Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Der Graf von Monte Christo by Alexandre Dumas

6 reviews

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

wickedgrumpy's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Another book I wept while reading.  Towards the end, there were times I got chills as the long term plotting and manipulations came to fruition.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Acephobia/Arophobia, Murder, Lesbophobia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, Dysphoria, War, and Classism

acashton's review against another edition

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Infidelity, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Trafficking, Grief, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, Colonisation, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Minor: Incest

booksthatburn's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Blood, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Ableism, Animal death, Child death, Drug use, Gun violence, Misogyny, Suicide, Terminal illness, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Rape and Antisemitism

pluvioviophile's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, and Medical content

Minor: Child death, Suicide attempt, and War

sherbertwells's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful 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

2.0

“‘Do you, then, believe in God” said Caderousse.
‘Had I been so unhappy as not to believe in him until now,’ said the abbé, ‘I must believe on seeing you’” (811)

Hot Take: this book is an inversion of Les Miserables.

Both Hugo’s classic and The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas, published in 1862 and 1844 respectively, follow unjustly-imprisoned men who, with the assistance of kindly clergymen, reinvent themselves, adopt abused young women and strive to do good according to their specific moral codes in the cutthroat society of post-Napoleonic France. But while Jean Valjean’s escape from hell transforms him into a benevolent angel, Edmond Dantès is not always so merciful.

And the main character is just the beginning. The Count of Monte Cristo’s tone mirrors the mindset of its protagonist: initially cheerful and adventurous before descending into the cynical world of upper-class intrigue and revenge. Unlike Hugo, Dumas’ narrative voice is cool and objective, and lets its characters speak for themselves.

But the characters are my problem with the story. With the exception of Dantès/Monte Cristo himself, the novel’s cast of young lovers, foolish patriarchs and noble adulterers seems more suited to a pantomime than a revenge tragedy. They just aren’t that deep! They aren’t good people, but more importantly, they aren’t even that interesting. They don’t demonstrate the breadth of the human soul; they just gossip! The whole plot of The Count of Monte Cristo is founded on these characters’ gossip: they gossip about marriage, compare finances and the mysterious aristocrat making waves in their nouveau riche milieu.

“Out of the 5,000,000 or 6,000,000 francs which form your real capital, you have just lost nearly 2,000,000 francs, which must, of course, in the same degree, diminish your credit and fictitious fortune; to follow out my simile, your skin has been opened by bleeding, which, repeated three or for times, will cause death—so pay attention to it, M. Danglars. Do you want money? Do you wish me to lend you some?” (636)

In fact, the society of post-Napoleonic France is much more interesting than the characters that inhabit it. Dantès’ enemies owe their fortunes at least in part to the fruits of slavery. For Alexandre Dumas, whose grandmother was enslaved in Saint-Domingue, they are despicable as individuals as well as participants in an exploitative system. But despite his monstrous wealth—or perhaps because of it—Dantès cannot destroy that system. Perhaps it’s hard for me to take an interest in the book because, despite having 1000-odd pages to fill, Dumas is interested only in its most anxious and despicable agents.

In short: reading The Count of Monte Cristo has made me realize how much I appreciate Les Miserables.

Of course there are people who will prefer the personal drama with all its poisons and inheritances. Through trial and error, I have learned that I do not particularly care for this lens, but the centuries of popularity Dumas has enjoyed indicates that I am an outlier in that regard. The Count of Monte Cristo is perfect for people who like their classics long and stabby. And for me, it’s an unexpectedly useful diagnostic for discovering my taste in literature.

You live, you learn.

“God may seem sometimes to forget for a time, while His justice reposes, but there always comes a moment when He remembers” (222) 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Death, Suicide, and Alcohol

Minor: Medical content and War