The Count of Monte Cristo (Penguin Classics) by Alexandre Dumas père
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Book Reviews of The Count of Monte Cristo (Penguin Classics)
Book Review: An All-Consuming Adventure
Summary: 5 Stars
Reading an abridged book is like eating cake without frosting. You don't really need the frosting, but the frosting is what gives a cake it's delicious flavor. The Count of Monte Cristo is a book which ought to be read unabridged, if only for the richness and flavor of the text. The evolution of Edmond Dantes from sailor to prisoner to Count of Monte Cristo is enthralling. Alexander Dumas's book is captivating. It is hard to set aside CoMC, as the characters are extremely interesting and well-developed. It's not like the antagonists are straight-up bad guys with no redeeming qualities, they are just people who make bad choices and act out of self-interest.
Essentially, the moral provided in this HUGE tome is that revenge is a dish best served co
ld. In order to understand why I say this, I shall provide some backstory. Three men known to Edmond Dantes, all jealous of him in some way, one wants his job, the other wants his girlfriend, plot a way to put Edmond Dantes in prison. Their plan works and Dantes is arrested. He's thrown in prison without a trial. Dantes spends awhile in jail and thinks of nothing but his revenge. Eventually, Dantes escapes and becomes the Count of Monte Cristo. Luckily, for the reader we get to see the entire evolution of Dantes, we see him in his darkest moments as well as in his crowning glory. His revenge is most apt.
I highly recommend this book for anyone who is looking to be transported into another time as well as for someone who is looking to fall in love with well-developed characters. There are many editions out there, I recommend the Robin Buss unabridged translation published by Penguin Classics. Buss's translation is fantastic and readable, the phrasing is not awkward at all, as i
n other translations. Also, Buss's translation includes all of the naughty bits - i.e. one sex scene, some drug use, and a dash of homosexuality.
Book Review: Excellent!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is probably the best revenge story ever written. As the back cover of the story states, "On what slender threads do life and fortune hang." Edmund Dantes knows something about those threads. A promising sailor, he is arrested, thrown into prison, and succumbs to hopelessness. From there, he meets a friend, gains a boundless inheritance, and soon finds himself in a position to obtain his revenge on those who caused his predicament. The tone, like most Dumas books, is simple, elegant, and witty. Why I call it the best is that it is a revenge story, but it also involves the subtle emotions involved in going about revenge. How revenge can go wrong, who revenge forces you to leave behind, who you attempt to emulate in casting judgement on your fellow man.
1200 pages is quite a long novel, but it moves quickly, I'm currently reading it a second time, more to refresh background details and characters. There are plenty in this novel, who act like real people, with distinct personalities and flaws. The count himself lives a life of luxury which modern people can still be jealous of. Rome, Paris, and Marseille are visited with great detail, for those of us who like to travel on a budget. As the count begins to succeed in his vengance towards the end of the novel, you may be surprised about the outcome.
Dumas, a prolific writer, wrote many novels. Those that like this would do well to move on to The Three Musketeers and it's sequel, which supply similar historical action and quick dialogue. The investment there is even greater, probably working out to 3500 total pages of narrative. Exciting, yes, but not many have that sort of time to invest. Count of Monte Cristo is self-contained. If one was to read just one novel by Dumas, this would be it. This is a famous author at the height of his powers, telling a self-contained story about destitution, fortune, and the nobility between.
Book Review: Tonic for Hurricaines and Interpersonal skills.
Summary: 5 Stars
My dad twisted my arm into getting this book over War and Peace. Headed to Mexico, I was certain that I would not come even close to finishing it. Twelve-hundred pages for seven days in Cabo? The second day we were there Mr. Marty the hurricane blew through. I had been up until two o'clock every night reading this - reading it while dad drank margaritas, over breakfast and in the back of the "Mexican Porche." During the night when the 'Caine raged at the windows, I was saving Morrell's life, sailing for Monte Cristo with Corsicans in tow, rescuing viscounts from the notorious Luigi Vampa, inducing Valentine to save her life through hallucination and speaking the same words four times to the enemies who locked my soul in a dungeon for fourteen years. "I am Edmond Dantes!"
Dumas is an absolute MASTER crafter. Both my father and I found ourselves questioning the way we develop and uphold relationships and why bluntness seems useful to many in the place of eloquence and perception. The only reason that no one, excepting Mercedes, figures out who Edmond Dantes, the Count of Monte Cristo, Sinbad the Sailor, Abbe Busoni and Lord Wilmore are is because of the way the Count represents himself and 'others.'
I think the real question that The Count of Monte Cristo is asking us today is why we have forgotten the things that were so key to the way people lived back then. Maybe we have gained in science and math, but we have lost so much! Thinking of the forgotten things is the real painfulness of this book. This one is at the very top of my list. Nothing holds a candle to this tale.
I haven't stopped talking about it for weeks and I doubt I ever will. These guys are the stuff of Dreams! Believe me, this book will make you sing.
SocraT
Dad's reading it right now! ;)
Book Review: an amazing tale with a perfect translation
Summary: 5 Stars
I strongly recommend readers to buy this version - the unabridged version with the excellent translation by Robin Buss. It was thanks to Amazon readers that I first found out about this version -> I had just read the Club Dumas by Arturo Perez-Reverte (which I also highly recommend) and I was curious to read novels by Dumas. I think I had read the abridged version of Monte Cristo back in high school (over 20 years ago) - but I learned from Robin Buss that the version most of us have read was an antiquated Victorian English translation which doesn't reflect the style of Dumas and omits key parts of the novel due to Victorian-era censorship. Here's what Robin Buss has to say on page xxv of his intro: "Anyone who has ever read The Count of Monte Cristo only in the "classic version" has never read Dumas' novel. For a start, the translation is occasionally inaccurate and is written in a nineteenth century English that now sounds far more antiquated than the French of the original does to a modern French reader." I'd like to share that I thoroughly enjoyed this amazing tale with this excellent translation. I found it to be a gripping story and I had no problem sticking with this novel - all the way to page 1,243 - which I finished reading moments ago. Also - I found the detailed notes provided by Robin Buss to be incredibly valuable. In the notes, all the "nuances" and even "inside jokes" within the novel are explained. Some things that contemporary readers would simply understand (due to recent events, and the French revolution, etc) that are unlikely for most modern day reads to know.
I whole-heartedly recommend this -and I will look for more classics that have been translated by Robin Buss, because I feel like I discovered a treasure.
Book Review: Penguin Classics version
Summary: 5 Stars
There are two criteria for a review here, the book, and the actual story itself.
The story is 5 stars out of 5 no doubt. It's a literary masterpiece. An absolutely compelling story of revenge with an amazing character dynamic.
The book, which is unabridged ( what's the difference? About 500 pages; fairly significant ), is the best. I wouldn't recommend the abridged version, you don't get the feeling of satisfaction of reading the actual book and abridged is like reading a really long summary that actually makes less sense than the book because of the random introduction of characters.
So we've established that the story is amazing and a timeless classic, and the unabridged version ( which this particular penguin classics is ) is the best to get. Now I must talk about the elephant in the room, the actual book. I have a lot of Penguin Classics, The Epic of Gilgamesh, The philosophy of cosmology, and Sir Garwin, etc. These books are extremely short, 2 - 300 pages max. Well, As we all know, The Count of Monte Cristo is a bit longer....about 1000 pages longer to be specific. So what's the result? A publishing company that specializes in smaller to medium sized books trying to bound a 1300 page monster. The binding is absolutely terrible! I feel like every time i pick the book up it's going to fall apart. I've been a long time fan of paperback books, but I really wish I had not bought this book as a paperback. Don't get me wrong, I'm a big fan of Penguin Classics and their books, but they definitely should have used a different binding method for this particular book.
Overall:
5/5 stars on the story, and plot
2/5 stars on the actual book and binding