Reviews

Monte-Criston kreivi by Alexandre Dumas

bobonnie's review against another edition

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5.0

Good reading. Love this book.

palmkd's review against another edition

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4.0

Edmond Dantes was about to have all the best things in life. A promotion at work, marriage to his love, a stellar reputation (if you care about such things). And then suddenly he didn't. 
The Count of Monte Cristo is his revenge story he's in it for the long game. 

I really enjoy stories where weird threads end up tying back together in a clever manner and this was no exception.  Usually it's not the story of one guy's life being ruined then his transformation and epic revenge plot, but in this case that was more than enough. It was really intriguing to see all the pieces tie together and how Dante's long game played out in the end.

I listened to the Blackstone Publishing edition narrated by John Lee, 46h 56m.
I also have the ebook version by Dragon Classics, the 2020 edition which I used for highlighting some quotes. They are of course different translations so sometimes it would be said a different way in the audio as compared to the ebook and sometimes the ebook didn't have a few sentences or paragraphs that were in the audio. Overall they aligned aligned very closely, but a couple chapter breaks were done differently between the ebook and audiobook, yet both ended on chapter 117 , the Fifth of October.

melissalac's review against another edition

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5.0

One of my favorite books of all time. I have read this twice... its one of those books that you get totally immersed in.

_bydbach_'s review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? It's complicated
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

eecnav's review against another edition

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finally bruh, damn that was fucking long and for what

k8degr8's review against another edition

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5.0

Translation by Buss was terrific ! Highly recommend to all to read this unabridged version... Gripping, fun, suspenseful...a totally non-stuffy classic. Treat yourself.

tylermcgaughey's review against another edition

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2.0

I was expecting this to be a lot more of a typical 19th century adventure novel, along the lines of Dumas' 'The Three Musketeers.' I hesitate to use the word "swashbuckling" mostly because that's such a stupid word. The first 150 pages are a first-class of that genre; with the protagonist's false arrest, incarceration and subsequent escape into the sea. This section is far too short, to be honest. After that, the books spends 500 pages detailing how the newly self-appointed Count uses his considerable wealth to seek his revenge, which is through financial and social ruin, not quite the passionate sword duels I was expecting. And while the ending does bring about some good, though far from original, points about how unsatisfying and morally hurtful vengeance ultimately was for the Count, the novel as a whole is almost completely free of any subtlety, using a more blunt, obvious touch. Most of the supporting characters are so one-dimensional and underdeveloped that I was confused in several spots and had to go back and refresh my memory as to who they were. Again, this is why a longer beginning section, before the main character escapes prison, would have helped the book. At the very least, the reader would certainly have been able to relate more with the Count later on.

mayog's review against another edition

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4.0

Dumas, here, writes an extraordinary meditation on injustice, vengeance and grace creating as he does some memorable villains, and a protagonist struggling between the poles of justice and mercy. Written as a serial for a paper it, at times, suffers from too much by way of description and could have used an editor. However, the plot and characters more than atone for this, especially the central struggle over what justice looks like kfor a man who has been truly, deeply wronged.

briangodsey's review against another edition

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5.0

I love the movie (the one starring Jesus/Jim Caviezel) and I went in with high expectations for the story, but low expectations for the writing. I had these expectations because action and thrillers lend themselves better to the silver screen than they do paper, and also because the foreword of the edition that I read claims that Dumas' writing is not the best. I was positively surprised all around.

First of all, the plot is different enough from the movie to make it almost seem like a different story, although Edmond and Mercedes always looked like their corresponding movie roles, among other characters. And, the story is interesting from beginning to end. I had expected a much more long-winded explanation of everything, but I never got bored. Perhaps because I was reading the abridged version. I hope to read the full, two-volume version at some point.

Even the writing, though, was clear and to the point. I liked Dumas' manner of description; it's very direct, even blunt, but effective.

katiedawes's review against another edition

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4.0

a behemoth of a novel - not for the faint of heart. this took me almost three months to get through (did it to myself by picking the unabridged version). never have I ever read a book so detailed and involved. truly a tale of revenge, hope and the human condition.

the beginning and end were perfection but the middle was a DOOZY at times. if you can power through the middle, the final few chapters are so worth it!