Conde de Montecristo, El

when I was younger I recall liking it. I wouldn't say 'loved' it. I did love 'The Three Muskateers'. this story was a little outlandish for me. OMG my roomate's last-night's-stand just woke up in his room. she makes good sex sounds. ive never seen her face. just heard her get off. strange.

I so was not expecting this book to so... fun. It is a near perfect book for what it is - drama, love, action, revenge, kindness, absurdity. You should totally read this book.Don't be afraid of the label of classic! Or that it is about a man in prison who escapes and gets revenge on those who put him there. Its not a dark story at all. It reminds me an Errol Flynn movie - where everybody is exactly what they seem, the good guys win, the bad guys get punished, and everybody lives the life they deserve at the end.But, the book isn't perfect - there is some aspects that are quite a stretch to believe. For example, Dante become an educated man by talking to a priest in the next cell over. Or how a ship was completely recreated, cargo and all. Or how the Count has a seemingly unending supply of money. There are a few ethical issues that will cause modern audiences some trepidation. The Count has a few slaves, even though slavery is illegal in France. Or his treatment of Mercedes - was she really suppose to wait for him for all the years he was gone?

A flawed yet still worthwhile masterpiece that shows the prowess of Dumas in creating a character that seems, and feels, real.

Finally finished this, really good read much better than the three musketeers.

The Count of Monte Cristo is a classic story of betrayal and revenge. Edmond Dantes has it all: a father he loves, a pending promotion, and a beautiful fiance. Unfortunately, others envy him his good fortune and conspire to have him sent to prison for a crime he didn’t commit. When a fellow prisoner informs him of a treasure located on the Isle of Monte Cristo, he determines to escape and use that treasure to enact his revenge.

From the great introduction to this book, I learned that Dumas wrote this to be published in sections in newspapers and was paid by the line. Reading The Count of Monte Cristo with it’s convoluted plot and inclusion of mundane conversations, that incentive is clear. However unnecessarily complicated the count’s revenge may be, it was still a lot of fun to read about. While some sections dragged a little, there was always some part of the plot which made me want to read quickly because I couldn’t wait to find out what happened next. The events could be cliched at times, but I enjoy cliches and to be fair to the author, he may be the originator of some of these now-cliched plot devices.

One small problem I had with this book was the dislikable nature of our protagonist. As time goes by he gets more and more arrogant, convinced that his revenge is the hand of God! Fortunately for us, a pair of young lovers shows up for us to root for instead, so I never found myself without a character to relate to. Overall, this was far from the best classic I’ve read. It gave little insight into human nature and wasn’t especially well written. Fortunately, these flaws didn’t stop if from being an amusing swashbuckling adventure which was a lot of fun to read. Given it’s success as a light adventure story, I might recommend searching for a well done abridged versions. While the idea of missing parts of a story makes me nervous, I don’t think anyone is going to want to pick up a 1000 page book for light entertainment.

This review first published on Doing Dewey.

When I first received my copy of ‘The Count of Monte Cristo’ I was a little over whelmed mainly due to the sheer size of the book (this edition was to my measurements just over 5 and a half centimetres of 1276 frightfully thin pages with small print but there is a delightful ribbon to help you keep your place) but also because I was about to read a tale that is worthy enough to be deemed a classic for well over a century (which is no minor feat) and I was slightly worried that if I didn't see how undeniably amazing it was then I’d be a fool not to recognise great literature even if I dropped it on my foot (don’t laugh, I'm so clumsy I'm almost disabled).It’s seems that in this day and age there is very little time to sit down and properly enjoy a good book, Dumas has the wonderful ability to spin a tale of imprisonment, deception, revenge and love that lets you simply lose yourself (and track of time) in the words, turning pages without even realising it, which isn't particularly helpful as I have oft stayed up later than I anticipated and even once missed the bus (I've honestly no idea why I thought it would be good to read before school). I can often pick up where I left off, twenty minutes here, a half hour there, and the tale still seems seamless but my younger sister is a person you takes a while to get in to a story (whether beginning, middle or end)and so she felt that she couldn't really enjoy it and gave up part way through. I think that perhaps for a lot of people the length of the book is a major obstacle which hinders our ability to enjoy and appreciate the book and so the difficulty lies not in interpreting the language as such (as many English lessons on Shakespeare were spent) but more in the length of time such a task takes.I'm think I enjoyed the book but I feel that it’s the kind of book that needs to be read more than once in order to fully appreciate or perhaps that is maybe my fault for skimming parts in anticipation of what was coming next. I hope though that everyone gives it a chance as it is really rather good.As a 21st century teen I am always looking for the next best thing to read but it seems that I've not realised that the stories we publish are immortal as long as there are those of us who continue to love it (badly quoted from JK Rowling) and thus in our search for a good read we must not just look to the new shiny books that are still in their infancy but look back to the tales who have braved the test of time and persevered, Golden in their old age (old relative to yesterday for example).So don’t hesitate, the classics are calling.

Edmond Dantès is sent to prison for being a traitor, escapes, wins a fortune, and takes his revenge on the three men responsible of falsely accusing him and thus robbing him of his life. It's not surprising this has become a classic that has stood the test of time - it's an engaging tale of love, friendship, drugs, pirates, treasure, intrigue, history, crime, passion, art, politics, and, most of all, revenge (albeit indirect) - all with a perfect Romantic hero at its forefront, complete with flashing eyes and a mysterious past. There is already a huge number of great reviews for this one, so all I'll do is highly recommend this unputdownable page-turner - as Victor Hugo said of its author, "He created a thirst for reading." The original is long, but do not read an abridged version - if you're reading in English, Robert Buss' translation and accompanying notes are highly recommended.

How can you read 1243 pages and wish there were more? That's the way I felt about this book. I loved it!!! Action-packed clear through - never a boring moment. I will confess that I was picturing James Caviezel through the whole reading - even though the book is so different from the movie. This definitely moves right to my top 5 list. I read a quote a while ago that said, "Don't judge a person by the books they read, judge them by the books they re-read." This one will definitely be re-read!

Just a rip-snorting good read; full of revenge, pathos, love, and adventure.

By the end of this book, I felt a little as though some of my best friends were going away, never to be seen again. :(The character development and investigation in this book is absolutely incredible. Dumas is an incredible story teller. He delves deeply into description and details, but knows just when to quit (unlike my other favorite French author - Hugo).

Fabulous. Well worth the time investment to read, although parts (for instance, when the Count first arrives in Paris) are a bit slow. An epic work.

One of my all time favorite books. A tale of revenge that is well plotted and long in coming.

This was one of the most intense, intricate plots I have ever encountered in the literary world. It is nothing less than spectacular and it is well worth the time commitment it takes to read it.*Most people know the basic premise of The Count of Monte Cristo. Edmond Dantes, a sailor who is beloved by his father and fiancé and all the men who work with him, is betrayed by a few jealous men and unjustly sent to prison. What follows is an incredible story of hope, survival and above all, revenge. That’s about all I can say without getting into spoiler territory.“The unhappy young man was no longer called Edmond Dantes – he was now number 34.”**SPOILERS**Edmund’s time in jail is so beautifully written. I felt his despair in every bone of my body. The sheer horror of what happened to him chilled my blood. Dantes was jailed for 6 years, considered mad and completely isolated before he heard the voice of someone other than his jailer. Just for one moment try to understand the absolute torture of that kind of solitude. The hope that he got from the mere thought of someone in the cell near him stopped him from committing suicide. “Seventeen months captivity to a sailor accustomed to the boundless ocean, is a worse punishment than human crime ever merited.”He spends years wasting away and when he finally meets a fellow inmate; their connection is so deep and profound that it truly renews his spirit and gives him a reason to live. He spends years learning from Abbé Faria only to lose him after he becomes his second father. He manages to control his grief and think on his feet and after 14 years in jail Edmund is able to escape. Instead of immediately racing to the island to claim the treasure Abbé Faria told him about, he spends time working on a ship. He gains the respect and love of those he works with and bides his time. When he finally gets his fortune he proves that once again he’s in no hurry. Throughout the whole book Dantes’ patience is mind-boggling. He does his homework, learning all the history that unfolded during his 14 years in prison. He then focuses on rewarding those who were loyal to him. Although his father died of starvation and his fiancée married another man, there are still a few people who he wants to anonymously thank. Dantes old boss Morrel is one of my favorite characters in the book. He is such a good man. He understands the true meaning of loyalty and Dantes remembers him and spends much of his time out of prison repaying that debt. Morrel fought hard to get him released from prison and when all his attempts fail he tries to care for Dantes’ father. He not only paid the funeral expenses when Dantes’ father dies, he did it with the full knowledge that Dantes was considered a Bonapartist and he would be judged harshly for it. In turn Dantes saves Morrel and his entire family in their moment of need. Just when Morrel is in the direst of situations, Dante swoops in and saves them, but he keeps his identity a secret. “Be happy, noble heart, be blessed for all the good thou hast done and wilt do hereafter, and let my gratitude remain in obscurity like your good deeds.” When he began his schemes for revenge things got a bit confusing. It was the one part of the novel that was a bit of a struggle for me. He takes on multiple aliases and secret identities, but at first we don’t know the new character is still Dantes. We’re also introduced to many new characters with little fan fare and it was hard to figure out who was who for awhile, but if you hang in there it all makes sense pretty quickly. I can’t even explain to you how satisfying it is when Dantes starts revealing his true plan and we see his long-awaited revenge finally come to fruition. He slowly inserts himself into the lives of his betrayers, earning their trust as an unknown stranger. The cyclical nature of the book is delightful. For each character there is a fitting end and it’s so satisfying! Both those who are good and evil get their just desserts. I loved how Mercedes and Albert found out the truth about Dantes situation and how the rest of their story concluded. The scene between Mercedes and Edmond just took my breath away. After his time in prison he had become so hard and calloused, yet with only a few words she still had the power to make him melt. Some corner of his heart never stopped loving her and the same was true for her. Their love story was a tragic one, but there was beauty in it too.Dantes calculated the perfect revenge for each of his betrayers. Fernand stole his love and the family he would have hard, so his punishment was the loss of his family. Danglars’ motivation for betrayal was greed and jealousy and so he lost his entire fortune and was forced to learn what hunger truly was like. He was the worst of the villains, goading the others into their acts of treachery, and his fate was equal to his crime. Villefort acted out of a loyalty to his father, but also out of a desire to protect his own reputation and future. You could almost understand it if it was only out of love for his father, but in the end it was really a selfish decision. So it was only fitting that Villefort's doom come from within the household he tried to protect. He lost his family and the respect of his entire community. In the midst of this tale of revenge there are a few beautiful stories of love and redemption as well. Maximilien Morrel’s love of Valentine de Villefort, Valentine’s devotion to her disabled grandfather and Haidée’s love of Dante are all powerful pictures of devotion in their own ways. It’s incredible that in addition to creating such a thrilling adventure story, Dumas also gave the book wonderful characters with depth that will stay with readers forever. **SPOILERS OVER**BOTTOM LINE: Read it! It’s a long haul, but unlike some long novels, the majority of the book flies by and it keeps you interested throughout. Many older classics that take time to get into and adjust to the language, but this one starts off at a run and doesn't let go. Besides one small section in the middle that dragged for me, I couldn't put it down. Curl up with this brick of a book and you won’t be sorry. “In politics, my dear fellow, you know, as well as I do, there are no men, but ideas – no feelings, but interests; in politics we do not kill a man, we only remove an obstacle, that is all.” “There are, indeed, some things which appear so impossible that the mind does not dwell on them for an instant.”“The overflow of my brain would probably, in a state of freedom, have evaporated in a thousand follies; misfortune is needed to bring to light the treasures of the human intellect. Compression is needed to explode gunpowder.” “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 have felt what it is to die, Morrel, that we may appreciate the enjoyments of living.”

This book pulls you in almost form the very begining. You feel the pain of injustice and taste the sweet taste of revenge as the plot unfolds. There was only slight disapointment when the "Count"did not reunite with his one true love, the one he had pined for all those years. Still it was a satisfying read that had me up till the wee hours of the night. Hard to put down...truly deserving of the title "classic".

As I began reading this book, all I really knew about it was what I had seen in the most recent film. Expecting to find something vaguely swashbuckling, with a bit of a revenge plotline and some prison escape scenes thrown in, I was beyond surprised.The Count of Monte Cristo is incredibly intricate. A revenge story first and foremost, this book is also a study of humans. The man who comes to be known (among many many other titles) as the Count, is such a puzzling character that he keeps you intrigued throughout the entire, constantly unfurling plot. The amount of resources, the intent, the mind needed to keep his plans going keeps you wondering at times if the Count is either the world's best actor or completely unhinged. At certain points the plot and the man himself is so complex that you forget and just believe what he tells you to be true. One of the best novels I have read in a long time.

Don't be put off by the length. This is a fantastic book - deep, exciting and captivating. I would happily throw in a 'sickie' to stay in bed ansd finish reading it. Do think about the edition. The font size of my edition is off-putting - need lazer surgery to read it. There must be better ones about. Make sure you get the unabridged too.

This is my favorite of Dumas, père's books.

I absolutely love this book! It's a good old-fashioned yarn. It's exciting, political and cleverly written. Don't let the size of the book put you off as it's so gripping, it's really easy to read. My one and only niggle is that it's ever so slightly contrived in a few places in the story. Nevertheless, I love it anyway. I just wish people would stop giving away the ending in these reviews for would-be readers, as it completely spoils the pleasure and excitement of the novel!

I read this for book club and it was long...but worth it, this book had a very good confusing plot which made you think, which is good!

I almost let the fact that the book was first published in 1844 stop me from reading it. But they call it a classic for a reason. This book is one of the best I've read for making you really care about what happens to the characters. The story is about a man who is betrayed, forgotten, left for dead and the twenty plus year career of revenge he sets forth on.

Extremely long, yes. But fun and exciting from cover to cover. I picked up Monte Cristo after having thoroughly enjoyed The Three Musketeers, wondering whether I'd be disappointed. I wasn't. In the slightest.My only small gripe would be that I found, stood aside the very complex and intriguing characters of Monte Cristo, Faria and Caderousse, for example, other characters seemed two-dimensional and rather unfinished.

"The most dreadful misfortunes, the most frightful sufferings, the abandonment of all those who loved me, the persecution of those who did not know me, formed the trials of my youth; when suddenly from captivity, solitude, misery, I was restored to light and liberty, and became the possessor of a fortune so brilliant, so unbounded, so unheard-of, that I must have been blind not to be conscious that God had endowed me with it to work out his own great designs."Bright young thing Edmond Dantès is just about to take a good position and a beautiful wife, when he is unjustly accused of treason and jailed. Betrayed still further by a corrupt official, he languishes in solitary confinement for fourteen years. Eventually, a stroke of fortune provides him not only with escape, but the key to vast wealth. This he uses to set himself up as a member of the aristocracy, from which position he can track down those who betrayed him and extract his revenge.This is a marvellous book, very long but full of vivid characters, wry satires on society, and scenes of great adventure. Dantès as the Count is possibly too good to be true -- he's intelligent, moral, witty, calm, well-read, well-travelled, etc. -- but his patient machinations, as he manoeuvres his prey into perfectly-chosen traps, are delightful.Not a quick read, by any means, but definitely worthwhile.

You probably know the basic story, Dantes gets unjustly accused and thrown in prison just as he is about to marry his sweetheart Mercedes. While in prison he learns of a enormous treasure hidden on the Isle of Monte Cristo. So he escapes and uses the treasure to reward and revenge as he sees fit. The unabridged version of this story did get tedious a time or two, it's like a soap opera with many subplots and dramatic twists and turns. But it is oh so satisfying.

THis book sucked away my life. Over 1000 pages and I read it in three days. It's very swash-buckling, high adventure type stuff, and not ata ll believable, but the count is just so clever! A fun read if you have a lot of time on your hands.

A good page turner - with a nice insight into hiugh French Society

This is a true classic. Books are not longer written like this. Reading this book was similar to a religious experience!

A fine adventure tale that gives enjoyment and demands a little pondering about the meaning of life. Closing note from the Count: "... there is neither happiness nor unhappiness in this world; there is only the comparison of one state with another. Only a man who has felt ultimate despair is capable of feeling ultimate bliss. It is necessary to have wished for death, Maximilien, in order to know how good it is to live."

As a young preteen, I adored the story of this brooding man and cheered him on his way.

One of the few books that are truly gripping. The ultimate revenge thriller.

The thing about this book that keeps you from putting it down is that everything happens in it. Seriously, every single thing you might think of that could happen to one man happens to this guy (you know - false accusations, lost sweetheart, interminable imprisonment, development of prison communication system, learning 3 or 4 languages, prison breaks, mistaken identities . . . ) AND THAT'S JUST THE FIRST FIFTY PAGES!! BUT THINGS KEEP HAPPENING!! MORE AND MORE THINGS HAPPEN!! It's amazing. No wonder 12-year-old boys like this book. Me too!