A review by abby_gail_noel
The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

5.0

After I finish a book, I often struggle to decide what I want to say about it, but I have never been at more of a loss than I am right now (exactly three minutes after finishing this book). I don’t have a single negative thing to say about it, but I have such an overwhelming amount of positive things to say that I hardly know where to start. The most natural place to start feels like the very beginning before I even started reading because I already had thoughts just by looking at the book itself. My copy has 591 pages and, honestly, I was terrified to start it, but I took the plunge anyway. There aren’t enough words to express just how worth it (and necessary) every single one of those pages was. Not only do I feel a sense of accomplishment at having finished this book page wise, but I also feel accomplished knowing that I took in a complex story that has, over the course of my reading it, become extremely meaningful to me. I feel like it has completely changed and expanded my view of storytelling, partially by allowing me to become accustomed to a writing style that is almost obsolete as of today, yet is still incredibly successful at conveying a great story. This book was just so engaging, compelling, and, despite what I thought it would be based on the length, fast paced. It had so many layers and I feel especially that the author’s point of view allowed for deep dives into numerous characters and storylines that were necessary to make the story as compelling as it was. The author spared no details, which only served to make the story more immersive and the end more satisfying. It has been quite a while since I have been so drawn in by a character in a book. I really appreciated the author’s attention to detail, mostly because that did play a huge role in me feeling like I was truly looking in on the characters’ lives. It made them, and the story, feel more realistic. By the end, I was more invested in a story and set of characters than I probably have ever been. I think this book also raises important questions pertaining to spirituality, morals, and life in general. I love that the main character, and so many others, we’re morally ambiguous as opposed to so many other one-note characters that I have read about. I’m just ranting now, so I’ll call it here, but all in all this was a fantastic book, it is absolutely a new favorite of mine, and I will be reading it again. (Seriously, it’s so good I’m considering flipping back to the front and just starting it over again right now).