Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

35 reviews

cinderblox_'s review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

This book was amazing and had me on the edge of my seat multiple times. Yeah its long, took me about 2 weeks to read, BUT i didnt want to put it down. This translation by Robin Buss made it so easy and understandble to read. Im sad its over. I would absolutely read it again. All 1200+ pages!

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Classism

the only thing i dont really like is who the count ends up with cause of who she is, the age, etc. Wish he got his happy ending with his original love interest

coolfoolmoon's review against another edition

adventurous challenging informative slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

the grandfather of sassy men. what a messy book. love it. didn’t love a lot of elements. justice for ali! the sheer amount of adult minor relationships were disgusting, book could've been much much much shorter but it also wasnt intended to be read in 8 days. but i do love seeing the origins of infamous tropes. that was cool.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Police brutality, Grief, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Slavery, Antisemitism, Trafficking, Death of parent, and Alcohol

Minor: Self harm, Lesbophobia, and Colonisation

thepurplegiraffe's review against another edition

5.0

my toxic trait is that I looked at this 1,060 page book and said "hmm... at 100 pages a day that's only 10 days." Then I thought, "Abby, that's ridiculous." Then I proceeded not to be able to drag my eyes away from the page for a week straight. So. That happened.

This is one of those books that I've heard of forever, with most people (myself included) too intimidated by the sheer size of the thing to actually attempt it, and those who have gone on the adventure insisting it's worth it. Happily, I now find myself in the latter group. Most of my knowledge of it came from Wishbone, a couple of mentions of it in other books, and that weird cameo The Count made in Once Upon a Time season 6 (in retrospect now the cameo is even weirder than it was before I really knew who he was... why did they do that... *sigh*) All that to say that after rocketing through the first 150 pages and reaching the end of everything I already knew happened, I simply had to know how there were NINE HUNDRED MORE PAGES and what they could possibly contain. (also I'm seeing people saying it should've been shorter and no. incorrect. I disagree most heartily. you gotta let edmond cook, okay.)

This novel originally being published serially explains so much, honestly. He had to keep the people coming back for more, and oh how I wish I could've been a fly on the wall as people discussed this in the 1840s, because it's INSANE. In the best way possible, but insane nonetheless. Dantès really needed to see a therapist, but who needs therapy when there's revenge, am I right?

He's a genius, though, tbh. I'm incredibly impressed. He doesn't even have to enact his own revenge, he just has to move a lil dirt and let the buried secrets reveal themselves. What an icon.

That's the thing that kept me hooked, I think. I like Dantès. I want good things for him. And I had to keep going, just on the hope that he'd get something of a happy ending. And, you know, the bandits and pirates and prison escapes and buried treasure and murder and all the DRAMA by golly I couldn't look away! (it's also SO funny? which was such a pleasant surprise, I laughed a LOT) The first part is more action/adventure, and then it switches to an almost Jane Austen-esque societal drama, and I ate 👏 it 👏 up 👏 Every character is important, every character has a part to play, and it's a safe bet to assume every character is actually Dantès in disguise until proven otherwise.

The moral of the story: Don't do bad things. Be nice to people. No matter how deep you bury misdeeds, they will come back to bite you in the butt. Oh, and you can do anything if you have about a gazillion dollars and a costume closet. The world is your oyster.

And also, "wait and hope." That's arguably the most important thing you're supposed to take away. (Idk I think adding "find buried treasure" to my life plan is also a theme, but. Maybe that's just me.)

Overall I don't think I'll ever come down from the high of being able to say I've read this, full and unabridged. Huzzah for me. 😂 It's a masterpiece, plain and simple. If I'm honest, I feel pretty confident I'm going to read it again someday. And that I've already found my top book of 2025 because I haven't been able to stop thinking about it in the 48 hours since I finished it, and I doubt it's going to leave my head anytime soon.

The size is more intimidating than it should be, okay? At least give it 150 pages and see how you like it. Or don't. It's your life. Unlike Dantès, I cannot actually move enough money around to alter your subconscious. You're welcome.

Five stars. WHEW was that a ride.


**content warnings for revenge (duh) (if that's something you don't like in books, that's like... 90% of this book so... keep that in mind), suicide (some just considered, some carried out), violence (both threatened and carried out), murder, drug use, some off-page sexual assault-ish stuff and some off-page adultery, and some mild profanity 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Drug use, Miscarriage, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism

Minor: Cursing, Infidelity, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Alcohol

madamenovelist's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective relaxing sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Antisemitism, and Alcohol

rosenthorne's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Slavery, Suicide, Medical trauma, Murder, and Abandonment

amandabarry95's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Forced institutionalization, and Grief

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Infidelity, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, and Murder

Minor: Ableism, Chronic illness, Drug use, Medical content, Lesbophobia, and Classism

dwarrowdams's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

A delight. Very glad I opted to read the unabridged version because while it's absolutely massive, it's an enjoyable read.  There were a couple bits that did get confusing, especially about a third of the way in, but things all come together quickly enough.  There is so much to this book, and even as the plot sweeps you along, no emotional depth is lost in the process.  It's really a lovely book, and while I was intimidated by the page count for a long time, I'm glad I decided to pick it up.

I think what struck me most about this book is the fact that, after Dantes has spent years planning out his revenge on those responsible for his imprisonment, he modifies or abandons those plans for the sake of people he's come to care about.  He did so much work to bring about the ruin of de Morcerf and was planning to kill his son, but changed courses when Mercedes came to him and begged him not to kill Albert.  The same for Villefort, but he made sure that Valentine lived because he'd come to see Maximilien Morrel as a son.  So yes, it's a story about revenge and how humans may be motivated to carry out justice when God/the gods fail to do so, but it's also a story about how even someone so filled with bitterness and hurt, someone who suffered due to the jealousy and fear of others, can change his course when he's reminded of the love and care that people have for each other.

That being said, seeing the revenge unfold was also super fun, and my jaw definitely dropped at a few points once I started to see how Dantes had manipulated situations (teaching Madame de Villefort about poisons, financially ruining Danglars).  It's very much a "come for the revenge/vigilante justice, stay for something that'll restore your hope in humanity" book.

As a final selling point, I have ADHD and although it took me a bit, I was not only able to finish this 1200-page book, but I legitimately enjoyed reading it.  That's a testimony to how skilled of a writer Dumas is (which makes sense: since this was originally serialized in a newspaper, he'd have to maintain an engaging plot to keep people reading).

Highly recommend the Penguin edition specifically because the translation is very solid and the end notes are helpful.  Also recommend some kind of book stand/page holder tool because holding that thing open when I was at the beginning or end legitimately hurt my hand.

A final fun fact: Dumas was biracial (his paternal grandfather was Black), so if you want to read "classic lit" that wasn't written by a white man, this fits the bill.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Violence, Medical content, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Minor: Drug use, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, and Death of parent

puttingwingsonwords's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, and Grief

Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Colonisation

Minor: Infidelity and Alcohol

jo_lzr's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

Despite being very slow at times, it's amazing how a book this long manages to be so interesting! There are many quotes that I loved and the writing was so profound. 

Also, I can't express how happy I am that not only there was a lesbian couple but that they also got a happy ending! It was a very pleasant surprise! 
I can't give this book 5 stars because I think that Mércédés deserved better! Even though I ship her with Edmond, I get why they can't be together. I just wish that she would have gotten a better ending. Plus, Haydée and Monte Cristo's relationship was very weird. For example, that part near the end, where her love for him is described as the love for a father AND a husband (and a brother). That was weird. Though, it could also be that Haydée has daddy issues.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Drug use, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Lesbophobia

gudrqa's review against another edition

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

The beginning was great and I couldn’t stop comparing it to les mis but later

after the prison escape

it became very long and boring. I kept on listening since the book had good reviews and I had to listen to something when doing my needlework but when it got better it was only for brief moments.
I think it would work better as a series or books (like a revenge a book) rather than this big mess. 
If you like more justice oriented books then les mis would be a better option and if you like personal politics then Jane Austen is much better. 
I personally don’t like when a character is all powerful and the whole second part of the book is just that. I really hoped it would explore the repercussions and psychology of vengence.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Racial slurs, Terminal illness, and Lesbophobia

Moderate: Drug use, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide attempt, and Colonisation