Reviews with content warning for Slavery - The Count of Monte Cristo

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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gudrqa's review

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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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kerrence30's review against another edition

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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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shayna_hadassah's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious medium-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? It's complicated

4.5

I understand why this is considered a masterpiece. I love that as I was reading I was like, "This can't possibly be relevant." And then I was wrong.

It was incredibly long, and intricate, and little things kept happening. It was like I could feel the book asking, "Are you paying attention? This is important."

Incredibly satisfying ending. Everything fell into place at exactly the right time. Devastating. Remarkable.

Dinged half a point for also being incredibly dense and kinda weird about Haydée, whether that's my modern bias or not.

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jayisreading's review against another edition

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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.

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nolemdaer's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional mysterious 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

4.25

I have to come to this review with shame, because this was supposed to be my Summer of Monte Cristo where I read three chapters a day and ended up being my Month of Monte Cristo where I got too sucked in, stopped pacing myself, and finished the back half of the book in about two days. But it just goes to show how fun this is to read! The introduction goes into how Monte Cristo is often considered just an "entertainment" book rather than high literature, and while I must admit that the themes of revenge and the character arcs are not meticulously plotted nor particularly more artful than a well-done action movie, that doesn't make it any less worthy of a good read. I was completely in love with the story until about a fourth of the way through, where Edmond Dantès transforms into the cold, cruel Count of Monte Cristo, where we lagged a bit and the story became darker (I definitely could have done without that tragic bandit story or all the slavery). The Rome chapters are a drag all around, but once we returned to Paris, the drama and conniving were addictive to read and the revenge - if not sweet - compelling to watch. There's a lot of energy to the writing, so I have to give Buss props for the translation.

I consumed way too much of this book at once and there's just so much in it, so I'm not even sure what else to say. This is entertainment in its purest form. Long live the Morrels.

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