performed by John Lee. This is roughly half an hour at my 115..."

Yes I do miss it already. I find myself reflecting on the characters and pronouncing their fantastic French names....'Noirtier',
'Danglars', 'Villeforte'....

I would add 'Eugenie Danglars' to your list of significant female characters. She was one of my favourites. Such a progressive character given the date of authorship.

Enjoy the final chapters George!