
The Count of Monte Cristo is a classic tale of revenge and redemption set against the backdrop of post-Napoleonic France. The story follows Edmond Dantes, a young sailor who is falsely accused of treason and imprisoned. After learning about a hidden treasure, Dantes escapes from prison and embarks on a journey of revenge against those who wronged him. The plot is filled with dramatic twists and turns, intricate subplots, and deep character development, making it a compelling and engaging read. The writing style of Alexandre Dumas is praised for its vivid descriptions, detailed characterizations, and exploration of themes such as love, honor, despair, and power.
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Sensitive Topics/Content Warnings
The novel includes themes of wrongful imprisonment, betrayal, death, and intense revenge, which may be triggering for some readers.
Has Romance?
While revenge is the primary focus, there are significant romantic subplots that add depth to the characters.
From The Publisher:
For nineteen-year-old Edmond Dantes, life is sweet. Soon to be captain of his own sip, he is also about to be married to his true love, Mercedes. But suddenly everything turns sour. On the joyous day of his wedding he is arrested and-without a fair trial-condemned to solitary confinement in the miserable Chateau d'If! The charges? Faked! Edmond has been framed by a handful of powerful enemies. But why?
While locked away, Edmond learns from another prisoner of a secret treasure hidden on the island of Monte Cristo. Edmond concocts a daring and audacious plan: escape and find the treasure! But it is years later-long after Edmond has transformed himself into the Count of Monte Cristo-that his plan for revenge begins to unfold.
Disguised as the wealthy count, Edmond returns to his native land to find his enemies-and make them pay!
At the Publisher's request, this title is being sold without Digital Rights Management Software (DRM) applied.
Ratings (353)
Incredible (119) | |
Loved It (111) | |
Liked It (80) | |
It Was OK (34) | |
Did Not Like (7) | |
Hated It (2) |
Reader Stats (848):
Read It (366) | |
Currently Reading (13) | |
Want To Read (302) | |
Did Not Finish (12) | |
Not Interested (155) |
6 comment(s)
Read it many years ago; it's probably time to re-read it.
Wow, gripping exciting read!
I’m not proud but I’m petty so a revenge story is fun.
It usually takes me a while to get into older books, and this one was no exception. Once I got accustomed to the style of writing and language, however, I found myself very interested in the world and characters I was reading about.
All of the characters had depth and were never entirely good or evil. Dantes especially was a great character. He’s intimidating and strong, but also shows a weakness and emotion that makes him even more interesting and likable.
I’ll definitely check out some other books by this author.
'And when you get out of prison and you are called Edmond Dantès, you take revenge.'
This was absolutely
fantastic! I tore through this, and would have easily finished a couple weeks sooner were it not for the fact that work got busy and I had almost no time to read (and a book of this size does demand quite a bit of time…). Robin Buss’s translation is marvelous, with beautiful language that’s a joy to read. Also, Dumas is quite funny and sarcastic at times.
The pacing is incredibly fast-paced: there are some long subplots that weren’t my favorite, but Dumas really doesn’t spend any time giving irrelevant backstory or rambling about his political views or anything like that. The novel has everything: prison escapes, buried treasure, duels, poisons, bandits, affairs, kidnappings, romances, disguises, betrayals, and (of course) revenge. And the settings are almost magical, like something out of a fairytale, from the darkest dungeons to enchanting hidden palaces to Italian catacombs to masquerade carnivals and more. The first 300 or so pages that take place in Marseille and the Château d'If, in particular, are almost impossible to put down.
But, of course, the characters of
The Count of Monte Cristo are where the novel truly shines. It’s impossible not to feel for Dantès, who is (in the beginning, at least…) quite a sensitive soul. And many of the side characters are equally compelling (I loved Valentine’s story, and wasn’t expecting to adore her grandfather as much as I did). Even the wicked characters are complicated and not totally unsympathetic.
I did struggle a bit with the size of the cast, particularly as the characters are referred to sometimes by first name, by last name, or by title, and the tangled relationships between all of the characters (who’s sleeping with whom, who’s engaged to whom, who wronged whom, and how each person relates back to the Count) make it all the more difficult to keep things straight. I almost needed a flowchart at times. And there were a few parts that were a bit uncomfortable to read, particularly
the chapter that discusses women being gang-raped by the Italian bandits, who later become allies of the Count, and everything about the Count’s slaves, Ali and Haydée—especially since the Count talks about viewing Haydée as a daughter, but then marries her?
Overall, though, I completely understand why so many people love this book so much. I’m not sure if it’s something I’ll ever read again solely because of how long it is, but this is definitely a favorite.
(Note to self: If considering a future reread, consider Lowell Bair abridgement.)
Some favorite quotes:
‘Happiness is like one of those palaces on an enchanted island, its gates guarded by dragons.’
The prisoner followed his guide, who led him into a room that was nearly underground, its bare, dripping walls seemingly impregnated with a vapour of tears.
At first he shut his eyes, as children do when they want to count more stars in the shimmering darkness of their imagination than they can in a still light sky;…
All his childhood memories, those memories that are never effaced, but remain ever-present in one’s thoughts, lay here, rising up from each street corner, in every square and at every crossroads.
“There’s a puff of wind coming.” “If that’s how you like to put it, Captain,” I said. “Anyone who bought what’s down there at the price of a puff would make on the bargain. It’s an out-and-out storm, if I’ve ever seen one.”
When you compare the sorrows of real life to the pleasures of the imaginary one, you will never want to live again, only to dream for ever.
…listening to the muffled sound of the waves against the shore, where they left a lace pattern of silvery white foam on the rocks.
If any man could make one believe in vampires, this was he.
There is only one serious matter to be considered in life, and that is death. So! Isn’t it worth one’s curiosity to study the different ways that the soul may leave the body and how, according to the character, the temperament, or even the local customs of a country, individuals face up to that supreme journey from being to nothingness?
‘Hatred is blind and anger deaf: the one who pours himself a cup of vengeance is likely to drink a bitter draught.’ ‘Yes, if he is poor and clumsy; no, if he is a millionaire and adroit.’
Then, everywhere, along the walls, above the doors, on the ceiling, were swords, daggers, kris, maces, axes, complete suits of gilded, damascened or encrusted armour, as well as herbaria, blocks of mineral samples and stuffed birds spreading their brilliant, fiery wings in immobile flight and opening beaks that were never closed.
In fact, I saw everything through a kind of mist, in that period of uncertainty that precedes sleep, when we feel that we are starting to dream.
I like ghosts. I have heard it said that the dead have never done, in six thousand years, as much evil as the living do in a single day.
‘So it is true that every one of our actions leaves some trace on our past, either dark or bright.
‘What is life except a pause in the antechamber of death?’
…though, alas, they do say that hearts which are fired to overcome obstacles go cold when these are removed…
Carry your sorrow inside you as the cloud conceals ruin and death like a deadly secret that is understood only when the storm breaks.
‘Senseless!’ he said. ‘The day when I resolved to take my revenge… senseless, not to have torn out my heart!’
What is death? One step further into calm and two perhaps into silence.
The night was shining with stars. They were at the top of the Montée de Villejuif, on the plateau from which Paris is a dark sea shimmering with millions of lights like phosphorescent waves; and waves they are, more thunderous, more passionate, more shifting, more furious and more greedy than those of the stormy ocean, waves which never experience the tranquillity of a vast sea, but constantly pound together, ever foaming and engulfing everything!
…and never forget that, until the day when God deigns to unveil the future to mankind, all human wisdom is contained in these two words: ‘wait’ and ‘hope’!
I've read it 8 or 9 times over the last 25ish years.
About the Author:
Alexandre Dumas could have been a character from one of his novels. A true romantic, he was the son of Napoleon's famous General Dumas, a prolific writer of over 277 volumes, a revolutionary and a man of tremendous appetites. He was born on July 24, 1802 and died penniless but happy on December 5, 1870, a refugee from his own excesses.
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