Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

7 reviews

gattolinos_nerdy_nook's review against another edition

challenging mysterious slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

I am pleasantly surprised by this book. I know classics are a classic for a reason but I tend to struggle with the writing style in a lot of classics, and the ones where they are following a life of someone tend to feel like they focus on the mundane stuff or events that don't feel important to the story.

Now The Count of Monte Cristo does do this as well. If it were written now I can guarantee that it would be much shorter.  Everything in this book is given in a meandering way. If you are someone that can't handle the book jumping POVs, timelines and stories that eventually help build a bigger picture and pay off towards the end of the book, this may not be the read for you. There were many times that I was listening to a chapter having zero clue how we ended up here or why we needed to know this until a few or several hours later.
In saying that I thought the story was really good and it does feel nice to have those 'Ah-ha!' moments when listening. Seeing all the people and events come together almost feels like a mystery that is being unfolded in front of you. You feel like you are involved with the story.
I think those you read and enjoyed Six of Crows would really enjoy this. I felt like the books where paced and gave information to the reader in very similar ways.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Suicide, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Child abuse and Slavery

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

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

5.0

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.

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Content Warnings

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

blattprinzessin's review against another edition

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

4.0

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. 

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Content Warnings

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

chocolatethief's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief, Racism, Suicide, Murder, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Child abuse, Child death, Death, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Classism, Infidelity, and Slavery

deverills's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad 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

4.0

It is certainly a book of its time, but I found myself always intrigued and sort of fascinated by Edmond's psyche and looking forward to seeing him manipulate everything and everyone around him after he managed to escape the Château d'If. I was surprised by how straightforward Dumas' writing style is. Unlike other classic authors, he doesn't waste a whole lot of time with descriptive writing and goes straight to what matters. The ending was slightly disappointing to me, but I still enjoyed it. A timeless reflection on what the thirst for revenge can do to one's mind and heart. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Classism, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Child abuse, and Death of parent

_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

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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

ohlhauc's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny 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

This was so much fun to read!

I thought that it might be a bit long-winded considering how many pages it is, but it was a rather fast read. The prose felt light but substantial and flowed really well. Originally this was serialized so each chapter tends to have a mini-climax or some action in it to hook you, so the pace and energy remains high throughout the book - there really isn't a lot of exposition, although there are some moments where the narrator repeats what has happened before (but that's usually done when there's been a lot of pages in between so it's actually useful because some things you will forget since it is long).

You can read this just as a spellbinding adventure story and have a great time. But you can also go at a slower pace and really dive into the philosophical ideas and social commentary. There are a lot of layers to this novel and it's no surprise that it's a well-revered classic. This is definitely a book I can see myself re-reading in the future.

Don't let it intimidate you. If it it's on your TBR, you'll want to pick it up sooner rather than later. Don't delay on this masterpiece.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Murder, and Violence

Minor: Death of parent and Suicide