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isabelle8794's review against another edition
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
It was extremely slow and unnecessary for about 60% of the book, but the remaining 40% was good. The plot was surprisingly complex.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Child death, Death, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy
kubs's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
The first half of the imprisonment is so strong. What happened to the rest? It falls off and becomes a slog.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Murder
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.
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.
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
mionnechan's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Death, Violence, and Murder
clovetra's review against another edition
i need to be real..... im not having fun.
i started reading this as a reading challenge in bookishreality's discord server & i was like "oh maybe after i pass 50% ill be having fun!"
nope.
i have no motivation or care to pick this back up again now that I've passed the halfway mark. i dont care about the count. i don't care. this book drags on so fucking much. did dumas get paid per page or some shit because seriously this book doesn't need to be almost 2k pages long. half of the time dumas is just describing the colour of a fucking brick that a house is built with or something.
some chapters are fun, but honestly they're too few & far between for me to care about them.
also i wanted to finish this because this is literally the one book my grandma has finished in her entire life. i wanted to bond with her about it. she enjoyed it. but i mean she also was born in post WWII serbia in a tiny village. welp, sorry grandma. this book was ass. i get if you had literally nothing else to do but..... its a no from me im afraid
i started reading this as a reading challenge in bookishreality's discord server & i was like "oh maybe after i pass 50% ill be having fun!"
nope.
i have no motivation or care to pick this back up again now that I've passed the halfway mark. i dont care about the count. i don't care. this book drags on so fucking much. did dumas get paid per page or some shit because seriously this book doesn't need to be almost 2k pages long. half of the time dumas is just describing the colour of a fucking brick that a house is built with or something.
some chapters are fun, but honestly they're too few & far between for me to care about them.
also i wanted to finish this because this is literally the one book my grandma has finished in her entire life. i wanted to bond with her about it. she enjoyed it. but i mean she also was born in post WWII serbia in a tiny village. welp, sorry grandma. this book was ass. i get if you had literally nothing else to do but..... its a no from me im afraid
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Murder, and War
Moderate: Death
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
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.
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.
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
jayisreading's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
slow-paced
4.0
It took me a little under a year to finish reading The Count of Monte Cristo, which I think is somewhat understandable, given that it’s a pretty damn long novel. It was fascinating to see Dumas’s mind at work as he spun together a complex plot that had themes ranging from vengeance to forgiveness. I know there were a fair number of details that flew over my head, and this is absolutely one of those novels which, if you’re familiar with the historical events of when this novel took place, the reading experience will be significantly richer. Unfortunately for me, this was just outside of the period I’m more familiar with, so I greatly appreciated the footnotes that were in my translated edition.
The Count of Monte Cristo was a challenging novel for me to read, in part because it was long, but mostly because there were so many moving parts, so much that I seriously considered taking notes to remind myself who certain characters were, their motives, etc. The pacing did slow a fair bit towards the middle, with Dumas taking up hundreds of pages to lay the intricate groundwork for Edmond Dantès to exact his revenge on the three men who ruined his life. I admit that there were numerous occasions when I wondered why I needed to know a particular detail—and to be frank, I think there were a lot of details that weren’t necessary but were included anyway because Dumas was likely paid by the word—but patience paid off when I reached the ending and saw how everything unfolded.
I can see why some people may not enjoy how consumed Dantès was in seeking vengeance (especially when he was introduced as a just and good-natured man), but I quite liked how Dumas contemplated the nuances of revenge through his protagonist’s merits and flaws (but I also like a good Byronic hero, so there’s that).
Would I ever revisit this novel? Honestly, I don’t know if I would, mainly because it’s so long, but I’m glad to have finally gotten around to reading a sprawling and highly regarded classic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Moderate: Racism, Slavery, Suicide, and Murder
brodi727's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
emotional
mysterious
reflective
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
This book Oh my God many times I forgot I was in the real world I was so invested and I didn't even realize I had read 200 pages in one sitting
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child death, Drug use, Misogyny, Sexism, Slavery, Kidnapping, Toxic friendship, and Alcohol
Minor: Incest, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Pregnancy
random19379's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
mysterious
reflective
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Child death, Confinement, Death, Incest, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Suicide, Violence, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, War, and Classism