Reviews tagging 'Slavery'

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

70 reviews

olorin85's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective 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

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racism, Sexism, Slavery, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Dementia, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and War

Minor: Child death, Colonisation, and Classism

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.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Death, Racism, Slavery, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Pregnancy

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

petealis's review against another edition

adventurous dark hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide

Minor: Racism and Slavery

samanthaleereads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Mental illness, Suicide, and Grief

Minor: Slavery

krabschass's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Child death and Rape

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

kerrence30's review against another edition

adventurous emotional inspiring lighthearted mysterious medium-paced

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

5.0

Remains to be one of my favourite books. You will not find another epic like this. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Death, Grief, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Child death, Misogyny, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Abandonment, and Classism

Minor: Racial slurs