Reviews with content warning for Death of parent - The Count of Monte Cristo

Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

58 reviews

hazelsbookcase's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense slow-paced

Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

5.0

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coolfoolmoon's review against another edition

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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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thepurplegiraffe's review against another edition

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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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darthender3's review against another edition

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adventurous mysterious medium-paced

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

4.25

Loved the plot. Sometimes it fun to see a mary sue just do their thing. Only complaints are the sketchy romantic relationships, though that is probably more to do with the time period of the author.

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rossml's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

This is THE revenge novel. It fully embraces dramatic storytelling and I'm here for it. The poetic justice makes it a satisfying read, even if it is a bit drawn-out.

While it delves into some deeper themes about morality, redemption, punishment, and honor, at its heart the story is a big power fantasy, and boy was it cathartic to see those evil people punished via the most convoluted revenge plot, each person punished in their own specific yet appropriate way.

And what an emotional read! I totally fell in love with the main character over the course of this.

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madamenovelist's review against another edition

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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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hello_lovely13's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional slow-paced

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

3.0

For the first section of the book (through Edmond's escape and treasure), I really liked the pacing and writing. However, after that point the structure of storytelling changed into introducing a brand new character, focusing on them for a few chapters, and only later finding out their relevance, which I didn't like. Also, the side plot with Valentine and Maximillion felt like a completely separate book, so it made the pacing worse because it was such a departure from the revenge main storyline. I was also a bit disappointed and let down by Danglars because at the beginning he seemed so intelligent and clever that I thought he would pose as more of an obstacle, but he ended up basically being the Count of Monte Cristo's bitch. I HATE that Edmond ended up with

Haydee; it is so creepy (she's his slave, described like a daughter to him, etc.)

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