Reviews tagging 'Racism'

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

55 reviews

petealis's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark hopeful inspiring mysterious 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: Yes

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Racism, Slavery

puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Plot

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Grief

Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Colonisation

Minor: Infidelity, Alcohol

jayisreading's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous emotional mysterious slow-paced

---

It took me a little under a year to finish reading The Count of Monte Cristo, which I think is somewhat understandable, given that it’s a pretty damn long novel. It was fascinating to see Dumas’s mind at work as he spun together a complex plot that had themes ranging from vengeance to forgiveness. I know there were a fair number of details that flew over my head, and this is absolutely one of those novels which, if you’re familiar with the historical events of when this novel took place, the reading experience will be significantly richer. Unfortunately for me, this was just outside of the period I’m more familiar with, so I greatly appreciated the footnotes that were in my translated edition.

The Count of Monte Cristo was a challenging novel for me to read, in part because it was long, but mostly because there were so many moving parts, so much that I seriously considered taking notes to remind myself who certain characters were, their motives, etc. The pacing did slow a fair bit towards the middle, with Dumas taking up hundreds of pages to lay the intricate groundwork for Edmond Dantès to exact his revenge on the three men who ruined his life. I admit that there were numerous occasions when I wondered why I needed to know a particular detail—and to be frank, I think there were a lot of details that weren’t necessary but were included anyway because Dumas was likely paid by the word—but patience paid off when I reached the ending and saw how everything unfolded.

I can see why some people may not enjoy how consumed Dantès was in seeking vengeance (especially when he was introduced as a just and good-natured man), but I quite liked how Dumas contemplated the nuances of revenge through his protagonist’s merits and flaws (but I also like a good Byronic hero, so there’s that).

Would I ever revisit this novel? Honestly, I don’t know if I would, mainly because it’s so long, but I’m glad to have finally gotten around to reading a sprawling and highly regarded classic. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Violence

Moderate: Racism, Slavery, Suicide, Murder

brodi727's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective fast-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Complicated

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

This book Oh my God many times I forgot I was in the real world I was so invested and I didn't even realize I had read 200 pages in one sitting

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, Alcohol

Minor: Incest, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Pregnancy

random19379's review against another edition

3.75

adventurous challenging dark mysterious reflective 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

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Confinement, Death, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, War, Classism

galaheadh's review against another edition

---

imperfect and magnificent. the page-turner's page-turner. thank you robin buss for inventing translation

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Slavery

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

5.0

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

---

Another book I wept while reading.  Towards the end, there were times I got chills as the long term plotting and manipulations came to fruition.

---

Content Warnings

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia, Murder, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, War, Classism

blattprinzessin's review against another edition

4.5

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad 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: Yes

---

I could write a loooong review about this tome, but to keep it short: 
95% of the time you’ll have a great time following the story and characters and then Dumas drops something like the Count wanting to….. his own adoptive daughter, that he has cared for since she was a literal child. - and you don’t know what to make of it.
That left a sour taste in my mouth and prevents me from rating it 5 stars. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Kidnapping, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Cultural appropriation

lightoferebus's review against another edition

5.0

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Grief, Murder, Classism

Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gore, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Suicide attempt, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Sexual harassment, War, Injury/Injury detail

lycheeteareads's review against another edition

4.25

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Child death, Slavery, Suicide

Minor: Racial slurs, Racism