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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
Revenge is a dish best served unabridged. The Count of Monte Cristo’s 1200 pages flew by in less time than many books a third of that length have taken. Now, I will forever be chasing the dragon of the high that is reading a book like The Count for the first time.
My new Goodreads rating scale is 1 to TCOMC.
It’s the GOAT. Pure literary magic.
I’m praying for memory loss so I can experience it again unspoiled. Until then, I suppose I can only *attendre et espérer*
My new Goodreads rating scale is 1 to TCOMC.
It’s the GOAT. Pure literary magic.
I’m praying for memory loss so I can experience it again unspoiled. Until then, I suppose I can only *attendre et espérer*
I LOVE this book! The Count of Monte Cristo has been added to my all-time favorite books. Along with Anne of Green Gables and Pride + Prejudice.
There is a lot of adventure in this book. Duh. I was very surprised all throughout this book how unlike the hollywood blockbuster it is. I'm actually shocked they titled that movie the same as this book. The plot is completely different, it goes into so much more depth. It has many stories all happening at once and Dumas keeps them together really well. The characters play contrasting roles to the movie characters. And there are many more characters for that matter. The count is a very complicated, determined, emotional and sensitive person. He becomes the perfect hero and villain at the same time.
One stark difference between the book and the movie is his belief in God. In the movie he loses his faith and Mercedes keeps hers. In the book it is vice versa. Monte Cristo never loses faith completely, he has his doubts but in the end he feels that he is avenging for God. He feels providence has led him to carry out his mission of destroying people's lives just like they did his.
I think many people think the entire book is about vengeance and why read it if its depressing and cynical. I beg to differ. I feel like I learned some life lessons while reading it. I also love books written in the 1800's. I have always had a small desire to go back in time to visit this time period. I want to wear the fancy dresses, ride in buggy's (bumpy or not), use proper language, and see what life is like without technology. The writing style is not hard to understand most of the time. And when you don't understand the words or meanings you will in the context.
There is a lot of adventure in this book. Duh. I was very surprised all throughout this book how unlike the hollywood blockbuster it is. I'm actually shocked they titled that movie the same as this book. The plot is completely different, it goes into so much more depth. It has many stories all happening at once and Dumas keeps them together really well. The characters play contrasting roles to the movie characters. And there are many more characters for that matter. The count is a very complicated, determined, emotional and sensitive person. He becomes the perfect hero and villain at the same time.
One stark difference between the book and the movie is his belief in God. In the movie he loses his faith and Mercedes keeps hers. In the book it is vice versa. Monte Cristo never loses faith completely, he has his doubts but in the end he feels that he is avenging for God. He feels providence has led him to carry out his mission of destroying people's lives just like they did his.
I think many people think the entire book is about vengeance and why read it if its depressing and cynical. I beg to differ. I feel like I learned some life lessons while reading it. I also love books written in the 1800's. I have always had a small desire to go back in time to visit this time period. I want to wear the fancy dresses, ride in buggy's (bumpy or not), use proper language, and see what life is like without technology. The writing style is not hard to understand most of the time. And when you don't understand the words or meanings you will in the context.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
slow-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:
Complicated
The depth, complexity of the characters is amazing.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
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
I've wanted to read this for a long time and had no idea how long it was until I got the book. It's always a bit nerve racking to pick up such a long book knowing if it's not very good I’ll force myself to finish it, thankfully this was a great book.
I would say it could be easily enough split into 3 acts, and could have been a trilogy (probably would be published as such today given the costs).I would class everything up until the first appearance of the Count of Monte Cristo as the first book, then the second book would be slightly harder to define but I guess up until the downfall of the first of the enemies, and finally the rest as the third book . Given this division I would rate the first book as 5 stars, more if it were possible. The pacing of this section is superb, every character is layered and brilliant. I was so happy during this first section I genuinely thought I would be finishing this book in just a few days as I struggled to put it down. The second, and largest, section was slower. Whilst still enjoyable I’d probably opt for a 4 star rating for this section, the characters were still vivid, and the way the changing world unfolded was enticing, but it was just a little too slow for me. The final section was satisfying, surprising in places, and a just reward for the time invested. Not as strong as the start, but clearly better than the middle I’d have to go with a 4.5, and hence my overall 4.5 rating.
I would say it could be easily enough split into 3 acts, and could have been a trilogy (probably would be published as such today given the costs).
This was my first Dumas and I’m looking forward to reading more of his famous works.
Wow. What a beast of a book, and a beast of a story to match. This was frustrating, at times, since I'm a pretty impatient person! But I suppose Dumas was just giving us a taste of the type of patience Edmund Dantes must've had to possess...
I loved the way Dumas skillfully wove together his characters' lives, and especially the way he pushed us to see each character with anger and resentment in one instance, but with sympathy at some point later in the book.
Also. So many wonderful quotes, including one of my favorites:
“There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness. We must of felt what it is to die, Morrel, that we may appreciate the enjoyments of life."
I "read" this via the Librovox audiobook, which was not so bad a version, generally speaking.
I loved the way Dumas skillfully wove together his characters' lives, and especially the way he pushed us to see each character with anger and resentment in one instance, but with sympathy at some point later in the book.
Also. So many wonderful quotes, including one of my favorites:
“There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness. We must of felt what it is to die, Morrel, that we may appreciate the enjoyments of life."
I "read" this via the Librovox audiobook, which was not so bad a version, generally speaking.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
relaxing
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This one is very hard to rate. I can't give it anything less than five stars. There are a few reasons you may not like it. It is very long. Way too long. The reason is it was written for a newspaper in installments. I think there may have been some storylines that were stretched out unnecessarily in order to fit that format. There are backstories that I don't think added much to the story. Another thing that may cause you to lose enjoyment is the extensive use of French names and references. There's constant calls to locations, plays, books, people and events that I had no knowledge of. For me, I just say I didn't understand that reference and move on, but others may not like it.
The opening thirty percent of the book was so good. It's a real page turner. The characterization and development is amazing. Even over the course of the entire book you feel the characters changing. Monte Cristo is such a cool character. He is almost comic book like, but never go's too over the top. I'd say it's like Batman begins and Dark knight together in one book. You have the origin and then the epic after that. There's so many good side characters. There's love stories, murders, political intrigue, and swashbuckling adventure. There's also a Return of the King like ten endings.
One of the best books I've read.
The opening thirty percent of the book was so good. It's a real page turner. The characterization and development is amazing. Even over the course of the entire book you feel the characters changing. Monte Cristo is such a cool character. He is almost comic book like, but never go's too over the top. I'd say it's like Batman begins and Dark knight together in one book. You have the origin and then the epic after that. There's so many good side characters. There's love stories, murders, political intrigue, and swashbuckling adventure. There's also a Return of the King like ten endings.
One of the best books I've read.
Holy moly, that was quite the complex soap opera! But gottdam was it excellent! I really must say that I was able to enjoy it to it's fullest because of two things: The audio book read by John Lee was the right choice. I think if I read it myself with my own voice in my head I wouldn't have enjoyed it as much and would have mixed up a lot of the French words in it. Two: Gankutusou is definitely my second favorite anime ever and really does a great job following this story (well, towards the end it starts to lean towards to more dramatic but whatevs. Oh, and Maximilian is secondary while Albert is the main character). Without having seen it many times I would have had all the names mixed up, but with a good grasp on the characters and an image in my head, it really brought much more depth and understanding to the original story, this classic, The Count of Monte Cristo.
In conclusion: SO GOOOOOD!!! I was not disappointed.
adventurous
dark
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes