March {2015} Discussion -- THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO by Alexandre Dumas

[Charity]

Discussion time! What do you think of The Count?

[Emma]

Disclaimer: I listened to the unabridged, 52-hour audiobook read by John Lee.

This is my second Dumas book in a year (after Musketeers) and I am so disappointed that I never read him earlier. The thing that makes him stand out so from his peers is that the narrative never drags or feels like work. Unlike Dickens or Melville or Flaubert, his writing has aged remarkably well because the plot keeps pulling you along. You never get bogged down in pages and pages of descriptions or exposition. You just watch the tale unfold in front of you, as the characters experience them, rapt and eager to see what's next.
I know it's 1200 pages, but I think I'll go back and read the print version because I just enjoyed it so much! This is definitely one for "the best books I've ever read" shelf.

[Katrina]

I have a copy of this ready but I probably won't get to start for a few weeks as I have two chunksters to finish first

[Charity]

My review from November 2010:

Great swashbuckling fun!! The Count of Monte Cristo was an absolute joy to curl up with this fall. One shouldn't be intimidated by its size, as it is the ultimate page-turning adventure story. So many great lines, so many twists and turns, so many cliff-hangers! Oy! I couldn't wait to see how the story unfolded. Edmond Dantès, one of the greatest characters in literature, will make you truly believe that revenge is a dish best served cold.

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

My review from 2011:

A high 4 stars or a low 5 stars - your choice. I thought about 750 pages were 5 stars, 350 pages were 4 stars, leaving another 150 pages something less. Yes, it's very long.

Do I need to say this is a plot-driven novel? With the exception of the title character, this one is short on well-developed characters. (There are many characters, most of which are only one- or two-dimensional.) It's an excellent plot, however, with several rather involved threads to follow. What I thought Dumas did best was to paint his scenes. Right from the very first it felt as if he knew his story was going to be made into a movie. Of course that was impossible as even photography was in its very infancy when he penned this one.

I will be happy to read more Dumas.

[Dana]

I'm in the process of cracking mine open (or rather clicking, considering it's an e-book).
I'm beyond the realm of excited and feel transported to not only the world awaiting within the text but also the century in which it was published--when people grasped desperately for the next awaited serialized release of what we of the modern era get to devour in one sitting.
(Well, more like a few sittings with a couple of jumping jacks to get the blood flowing in between. This is sort of the tome length of an encyclopedia after all. Even Marcel Proust might say, "Whoa Nellie.")

[Charity]

I will also add that I enjoyed The Count of Monte Cristo significantly more than The Three Musketeers. This surprised me for some reason. Maybe because I was more familiar with the Musketeers and therefore, thought I would love it more? At any rate, Dumas is quite the king of the cliff-hangers and plot-driven novels. Oh, but the characters, the characters MAKE The Count of Monte Cristo stay with you forever!

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Charity wrote: "Oh, but the characters, the characters MAKE The Count of Monte Cristo stay with you forever! "

Interesting. I don't remember any of the characters, at least not their names (wouldn't have recalled the main character's name if it were not for this thread), but the plot will always be remembered.

[Annina]

I have been reading this almost 3 months now. My main issue is that it's so long that I think that I won't finish it. But I'm making progress. Page by page and I'm already read half of it, so I will finish it some day.

[Charity]

Oh, I agree, the plot is outstanding! However, Edmond Dantès is one of my literary crushes, so I guess he's what makes the story so memorable for me. *swoon* Haha.

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

Annina wrote: "I have been reading this almost 3 months now. My main issue is that it's so long that I think that I won't finish it. But I'm making progress. Page by page and I'm already read half of it, so I wil..."

Gosh, I'm sorry. I'm a really slow reader and it took me 12 days to read this.

[Winter]

I'm too late for this I think, but what will next be? Couldn't find it, is it decided some place?

[Linda]

Winter wrote: "I'm too late for this I think, but what will next be? Couldn't find it, is it decided some place?"

The polls to decide the group reads for April, May, and June are happening now:

https://www.goodreads.com/poll/list/9...

[Charity]

Winter wrote: "I'm too late for this I think, but what will next be? Couldn't find it, is it decided some place?"

It's never too late to join in on one of the group read book discussions and add your insights -- they always stay open! When you get around to reading The Count, pop into this thread and let us know what you think!

[Winter]

Might do that. Although I think maybe it's not the bigger novel I want to read just now. More exited for a chinese classic, but feel I should maybe finish my other huge project, The Lord of the Rings first. Will see:)

[Nicola]

I read this many years ago Winter and it's worth a read at any time, even if not right now. It's a great book and appeals to a wide range of people. It's got history, romance, exotic scenes, injustice, good people being done wrong and bad people getting what's coming to them. All tied up in a nice big bow of swashbuckling adventure!

And I agree with Charity; the characters which make up the book make it. I can't remember their names but I do remember what happens to them :-)

[Haley]

I'm struggling a bit with this one...as I always do with French lit. And I think it's because I really don't know much about French history. Can anyone recommend some quality books on this time period? I think that would help!

[Kirsten]

I haven't started it yet. But I was amused to find a reference to it in a mystery I'm reading: The State Counsellor: Further Adventures of Fandorin by Boris Akunin

One of the characters is a revolutionary and he found the book in a house he and the terrorists/revolutionaries are sheltering in and at one point says:

"That Villefort's a real louse. Just like our court officials!"

[Kirsten]

Finally finished this today and have to say I enjoyed it much more than I thought I would. Despite its length, I was always interested in the story and wondering what would happen next. I agree with several of the comments that the characters didn't have much depth but the plot kept me turning the pages. Sometimes you just need a good old fashioned adventure novel!

[Nadine]

Dumas has always been my favorite author. I read the count when I was a teenager. I read the one the librarian gave me, and I was disapointed when I realized it was an abridged version, so I went and read the "real" one during the holidays. First time that I read a book so big.
After that, I read all Dumas's book that I could find. D'Artagnan was my favorite character, but I liked Edmond Dantes too.
It's true that Dumas is easier to read that other author from the same period.

[Edwin]

OK, I have to admit this book was a bit daunting. I would read away, only to find I had just progressed by 2%. But I also have to admit that this is a true literary masterpiece when it comes to plot construction and development, a classic story of revenge and retribution and of all the consequences.

[Arianna]

This one is definitely a favorite of mine! Although as many have pointed out, it's the adventure of the story I recall, not so much the characters as such. I have read a couple other of Dumas' novels (two Musketeers books, and The Man in the Iron Mask) and all paled in comparison to this one for me. I don't know what it was - perhaps it had to do with timing, as I read the other books when I was a teenager and didn't get to the Count until I was in my 20s. If I felt like I had the time to re-read (too many books in my TBR!) I think I would definitely go redo some Dumas. But I think mostly it's just that the Count is just SO GOOD. An adventure novel through and through. And the way Dumas sums up the entire feel of the novel with just the 2 final words! Brilliance.

[Kirsten]

I'm only about 1/4 of the way through, but I'm loving it!! Is this one of those books that was serialized in a newspaper? If so, it would have messed me up to wait for the next installment.

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

The Count of Monte Cristo was originally published in the Journal des Débats in eighteen parts. Serialization ran from August 28, 1844 to January 15, 1846. The first edition in book form was published in Paris by Pétion in 18 volumes with the first two issued in 1844 and the remaining sixteen in 1845.

See Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Cou...

[Kirsten]

Thanks, Elizabeth! I'll bet that was cool when they did that. I know Dickens was published like that, but I wasn't sure they did that in France.

[Elizabeth (Alaska)]

http://plympton.com/about/a-short-his...

Note in paragraph 3, "The invention of the modern serial novel had slightly lower stakes attached: the motivating force wasn’t death at the hands of an angry regent, but newspaper circulation. It was 1836 and a Parisian businessman was trying to figure out how to get subscribers in the habit of buying a daily newspaper instead of the typical weekly. He decided that the best way to hook readers was to include pieces of an original novel in his publication. He approached the most popular novelist of his day, Honorè de Balzac, and the serial novel was born."

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Categor...

[Dianne]

I've just finished this and loved it. Dumas is one of my favourite authors, I love his adventure tales of honour and justice. This one ad a real feel of the Arabian nights to it too, the story evolving from lots of little separate nested stories. This is the first read with the group, looking forward to next month.

[Kirsten]

I just finished reading The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...

I have to say it read quite like a thriller. I loved it.

[Amy the book-bat]

I enjoyed The Count of Monte Cristo quite a bit more than The Three Musketeers. It felt like a much tighter story and it was better written.

[Kirsten]

I've just started reading The Three Musketeers and I agree. It seems to drag for me so far. While, the Count moved much quicker and seemed to engage me right away.

[Alana]

Emma, I listened to the John Lee audio as well, and enjoyed it.

I agree with the above comments: the characters are flat, but the plot does move along fairly well for the most part. I think it's a little too long for the plot (I quite enjoy most long books, Les Mis being one of my favorite, but this could have used some editing), but it's not enough to keep me from finishing it. In fact, I like the way the Jim Caviezel film dealt with it, narrowing down the number of characters upon whom Dantes is trying to get revenge and still getting the gist of how he changes from young and sweet to totally vindictive to later trying to account for the overwhelming nature of his vengeance. I wouldn't mind reading this again in a year or two, now that I've got the idea of the overall picture, and keeping a better idea of the characters in my head the second time around.