Rating: 3.5* of five

The Book Report: .Edmond Dantès is truly on top of the world...he's handsome, young, successful, and about to marry a woman he loves. His boss promoted him, his lady-love's family beams approvingly at their wedding feast, and...

...the police arrive and arrest him for treason (this takes place in the Napoleonic War era, so this was a hot-button topic), he's sent to the Chateau d'If, tortured, held despite protestations if innocence, and finally escapes with the terminal assistance of the Abbé Faria, whose death offers Edmond the means of escape and the means to achieve revenge on the horrible people who, out of jealousy, deprived him of his youth.

Revenge is, indeed, a dish best served cold.

My Review: All three and a half stars are for the revenge part. I squirmed and writhed and generally caused my undies to bunch all during the incarceration part. Oh my gracious me. Yikes. Ow.

This is one of the most appalling stories ever told, to me, because it's TRUE!! Ye gods and little fishes! Horrifying! A man actually suffered through this agony! Although he didn't escape, he was released, and the treasure was in Milan, not on the mythical island of Monte Cristo. (I've now read that so many times that I'm hungry. I do love a monte cristo sammy.) When I learned this, I was so overwhelmed with fury at the long-dead perpetrators of this heinous crime, I was almost unable to finish the book.

All in all, I can't imagine wanting to read this ever again, but the journey was worth the pain.

n  n
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 3.0 Unported License.

n  n
If you are planning to pick up a classic with a great plot, this book should be on the top of your list. Alexandre Dumas will take you for an extraordinary ride through the life of Edmond Dantes.

This novel starts with the theme of jealousy and betrayal, which forces some people to frame innocent Dantes as a Bonapartist. He later gets thrown into a grim fortress prison on an island. Dantes spends fourteen long years in this oubliette. From there, he learns about the treasure hidden on the Isle of Monte Cristo. He starts his second journey to take revenge for all the sufferings he had to endure.

I am a person who always believes in Gandhi's words that forgiveness is the attribute of the strong. I am not too fond of reading revenge stories due to this reason. The central theme of this novel is retribution. Still, I loved it and gave it five stars because I think the author has done an extraordinary job in this novel. This book is more than 1200 pages long, and it took me an eternity to finish reading it. I think that this is an absolute must-read book for everyone.

n “Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes. You must look into that storm and shout as you did in Rome. Do your worst, for I will do mine! Then the fates will know you as we know you."

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“Life is a storm, my young friend. You will bask in the sunlight one moment, be shattered on the rocks the next. What makes you a man is what you do when that storm comes."

nSometimes I just feel like going back to a great classic, who doesn't love them? The Count of Monte Cristo is everything that I wished for when I decided to revisit it: it's a tragedy, a story of lost love, a psychological thriller, but it's above all a revenge novel. Alexandre Dumas' s masterpiece is not to be missed!

Some other great quotes from Dumas' The Count of Monte Cristo:
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"It is necessary to have wished for death in order to know how good it is to live."

"We are always in a hurry to be happy...; for when we have suffered a long time, we have great difficulty in believing in good fortune.

"Learning does not make one learned: there are those who have knowledge those who have understanding. The first requires memory and the second philosophy."

"All human wisdom is contained in the two words - Wait and Hope."

n

PERFECTION. THE END.


12/12/17

Is it at all possible to get this excited!??

HELLO, DEAREST BOOKWORMS, THIS IS A GOOD DAY!

Ever had a book - that one book - that’s stuck with you since the moment you read it? The one that holds a special place in your heart?

I’ve been waiting for the perfect time to finally re-read -yet again- one of my all-time favourite books and the excitement is getting too much. Seriously, I think I'm going to be sick.

I know a re-read doesn’t sound that exciting but this is a book to which I owe SO MUCH DEBT and GRATITUDE. The book that made me fall in love with reading. The book I still remember reading for the first time when I was a kid. My special book.

this is tough, I enjoyed the book as a whole but it also irritated me greatly. before I seemly trash one of literature most beloved classics. let me say it is good but too long with meandering sub-plots. if you decide to get a unabridged version than good luck. but I suggest the abridge version. this is a long tedious book and a lot of it seems to be superfluous. it was serialized in a periodical for popularity sake and the unabridged version surfers greatly. there are also pointless characters thrown in to appeal to 1850's french audience.

completing this book has been a personal goal since I was young. I have tried to read it in print sevral times. Everytime i'm always instantly hooked but loose interest about 100 pages after he escapes prison. IMO the book stalls in Italy, just stops all intrigue and it takes a lot of time to pick back up or even relate to the stories previous events. I did like the setting of revolutionary and post imperial france. Very interested time period. The count of Monte Cristo is also the most overdramatic bipolar protagonist I have encountered, constantly between complaining and bragging. he is pompous and suicidal, a man who has gained everything but never enjoys his good fortune for he can not forget what he has lost. the motives and actions of the French nobility are so foreign that they suspend belief. A big part of literature to me is the character's actions and events have to make sense. everything in the novel was so overdramatic that was very distracting. I keep asking myself what's wrong with everybody? why are the doing that? is it really that big a deal? I never could really get into the narrative. Who has not had a revenge fantasy. But this takes it to far. That was fun at first but after a while I was like, let it go man. The count switchs between philosophical diatribes and religious zealotry. The count ends up regretting it all and is just glad the ordeal is all over kind of like the reader.

at the end all I could do is sigh in relief. I finished it and thought it was not that bad. Some highlights of course. Although I will never read it again even if you paid me!

“Le ferite mortali hanno questo di particolare:
che si mascherano ma non si rimarginano; sempre dolorose,
sempre pronte a sanguinare quando si toccano, restano vive e aperte nel cuore.”


Cosa ci tiene incatenati a queste pagine se non una tempesta di emozioni?
Tutti abbiamo bisogno che il sogno diventi realtà.
Tutti abbiamo bisogno di speranza.
Il destino tiene in mano il mazzo di carte e solo l’abile giocatore può ingannare la sfortuna: solo la pazienza di un ingegnoso bluff può ribaltare una situazione sfavorevole.

“Il Conte di Montecristo” è un contenitore di storie con quella modalità concentrica che tanto ricorda “Le mille e una notte” e che rimane in equilibrio tra Oriente ed Occidente.

Dumas prende spunto da un fatto realmente accaduto: un tale alla vigilia del matrimonio viene per invidia denunciato come spia degli inglesi. Imprigionato si ritrova a condividere la cella con un ricco prelato che alla morte lo nomina erede di un grande patrimonio. Con questa ricchezza porterà a termine la sua vendetta.
Questo,dunque, il canovaccio offerto dalla cronaca e da cui Dumas tesse una ragnatela.
Edmond Dantes vive due vite. La prima è quella della sconfitta e della lacrime, la seconda è quella in cui sfodera l’astuzia perché giustizia sia fatta.
Non a caso questa seconda vita porta il lettore sulle strade di Roma nei giorni del Carnevale.
Non a caso perché da qui i travestimenti saranno l’architettura di chi tende la trappola. D’altro canto ciò è reso possibile da un’epoca in cui tutti coloro che ambiscono al successo sono diventati camaleonti.
Meraviglioso ed indimenticabile!

One of my favorite stories of revenge. I loved it! I loved the language and everything about it.

I didn't get to read this until I was an adult, and it was amazing. This is a story I will read again.

5+ Stars. I do not know how to express the excellence of this amazing story! I do know I will never forget it, and that reading it as a buddy-read made it all the more enjoyable.(great powwow book)

DO NOT miss this remarkable novel. Highly recommend! (and bring on more Alexandre Dumas!)

n  Update: March 18, 2016n

GOD WILL GIVE ME JUSTICE (carved into the wall in the 'memorable' prison scene)

Really enjoyed the 2002 version of the film with Jim Caviezel playing Edmond Dantes, and although the novel is much better and will remain one of my all-time favorites, I actually preferred the ending depicted in the movie. Great flick IMHO. (showing now on Starz for those interested)

CHE AVVENTURA PAZZESCA!!!
Felicissima di aver letto questo libro, davvero un classico assolutamente da recuperare!
Una storia ben costruita con colpi di scena che non mancano mai! Mi ha tenuto compagnia per ben 10 giorni.. sento già il vuoto!

Vengeance is mine saith the Lord Edmond Dantes

Edmond Dantes is teeming with promise and hope. He is a popular and kind young man—he has recently been promoted, and he is about to marry the woman of his dreams when a false accusation causes his world to come to a crashing halt. Trapped in a dungeon, locked in the depths of despair and isolation, Edmond befriends a fellow prisoner. Under the tutelage of Abbe Faria, Edmond taps his intellectual potential and discovers a hidden treasure. Will Edmond succeed in escaping his confines? What type of revenge will fall on those who killed Edmond’s bright future?

Although this book is of a daunting size, the plot is captivating and riveting. Starting in 1844, The Count of Monte Cristo was serialized, meaning that it was published slowly in 18 parts, one piece at a time in a newspaper or magazine. The story had to be so enthralling, addictive, and compelling that readers would continue to purchase each and every episode.

In most cases, storytelling reigns supreme, and the Count of Monte Cristo delivers. Despite its intimidating length, it is a joy. In addition to the fascinating plot, the dialogue and short paragraphs propel the reader forward, leading to an exhilarating reading experience.

Now….let’s address some critiques of the Count of Monte Cristo.

It can be difficult to find an audiobook that matches the text. Alexander Dumas originally wrote this stunning tale in French. Over the years, the work has been translated into English by different translators. Unfortunately, Audible doesn’t list the translator on the audiobooks so it can prove challenging to match the text with the corresponding audio.

The second concern is the lack of character development. This is a point well taken. Lots of the characters in the book were either all good or all bad. However, storytelling is the most important element and overcomes this foible.

Edmond Dantes should just get over it. Also, another valid point. Edmond is obsessed with revenge, but couldn’t he find something else to do with this life? Why spend a single second more on these baddies? Doesn’t he wonder if there is anyone else falsely accused in prison or should he just worry about himself? In this case, this story doesn’t go in that direction. It is one of revenge so just sit back and enjoy it for what it is.

The Count of Monte Cristo can be complex at times. Personally, I took about 12 pages of notes. These proved very useful because there are a lot of characters. Many of the characters are related to one another, and it was valuable to write down the various characters and their relationships.

Overall, the Count of Monte Cristo is a mesmerizing, extraordinary story that has stood the test of time and brought me to tears.

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عندما بدأت في قراءة هذه الرواية، كنت أعتقد من ضخامة حجمها أنها مشروع قراءة سوف يستمر معيّ لمدة طويلة فإذا بيّ انتهي من قرائتها في أيام معدودة دون أن أتمكن من الانفصال عنها بأية قراءات أخرى.

من منّا لمن يكن يتحرق شوقًا لقراءة تلك التحفة الروائية الخالدة في سماء الأدب العالمي على مرّ السنوات؟ تلك الرواية وغيرها من الروايات الكلاسيكية الضخمة تقف عند قرائتها مرتبكًا خوف من مسألتين؛ الأولى عدد المجلدات الضخم الذي تحتوي عليه الرواية والثانية ترجمة الرواية التي قد تفشل في استبدال اللغة الكلاسيكية العتيقة بأخرى يمكن للقارئ في عصرنا عذا من هضمها بسهولة ويسر.
لكنك في اللحظة التي تقع فيها يدك على طبعة تشمل هذه المجلدات الضخمة في عدد صفحات معقول دون تطويل ممل أو اختصار مخلّ فإنك تبدأ القراءة بشغف ورهبة وحماس، وهو ما حدث معيّ بالفعل.

تدور أحداث الرواية حول "ادموند دانتس" بطل الرواية، الشاب البسيط الذي لا يرغب في أي شيء في الحياة سوى أن يكون بصحبة والده وحبيبته "مرسيدس"، أن ينجح في عمله ويساعد والده ويتزوج حبيبته وأن تستمر حياته في هدوء واستقرار وسلام، وهنا يأتي "الكسندر دوما" بإحدى أشهر كليشيهات الدراما الروائية والتليفزيونية وهي صفعة الحياة التي تهوى قوية على وجه الفتي البسيط وتقلب حياته بأكملها رأسًا على عقب، على الرغم أنني هنا كنت اسأل نفسي هل كانت هذه الحبكة كليشيه مشهور في هذا الزمن أم أنها أصبحت كذلك فيما بعد؟ لن يمنحك "إلكسندر دوما" كثير من الوقت للتفكير لأن ما يحدث بعد ذلك في الرواية هو سيل جارف من الشخصيات والأحداث والمشاعر التي ستنغمس معاها وتتعلق بها، كنت أثنلء القراءة أشعر بالشفقة على أولئك القراء الذي كانوا ينتظرون بقية أحداث ذلك العمل الشيق الذي كان يُنشر على هيئة حلقات متتابعة.

كان القسم الأول من الرواية الذي يشمل فترة سجن "دانتس" وتعرضه للظلم والقهر والوحدة هو أكثر الأجزاء حزنًا، من قرأ "ذكريات من منزل الأموات" للأديب الروسي "دوستويفسكي" يعرف حق المعرفة الرعب والسوء النفسي الذي يشعر به السجين، فكيف يصبح حال ذلك السجين عندما يكون مظلوم لا يعلم سبب سجنه ولا يستطيع الدفاع عن نفسه بأية صورة ممكنة؟ كنت أتخيل نفسي في مكان "دانتس" ولم أجد جملة أصف بها شعوري إذا كنت مكانه حقًا سوى أنه صراخ بلا صوت، ليس صراخ لا يمكن لأحد أن يسمعه بل صراخ لا تتمكن أنت نفسك من سماعه، هل تدرك كم اليأس واللاجدوى المختبئة في ذلك الشعور؟

في بقية أقسام الرواية يبدأ طابعها في الاختلاف، يتحول القهر إلى غضب واليأس إلى رغبة عارمة في الانتقام، وترى كيف يتحول المسكين "إدموند دانتس" الذي تشفق عليه إلى "الكونت دي مونت كريستو" ذو السلطة والمال والنفوذ الذي تشفق على كل من يقابله، تزداد شخصيات الرواية وتتشعب، تتعلق بمصير كل الشخصيات حتى الشريرة منها، تتبعهم عبر الزمن من الشباب إلى الكهولة وتتبع كذلك مصير الجيل الثاني من عائلاتهم، وتتبع الجزء الأكثر متعة في الرواية وهو رؤيتك كيف ينفذ الكونت انتقامه، وربما أكثر ما أثار اعجابي في هذه الرواية هو أنك ترى كيف أن الأشرار يدمرهم الشر الكامن في نفوسهم ومن حولهم دون أن يترك مساحة كبيرة للانتقام كي يلعب لعبته، كان لذلك أيضًا تأثيره في أن يجعل اعجابي وتعاطفي ��ع "ادموند دانتس" يستمر حتى النهاية دون أن ينتقم الانتقام الشرس الذي قد يشوه صورته في عين القارئ.
لشخصية فلانتين ومكسيمليان مكانة خاصة في قلبي، كانت سذاجة فلانتين وطيبتها تذكرني بالشخصيات النسائية في روايات الأدب الروسي لا سيما روايات "دوستويفسكي"، وكانت شخصية مكسيمليان شخصية نبيل من العصور القديمة كما يجب أن تكون.

الترجمة استخدمت لغة مبهرة في البساطة لم تكن لغة متكلفة أو معقدة كما هو معتاد عند ترجمة الكلاسيكيات، لكنها في الوقت نفسه حافظت على الطابع الكلاسيكي العتيق في الرواية، وكان لها الفضل في أنني التهمت الرواية بسرعة ومتعة على الرغم من ضخامتها، هذا بالإضافة إلى تتابع الأحداث والمفاجآت في الرواية الذي لم يمهلني الفرصة للتوقف.

أفضل رواية قرائتها هذا العام حتى الآن، وأفضل انجازاتي في القراءة مؤخرًا :)

What does it say about me as a critic when the best book I’ve read all year was first serialized in the 1840s? From start to finish thoroughly enjoyable, Alexandre Dumas’ 1200 page revenge epic The Count of Monte Cristo wastes little time in not thrusting the plot along, quite violently so at times, and includes within a brief, sketchy history of the return of Napoleon and his subsequent second defeat, a primer on hashish, and a proto-seed for the detective tale that would later blossom under Poe and Doyle.

The story is less well known than that in The Three Musketeers, though the outline is familiar to anyone who’s spent time reading and watching noir fiction and movies. A young sailor, Edmond Dantès, engaged to be married to the beautiful Mercédès, is accused of a crime he has not committed by a man in love with his fiancée. The accuser, Fernand, is assisted in his perfidy by one of Dantès’ shipmates, Danglars, and an envious neighbor, Caderousse, as well as the political calculations of the young royal prosecutor Villefort. Cast into prison for fourteen years, Dantès befriends an Abbé written off by prison officials as crazy who bequeaths to him on his deathbed a hidden fortune. Escaping from prison, Dantès finds the treasure, buys himself the title of Count, and returns to France to put into effect his long-nurtured schemes of revenge.

All of that takes place within the novel’s first 250 pages. The remaining one thousand allows the plot of slow-planned revenge time to stretch its legs, look about, and move forward with the inexorable pacing of Fate. Dantès, now in his persona of the Count (as well as in other various disguises such as the Englishman Lord Wilmore and the Italian Abbé Busoni), plots a revenge that capitalizes on each character’s weakness and vanity.

Sensing the malevolence in Villefort’s young wife, he introduces her to a sleeping draught/poison of his own devising, with which she begins to poison members of the prosecutor’s family in an attempt to secure a sizable inheritance for her son by a previous marriage. Through one scheme after another he reduces the proud banker that Danglars has become to a penniless wreck. A similar betrayal in Fernand’s past is resuscitated in part by the Count and rises up to disgrace him permanently. Caderrouse destroys himself through his own base greed and cunning.

All of this unfolds with delicious grace, and you relish each move the Count makes in his ongoing revenge, but underneath it all, a creeping note begins to sneak into the story. When Dantès himself was sent to prison, it was an action aimed solely at him by the three conspirators, and yet the ripples of this violence stretched outwards, consuming his fiancée Mercédès; crippling the business of his former employer Morrel, who never found a young captain equal to Dantès; and crushing the life out of Dantès’ father, who eventually died of starvation. The Count comes to see, through his friendships with the next generation of all the major players, how his actions cause grief and suffering that extend beyond the targets of his own revenge.

This realization makes up the novel’s closing chapters wherein the Count mulls over the right of vengeance and the notion of redemption and comes to peace with his idea of a godly revenge. Partly this is inspired by an earlier episode when he is required to save the life of Villefort’s daughter as she is in love with (and is loved by) Morrel’s son Maximilian. But also a great deal of this has to do with Dantès’ love for Mercédès, as well as his newfound love for Haydée, a young Greek, daughter of the Ali Pasha, and his (Dantès’) slave.

In fact, these are the twin threads around which the entirety of the story revolves, love and revenge. It is Fernand’s love for Mercédès that leads to his conspiracy against Dantès. It is Dantès love for Mercédès that keeps him alive in prison. It is Maximilian Morrel’s love of Valentine Villefort that saves her life, as much as it is Dantès’ love of Maximilian’s father. Likewise, Madame de Villefort’s love of her son directs her toward her poisoning scheme.

And while it is Dantès’ revenge that brings every character to a reckoning, there is in each of the characters’ pasts delinquent accounts that eventually must be paid, a revenge against them by Fate of which Dantès is only the tool. Caderousse’s backstabbing and betrayals will eventually get the better of him; Villefort’s illegitimate child will also return to play havoc with his name and reputation; Danglars’ cupidity will trap him in a bandit’s layer; and Fernand’s own treachery will lead to his public humiliation.

In this, it is as if Dumas is saying that all wicked men carry within them the seeds of their own destruction, carry it close to their hearts as part and parcel of who they are. Those who live to a ripe old age without a calling to the judge, jury, and executioner of Fate are only blessed in that they never double-crossed a Dantès.

In part based on a true story, Dumas’ novel runs through its 1200 pages with a leonine hunger and rapidity. While he may have been paid by the line, the man was such an elegant craftsman that it is hard in thinking back through the novel to come up with any one part that could be successfully pared away without hurting much of the novel’s concerns and central conceits. To lose many of the complicated subplots would make a hash of not only Dantès’ schemes and plans, but would also fatally weaken Dumas’ central message of justified vengeance versus pure malevolence.

If there is any part of the Count’s character that at times must give the reader pause, it isn’t his heartlessness toward his enemies or his financial profligacy en route to his revenge (he literally tosses around millions of francs), it’s that he lives so strongly for a certain structured effect. The scene of the Morrel family salvation, when Dantès, in his first act since coming to his wealth, rescues his former employer from ruin and suicide, plays itself out up to the very last second. This is no doubt Dumas playing suspense thriller with his readership, but it leaves somewhat of a bad taste. We are given a Count who prefers design to humanity, and while this is all very good for one’s enemies, a bit more heart toward one’s friends would be appreciated.

It’s a minor enough quibble in well over a thousand pages that, let me repeat unequivocally, barely lets up or gives you time to turn your attention elsewhere. But it remains, long after other larger scenes have left my memory, as a kind of capricious cruelty. Perhaps we need to be somewhat frightened of the Count ourselves; perhaps it is a warning, slyly inserted well to the beginning of the revenge scenario. See, before you plot yourselves, the author seems to imply, see what inhumanity revenge can make you capable of. It is a haunting suggestion.