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amandaquotidianbooks's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Surprisingly nuanced female characters and a well described, intricate plot! However, I wanted to be in the mind of Dantes during his revenge journey and I was kept at a distance. I also thought the book was too long. I also didn’t like the surprise sexual assault in the story within a story chapter towards the beginning.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicide, and Suicidal thoughts
Minor: Animal cruelty and Child death
elizavincentius's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide and Murder
Minor: Racial slurs
shannasbooksnhooks's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Updated Review
”There are two ways of seeing: with the body and with the soul. The body’s sight can sometimes forget, but the soul remembers forever.”
This book is my absolute favorite classic book. I’ve returned to it for re-reads since 2019. (This was my 3rd re-read.) Honestly, I am never disappointed with this book. I also recently got myself a special, leather bound edition of the book which I am so happy with (the blue & gold one with some red accents). I can’t explain why this book has had such an impact on me, but it has. Although it’s long (just over 1,000 pages depending on the edition), it is such an amazing book and deserves at least an attempt to read, if not one read.
”There are two ways of seeing: with the body and with the soul. The body’s sight can sometimes forget, but the soul remembers forever.”
This book is my absolute favorite classic book. I’ve returned to it for re-reads since 2019. (This was my 3rd re-read.) Honestly, I am never disappointed with this book. I also recently got myself a special, leather bound edition of the book which I am so happy with (the blue & gold one with some red accents). I can’t explain why this book has had such an impact on me, but it has. Although it’s long (just over 1,000 pages depending on the edition), it is such an amazing book and deserves at least an attempt to read, if not one read.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Grief, Confinement, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Murder, Toxic relationship, and Physical abuse
rchristine11's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
The really enjoyable part of the book was seeing how character built their own tombs and designed their own ruins. The less enjoyable part was the long winded narrative, slow pace, and glorification of suicide.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide, Classism, Blood, Alcohol, Suicide attempt, Infidelity, Drug use, Death of parent, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Child death, Slavery, Murder, and Grief
Moderate: Racial slurs and Incest
Minor: Adult/minor relationship
georgia_gabrielle's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
"No, I want to live, I want to struggle to the end"
Edmond Dantés life is going beautifully, he's being promoted to Captain of his ship, he's getting married to his childhood sweetheart and he finally has the money to help keep his Father healthy. But then an dastardly plot leaves him, a completely innocent man, trapped behind bars, and left for decades to plan his revenge on the men who betrayed him.
It really says a lot when a 1000+ page novel doesn't bore me for a second, and The Count of Monte Cristo never dragged as it took me through the many decades of Edmond Dantés life. And for a book that's 170 years old, I never knew what was going to happen next, or any of the twists and turns of the plot! From swashbuckling heroes to wicked villains, this book will keep you entertained for weeks!!
Edmond Dantés life is going beautifully, he's being promoted to Captain of his ship, he's getting married to his childhood sweetheart and he finally has the money to help keep his Father healthy. But then an dastardly plot leaves him, a completely innocent man, trapped behind bars, and left for decades to plan his revenge on the men who betrayed him.
It really says a lot when a 1000+ page novel doesn't bore me for a second, and The Count of Monte Cristo never dragged as it took me through the many decades of Edmond Dantés life. And for a book that's 170 years old, I never knew what was going to happen next, or any of the twists and turns of the plot! From swashbuckling heroes to wicked villains, this book will keep you entertained for weeks!!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder
nachtvlucht's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Child death, Infidelity, and Murder
Minor: Rape
s0nagiii's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Abandonment, Alcohol, Blood, Child death, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Grief, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Violence
_james_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Grief, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Colonisation, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Child abuse, Child death, Classism, Slavery, Death of parent, Suicide attempt, Blood, Misogyny, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Minor: Ableism, Murder, Rape, Violence, Abandonment, Death, Eating disorder, and War
marianneiriss's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Suicide, Suicide attempt, Suicidal thoughts, Racism, Racial slurs, Miscarriage, Grief, Drug use, Child death, Adult/minor relationship, Violence, Murder, Death of parent, Classism, Slavery, Death, and Abandonment
sherbertwells's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
“‘Do you, then, believe in God” said Caderousse.
‘Had I been so unhappy as not to believe in him until now,’ said the abbé, ‘I must believe on seeing you’” (811)
Hot Take: this book is an inversion of Les Miserables.
Both Hugo’s classic and The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, published in 1862 and 1844 respectively, follow unjustly-imprisoned men who, with the assistance of kindly clergymen, reinvent themselves, adopt abused young women and strive to do good according to their specific moral codes in the cutthroat society of post-Napoleonic France. But while Jean Valjean’s escape from hell transforms him into a benevolent angel, Edmond Dantès is not always so merciful.
And the main character is just the beginning. The Count of Monte Cristo’s tone mirrors the mindset of its protagonist: initially cheerful and adventurous before descending into the cynical world of upper-class intrigue and revenge. Unlike Hugo, Dumas’ narrative voice is cool and objective, and lets its characters speak for themselves.
But the characters are my problem with the story. With the exception of Dantès/Monte Cristo himself, the novel’s cast of young lovers, foolish patriarchs and noble adulterers seems more suited to a pantomime than a revenge tragedy. They just aren’t that deep! They aren’t good people, but more importantly, they aren’t even that interesting. They don’t demonstrate the breadth of the human soul; they just gossip! The whole plot of The Count of Monte Cristo is founded on these characters’ gossip: they gossip about marriage, compare finances and the mysterious aristocrat making waves in their nouveau riche milieu.
“Out of the 5,000,000 or 6,000,000 francs which form your real capital, you have just lost nearly 2,000,000 francs, which must, of course, in the same degree, diminish your credit and fictitious fortune; to follow out my simile, your skin has been opened by bleeding, which, repeated three or for times, will cause death—so pay attention to it, M. Danglars. Do you want money? Do you wish me to lend you some?” (636)
In fact, the society of post-Napoleonic France is much more interesting than the characters that inhabit it. Dantès’ enemies owe their fortunes at least in part to the fruits of slavery. For Alexandre Dumas, whose grandmother was enslaved in Saint-Domingue, they are despicable as individuals as well as participants in an exploitative system. But despite his monstrous wealth—or perhaps because of it—Dantès cannot destroy that system. Perhaps it’s hard for me to take an interest in the book because, despite having 1000-odd pages to fill, Dumas is interested only in its most anxious and despicable agents.
In short: reading The Count of Monte Cristo has made me realize how much I appreciate Les Miserables.
Of course there are people who will prefer the personal drama with all its poisons and inheritances. Through trial and error, I have learned that I do not particularly care for this lens, but the centuries of popularity Dumas has enjoyed indicates that I am an outlier in that regard. The Count of Monte Cristo is perfect for people who like their classics long and stabby. And for me, it’s an unexpectedly useful diagnostic for discovering my taste in literature.
You live, you learn.
“God may seem sometimes to forget for a time, while His justice reposes, but there always comes a moment when He remembers” (222)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Murder, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Suicide, and Death
Minor: Medical content and War