You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I decided to read this book because I bought a poster with 100 books to read in your life. This is book thirty on the poster. I thought I was going to struggle with this book considering it is a classic as with most books on this poster and I was hooked from the first couple of chapters and then it lost steam in the middle and managed to get me hooked again towards the end.
This book is set against the turbulent years of the Napoleonic Era, this book is based on Edmond Dantes, and he has been betrayed by his enemies and thrown into a secret dungeon in the Chateau d’If, doomed to spend his life in a dank prison cell. The story of his long, intolerable years in captivity, his miraculous escape and his carefully wrought revenge creates a dramatic tale of mystery and intrigue and paints a vision of Frank – a dazzling, duelling, exuberant France that has become immortal. This book is now considered to be one of the most read romantic novels of all time.
I enjoyed the storyline at the beginning of the book and was fully rooting for Edmond and then obviously the thing happened, and I was thinking this is going to be a long book if he spends all of it in prison, which he didn’t. I was rooting for him and Abbe and was hoping he would make some big fight or gesture to get his girl back. I liked the revenge aspect as much as the forgive and forget and obviously when this book was written it would have been groundbreaking. I managed to get into the book more towards the end when the drama was kicking off and everything was being revealed but I preferred the beginning of the book and the friendship he made with Abbe.
It is too long, I was getting bored by the middle bit, too many characters were being introduced, I ended up getting confused that The Count of Monte Cristo was Edmond and was lost for a short while during this book. All the build-up wasn’t really needed, and I was wanting the action and the drama to start sooner rather than later. When it wasn’t Edmond’s point of view, I was bored which was all the middle bit. It just kept switching people and locations and I was just lost.
Overall, I enjoyed the first 25% and the last 25% but the middle 50’% nearly wrote me off, but compared to the other books on this poster, it wasn’t too bad. I think my expectations were a little too high with the good ratings on GR and Storygraph.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Child death, Slavery, Suicide
Minor: Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism
adventurous
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
After hearing so many wonderful things about this book, how could I not pick it up? Otherwise, this is a classic that hasn’t particularly been on my radar, though of course I’d heard the title countless times.
Edmund Dantès is wrongfully imprisoned thanks to three men in matters of jealousy and spite and he is confined for fourteen years. Thanks to the help of a fellow inmate and his own plans for escape, Edmund is able to flee his cell. He joins a crew of smugglers and sets off in search of the treasure of Monte Cristo and, most importantly, revenge.
I was pleasantly surprised to discover how modern the writing of this book felt. Within a few chapters, I was less intimidated by the page count. I switched back and forth between paperback and audiobook which also made a difference. I can’t claim this to be my new favorite classic as most of my enjoyment lies with the first quarter of the book and I found most of the middle dry whenever it ventured away from Edmund, but I still enjoyed it more than I anticipated to.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Child death, Slavery, Suicide
Minor: Infidelity, Racial slurs, Racism
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
This book was amazing and had me on the edge of my seat multiple times. Yeah its long, took me about 2 weeks to read, BUT i didnt want to put it down. This translation by Robin Buss made it so easy and understandble to read. Im sad its over. I would absolutely read it again. All 1200+ pages!
Content Warnings
Minor: Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Classism
adventurous
challenging
informative
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
the grandfather of sassy men. what a messy book. love it. didn’t love a lot of elements. justice for ali! the sheer amount of adult minor relationships were disgusting, book could've been much much much shorter but it also wasnt intended to be read in 8 days. but i do love seeing the origins of infamous tropes. that was cool.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Slavery, Antisemitism, Trafficking, Death of parent, Alcohol
Minor: Self harm, Lesbophobia, Colonisation
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Literally life changing
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Alcohol, War
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, Classism
Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Antisemitism, Alcohol
adventurous
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
For the first section of the book (through Edmond's escape and treasure), I really liked the pacing and writing. However, after that point the structure of storytelling changed into introducing a brand new character, focusing on them for a few chapters, and only later finding out their relevance, which I didn't like. Also, the side plot with Valentine and Maximillion felt like a completely separate book, so it made the pacing worse because it was such a departure from the revenge main storyline. I was also a bit disappointed and let down by Danglars because at the beginning he seemed so intelligent and clever that I thought he would pose as more of an obstacle, but he ended up basically being the Count of Monte Cristo's bitch. I HATE that Edmond ended up with Haydee; it is so creepy (she's his slave, described like a daughter to him, etc.) !
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Suicide, Murder
Moderate: Racism, Slavery, Death of parent, War
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Moderate: Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Dementia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, War
Minor: Child death, Colonisation, Classism
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
It was extremely slow and unnecessary for about 60% of the book, but the remaining 40% was good. The plot was surprisingly complex.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy
adventurous
dark
emotional
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A delight. Very glad I opted to read the unabridged version because while it's absolutely massive, it's an enjoyable read. There were a couple bits that did get confusing, especially about a third of the way in, but things all come together quickly enough. There is so much to this book, and even as the plot sweeps you along, no emotional depth is lost in the process. It's really a lovely book, and while I was intimidated by the page count for a long time, I'm glad I decided to pick it up.
I think what struck me most about this book is the fact that, after Dantes has spent years planning out his revenge on those responsible for his imprisonment, he modifies or abandons those plans for the sake of people he's come to care about. He did so much work to bring about the ruin of de Morcerf and was planning to kill his son, but changed courses when Mercedes came to him and begged him not to kill Albert. The same for Villefort, but he made sure that Valentine lived because he'd come to see Maximilien Morrel as a son. So yes, it's a story about revenge and how humans may be motivated to carry out justice when God/the gods fail to do so, but it's also a story about how even someone so filled with bitterness and hurt, someone who suffered due to the jealousy and fear of others, can change his course when he's reminded of the love and care that people have for each other.
That being said, seeing the revenge unfold was also super fun, and my jaw definitely dropped at a few points once I started to see how Dantes had manipulated situations (teaching Madame de Villefort about poisons, financially ruining Danglars). It's very much a "come for the revenge/vigilante justice, stay for something that'll restore your hope in humanity" book.
As a final selling point, I have ADHD and although it took me a bit, I was not only able to finish this 1200-page book, but I legitimately enjoyed reading it. That's a testimony to how skilled of a writer Dumas is (which makes sense: since this was originally serialized in a newspaper, he'd have to maintain an engaging plot to keep people reading).
Highly recommend the Penguin edition specifically because the translation is very solid and the end notes are helpful. Also recommend some kind of book stand/page holder tool because holding that thing open when I was at the beginning or end legitimately hurt my hand.
A final fun fact: Dumas was biracial (his paternal grandfather was Black), so if you want to read "classic lit" that wasn't written by a white man, this fits the bill.
That being said, seeing the revenge unfold was also super fun, and my jaw definitely dropped at a few points once I started to see how Dantes had manipulated situations (teaching Madame de Villefort about poisons, financially ruining Danglars). It's very much a "come for the revenge/vigilante justice, stay for something that'll restore your hope in humanity" book.
As a final selling point, I have ADHD and although it took me a bit, I was not only able to finish this 1200-page book, but I legitimately enjoyed reading it. That's a testimony to how skilled of a writer Dumas is (which makes sense: since this was originally serialized in a newspaper, he'd have to maintain an engaging plot to keep people reading).
Highly recommend the Penguin edition specifically because the translation is very solid and the end notes are helpful. Also recommend some kind of book stand/page holder tool because holding that thing open when I was at the beginning or end legitimately hurt my hand.
A final fun fact: Dumas was biracial (his paternal grandfather was Black), so if you want to read "classic lit" that wasn't written by a white man, this fits the bill.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Violence, Medical content, Suicide attempt, Murder
Minor: Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Death of parent