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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
Absolutely loved it. Such a tale of adventure, revenge, love and friendship. In the end, I felt like a movie was playing out before me - intense, full of horror, shock and awe. I was completely mesmerised
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
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:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
“There is neither happiness nor misfortune in this world, there is merely the comparison between one state and another, nothing more. Only someone who suffered the deepest misfortune is capable of experiencing the height of felicity. Maximilien, you must needs have wished to die, to know how good it is to live.”
adventurous
funny
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
3.5*
If you're locked in a dungeon, it is advisable to have in a neighboring cell a brilliant polymath who has already been working at escape for years and knows the location of untold wealth.
I liked the book more than I expected: lots of characters with well-developed backstories, adventure within the tragedy and intrigue. It is appealing in part because everyone has entertained revenge fantasies but most of us are too busy/poor/sensible to indulge them in a big, dramatic way. (Even for a horribly wronged man like the Count, a decade of planning seemed excessive.) I was impressed that there was a lesbian character, albeit a minor one--it seems a daring addition for the 19th century, even in France.
However, there were some aspects (most of them rearing their heads toward the end of the book) that marred my initial good impressionL
* There are no obvious setbacks in the realization of the Count's expansive yet exceedingly subtle plan. He manipulates people and circumstances masterfully, and even when the unexpected occurs, he swiftly turns things to his advantage. Even when one of his targets suspects him of fuckery, nothing comes of it. WTF. I'd have liked to have seen the Count narrowly squeak his way out of unexpected situations, even be temporarily jailed while incognito.
* Invariably, the evil are punished, the good rewarded or ignored. Wouldn't it be literarily better for the Count to make a mistake or even intentionally not refrain from inflicting collateral damage on nice people? (The one or two unintentional deaths are unpleasant individuals that the reader can't feel too sorry for.) A more pronounced tragic flaw. I wanted him to actively and knowingly make bad choices. Maybe a more flawed protagonist would not be considered a good thing by mid-19th century standards.
* Didn't love the way the book wrapped up, with the Count's dark nights of the soul feeling accelerated and not articulated convincingly. Nor were the reasons for the Count allowing sullen, insistently suicidal Maximilien to persist in this (extremely annoying) condition.
* Ugh, why does the Count have to end up as the lover of his adopted daughter Haydee? Yuk. I'm not saying he necessarily should have ended up with Mercedes but this Woody Allen shit is no fucking good. Dumas could have invented a widowed elder sister of someone else (say Emmanuel) who would have been a feel-good choice with much less of the whole shades-of-incest thing.
I learned that this book was published as a serial and the authorial choices started to make more sense, as well as the fact that I started to feel like I was reading Dickens, sans characters with wacky names. Then again, maybe the names sound silly to a native speaker of French.
If you're locked in a dungeon, it is advisable to have in a neighboring cell a brilliant polymath who has already been working at escape for years and knows the location of untold wealth.
I liked the book more than I expected: lots of characters with well-developed backstories, adventure within the tragedy and intrigue. It is appealing in part because everyone has entertained revenge fantasies but most of us are too busy/poor/sensible to indulge them in a big, dramatic way. (Even for a horribly wronged man like the Count, a decade of planning seemed excessive.) I was impressed that there was a lesbian character, albeit a minor one--it seems a daring addition for the 19th century, even in France.
However, there were some aspects (most of them rearing their heads toward the end of the book) that marred my initial good impressionL
* There are no obvious setbacks in the realization of the Count's expansive yet exceedingly subtle plan. He manipulates people and circumstances masterfully, and even when the unexpected occurs, he swiftly turns things to his advantage. Even when one of his targets suspects him of fuckery, nothing comes of it. WTF. I'd have liked to have seen the Count narrowly squeak his way out of unexpected situations, even be temporarily jailed while incognito.
* Invariably, the evil are punished, the good rewarded or ignored. Wouldn't it be literarily better for the Count to make a mistake or even intentionally not refrain from inflicting collateral damage on nice people? (The one or two unintentional deaths are unpleasant individuals that the reader can't feel too sorry for.) A more pronounced tragic flaw. I wanted him to actively and knowingly make bad choices. Maybe a more flawed protagonist would not be considered a good thing by mid-19th century standards.
* Didn't love the way the book wrapped up, with the Count's dark nights of the soul feeling accelerated and not articulated convincingly. Nor were the reasons for the Count allowing sullen, insistently suicidal Maximilien to persist in this (extremely annoying) condition.
* Ugh, why does the Count have to end up as the lover of his adopted daughter Haydee? Yuk. I'm not saying he necessarily should have ended up with Mercedes but this Woody Allen shit is no fucking good. Dumas could have invented a widowed elder sister of someone else (say Emmanuel) who would have been a feel-good choice with much less of the whole shades-of-incest thing.
I learned that this book was published as a serial and the authorial choices started to make more sense, as well as the fact that I started to feel like I was reading Dickens, sans characters with wacky names. Then again, maybe the names sound silly to a native speaker of French.
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
medium-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:
Yes
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
this is what people mean when they say "epic"!!! ahhh it was so fun i was hooked so immediately and for the complete duration of the book! it was like watching a soap opera, every twist had me gasping hehe. so freaking fun ! definitely recommend for a read or reread :D
4.75⭐️
long ass book! loved the drama and the revenge. at times it left like things were moving too fast (surprising, i know). A lot of the middle felt really slow but i loved the story and the message and the character arc of Dantes. This book changed my life!
tyyyyyyyy
long ass book! loved the drama and the revenge. at times it left like things were moving too fast (surprising, i know). A lot of the middle felt really slow but i loved the story and the message and the character arc of Dantes. This book changed my life!
tyyyyyyyy