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: My Favorite Book of All-Time
Summary: 5 Stars
Just finished reading this classic novel again for the second time. I read it the first time over fifteen years ago and at that time I considered it to be my favorite novel ever. Since then, I have probably read close to a thousand books (which is about as many as Harriet Klausner reads in a month) in the past decade and a half, and I still have to put this one alone at the top. It's the best! Reading it a second time made me appreciate it even more.
I have seen all of the movies that have been made from this incredible book. None of them have even come close to doing the novel justice. It is great to see that most of the Amazon reviewers concur! At the time I am writing this review, there have been 80 reviews of this book and it still is able to retain a five-star rating. That says a lot. Most of the classic novels that have been reviewed on Amazon have 4 and a half stars. However, not this one!
A lot of novels (particularly ones that are considered classics) take a while for the reader to really get into them. Not this one folks. From the first chapter on, the novel takes hold of you and just never lets go. Believe me, once you start reading this it's almost impossible to stop. You don't want to sleep, you don't want to eat, you don't want to talk to anyone, etc... all you want to do is continue reading on about the life story of our hero Edmund Dantes. The book may look a bit long, but believe me, you will be wishing that it was a hec of a lot longer once you are finished with it.
So order this now and I promise you won't be disappointed. It's a masterpiece!
Book Review: The best book ever written
Summary: 5 Stars
I know this seems a little over the top perhaps but Alexandre Dumas' The Count of Monte Christo is just that in my opinion. The scale, the depth, the characterisation, and ultimately the story underpinning it all- a tale of a virtuous young man, wrongly imprisoned, mentally and physically due to the jealousy of others, and his resurrection from the abyss as an avenging angel to exact his revenge on those who inspired it- add up to a breathtaking picture spanning 1200 or so pages. In Edmond Dantes, Dumas has created a character which deep down we can all identify with as our pure inner self. All of us can remember our childhood when everything was a lot more natural and bereft of worry. He is careful to highlight Dantes strengths and flaws early on in the novel, so as we can appreciate this person against who this terrible act has been aimed. His transgression from innocent, naive but virtuous boy into the cold blooded man of the world, is excellently handled, and fits with the gap of years between his escape from the chateau d'if until his re-appearance as the chameleon he has become. The way that the plot comes together shows the time Dumas must have spent creating the jigsaw, and the ending is everything you could want and more. I implore you to read this book- the length of the script will keep you busy for some time admittedly- but the end result and the fact you will be able to look back afterwards and remember its message for a long time, should make this top of your to-read list. And amazingly it was based on a true case.Book Review: The movie is good, but the book is classic
Summary: 5 Stars
I often enjoy reading a book, and then checking out the movie. Almost always I enjoy the book more, although it is fun to see the movie version after reading the book. I don't think it would really even be possible for a two hour movie to do Dumas' classic justice (although the movie is enjoyable). This book is very entertaining, involves an intricate plot with many intertwined characters, and elements of suspense that could not be understood in a movie. It also covers a 24 year time span. The story is of Edmund Dantes, who after being promoted to captain of his ship, is brutally betrayed by those he trusts. On the day before his mairrage to his beautiful fiance, Mercedes, he is arrested for treason and taken to a prison on an island off the coast. He holds the image of his fiance in his mind, but unknown to him, she assumes he is dead and marries his friend who betrayed him. He is in prison for years, but life becomes barely tolerable after a tunnel is dug from a priest's cell to his. They are able to meet daily, and the priest is able to teach Dantes science, language, and even defense. Through his torturous incarceration, Dantes vows revenge on those who betrayed him. The two plot an escape through a tunnel, and the story continues to tell Dantes' life after prison.
This is an excellent book and certainly a classic that most people, even younger readers, will enjoy. I plan on reading it again in a couple of years, and just may read it again after that. It is that good!
Book Review: Don't let the number of pages deter you!!!
Summary: 5 Stars
This is a very, very nicely done book. I've read many of Dumas's works, and this far surpasses each of them. The characterization, the way that each of the "bad guys" had their own reasons for being bad, and Dumas forces us to understand, the way that the Count is caught up in being (forgive me) torn away, the way that he believes himself unable to move on without revenge, and yet he has already in body. The wonderful Haydee (who is very similar to the Haydee in 'Don Juan' by Lord Byron), both passionate and demure, both constant and painless. She gives the Count a life he lost in the Chateau D'If. (Oh, the Chateau actually exists, so look it up on the 'net while readin that part for a visual, or, I should say, a secondary one.)And NEVER forget Luigi Vampa, the lord of the Count's underworld! The embodiment of careless mockery! Oh! Even Franz could love him!
DO NOT ASSUME THAT YOU KNOW THIS BOOK IF YOU HAVE SEEN THE MOVIE. Do not give credit to the terrible abridgement the movie attempted to call The Count of Monte Cristo. All the "bad guys" were all rolled into ONE person, the Count himself was not nearly so evil, and many other terrible changes that destroyed the darkness of the book... The one that takes the cake is the AFFAIR between the married Mercedes and the Count! I couldn't believe it! The Count DESPISED her after she married his nemesis!
Anyway, this was a really cruddy review. Read the book!
she who is no longer the Angel of Music
Book Review: The Count of Monte Cristo A Tale of Betrayal
Summary: 5 Stars
Most people you run into say the idea of trying to escape from prison is a bad thing. This isn't the case in Alexandre Dumas' book The Count of Monte Cristo, where our hero Edmond Dantes, is thrown into one of the darkest, dirtiest dungeons in all of France.
Edmond Dantes, a carefree young sailor, who it seems will soon be captain of his very own ship, wants nothing more than to be able to marry his fiancé, Mercedes and settle down.
Sadly this will not come to pass, for Edmond becomes the victim of other men's ambition, greed, and envy. His enemies each have a different reason for making him want to disappear, but only when they come together do they decide what they will do.
They devise a wicked plot to frame poor Edmond and falsely accuse him of being a traitor. He is sent to the horrible dungeons of Chateau d'If, to spend the rest of his life in a lonely cell.
However during his long imprisonment he meets the "Mad Priest" Abbe Faria, who takes him from the brink of insanity and teaches him geometry, chemistry, history, algebra, and many other skills. He then tells Edmond of a secret treasure on an island known only as Monte Cristo. Soon after that Edmond escapes prepared to take his revenge. He finds that those who wronged him had gained enormous power and now lived in Paris.
So backed by his newfound fortune, he decides that it is time for Paris to get a visit from The Count of Monte Cristo.