Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

55 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

figsofpeach's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Grief

Moderate: Murder, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Child death, Slavery, Suicide, and Suicide attempt

galaheadh's review against another edition

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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism 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

hopepike's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Great book! It's better than other books I've had to read for school. Loved all the characters and their relationships!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Death of parent, Suicidal thoughts, Confinement, Child death, Murder, and Grief

Moderate: Suicide attempt and Slavery

Minor: Blood and Lesbophobia

annaeshaw's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional mysterious reflective 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

5.0

I loved it. The drama, the build-ups, and the pay-offs are unlike any book I've read before. I've realised I love a big reveal, regardless of how many pages it takes to get there.

At several points, the descriptions felt almost cinematic, and this book would definitely translate well to big-budget tv.

The book also has some interesting things to say about both disability and marriage, which I wasn't really expecting going into it. 

My new favourite classic! 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Slavery

Minor: Antisemitism and Racial slurs

lightoferebus's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

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

lycheeteareads's review against another edition

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Confinement, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Child death, Slavery, and Suicide

Minor: Racism and Racial slurs

kmhst25's review against another edition

3.75

I bought a cheap copy of this book only to realize that it was actually an abridged version, just as I was about to start reading it. So I donated that copy and got a full-length version from the library. 

Now that I’ve read it, I rather wish I’d just stuck with the abridged one, because there’s an extremely entertaining tale in here, but it’s really bogged down by repetitiveness, objectionable (and generally completely unnecessary) comments and stories, wish fulfillment, and confusing passages that could be attributable to poor translation, poor writing, or purposeful use of contradictory language, but just aren’t explained enough to really make sense of. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Slavery, Racism, Adult/minor relationship, Kidnapping, Rape, and Sexism