Holy shit! This book is insane. I’m half way through it, and I can’t even express how I feel about this book. Masterpiece? Doesn’t give it justice. I’ve never done this in my life over a book (and I’ve read well over 500 books for the last 30 years), I got emotional during some parts of this book. I have ADHD and it’s very hard for me to focus when reading, unless it’s an extremely good book like this I guess. This probably sounds silly to some. The reason why I’m only just finding out about this book is because I’m new to the West. An immigrant if you will, and never heard of this book until a couple of weeks ago. If you haven’t read this book; I highly recommend it. Alexandre Dumas is a genius.
The Count of Monte Cristo will always hold a special place in my heart because I read it as a kid and it was the first real “grown up book” I ever read, and it absolutely hooked me. I was reading it under the covers with a flashlight when I was supposed to be asleep. It has the vivid, detailed descriptions you find in the classics, but without slowing down the pace. There’s a bunch of different threads and subplots to follow, and I generally feel like most adaptations don’t do it justice, because it takes more than a movie or miniseries to tell the story - the one exception being Gankatsuo (as mentioned here already) which changes the setting but follows the story pretty faithfully, giving it a full season and starting midway through.
On top of the action, adventure, and schemes, it also has social commentary, philosophy, and interesting characters. The count occupies this unique position in the upper class in that he’s not old money and not tied to the aristocracy, but not exactly new money either, in that he’s not a merchant or capitalist. He’s just this free agent with his own agenda and values, and nobody knows what to make of him.
It’s fun, it’s very thought-provoking, and the imagery is striking. Big fan.
It’s a bit of a leap, but I think there’s some similarities with another one of my favorites, Crime and Punishment. In fact, looking back at what I wrote, “On top of the action, adventure, and schemes, it also has social commentary, philosophy, and interesting characters” is exactly on point for it too. It feels more modern that the era it was written, I’ve seen it described as a thriller and I think that fits.
This is one of those books that seems cliche until you realize that it’s the origin of the tropes.
I got halfway through your post and ordered the book. Here’s hoping it lives up to its reputation. I think it will.
Make sure you’re reading the unabridged version. I’ve heard there’s subpar versions out there.
Lol. Oh no, I hope you’ll love it and don’t feel like you wasted your money. Like another commenter said, write down new names you meet and what they do so you don’t get confused later on in the story. The book is 3380 pages on my E-reader. So, be ready for a long read.
3380 pages
Holy shit.
On my E-reader. It could be less on a real a book. Also, it’s a very good book, so you’ll not feel the time. The book is divided into 117 chapters, that way you can put it down after finishing a chapter or two. Not that bad, trust me.
The longest book I’ve read was around 900 pages. I had to pause for a few months at 600. But this was a in-depth analysis of WWII, so that also was a factor.
Lol. I’ve read an encyclopedia of 8000 pages. It was 4 books and each one had 2000+ pages. Last year I read a series of sociology books that were 7 books, they were between 450 to 700 pages. I also have a very old encyclopedia (from the 14th century) that is 16000+ pages that I want to read sometime next year.
Your library definitely has it. Hell, its so old it might be on project gutenberg
Yay thanks!
Yeah, if you’re ever looking for a book and see online listings with tons of different looking books and a wide range of prices, there’s a good chance it’s in the public domain and available free somewhere.
For anyone looking to read in English I highly recommend the Robin Buss translation. It has endnotes throughout the book explaining various references that would not be obvious to modern readers, such as references to real people that don’t get named to avoid libel issues but would’ve obvious to readers in the 19th century, or how certain artists reveal that someone has good taste or bad taste.
Don’t be intimidated by the size; it quickly becomes a page-turner. It was originally published serialized in newspapers, like a modern TV show, one chapter each day. Most chapters end on a cliffhanger so people would buy the next day’s paper, making the book hard to put down.
Thank you so much for the recommendation.
I second this thank you!
Is that the unabridged, longer version? I has read the shorter version a few years ago and got the Unabridged about a year ago with three intent to tackle it. The name Robin seems familiar
Yes, it’s unabridged
I found my copy (which was staring me on the face) and I have three Robin Buss one
Thanks for the recommendation, I just snagged a copy.
Thanks for this post! I read The Three Musketeers ages ago while in middle school (pre-teenage). I’m sure I didn’t get get much more out of it than sword fights and adventure at the time. I’d always meant to go back and read more Dumas. This post (and the comments about Dracula, another book I read first in middle school and enjoyed even more when I read it again last year for Halloween) has encouraged me to add to the top spot in my “to read” list.
Glad I could inspire someone at least. Lol Books are very good, especially in this day and age where technology is prevalent and very hard to avoid. Reading has been such a peaceful space for me, and the internet is a very chaotic place.
Spoilers below so don’t read if you haven’t read a book published 180 years ago
It is the greatest story of vengeance ever written.
Not revenge, vengeance.
The book is bat shit wild. There are parts where you will remember after you finished and think ‘was that a fever dream?’
There was a cross dressing lesbian couple or did I imagine that?
Did he really just burn down the whole house?
How did he survive the poisoning?
Who is that bandit again?
What was buried in the yard?
So many tangential story lines that culminate in an amazing climax.
So many moments that are little vignettes which explain pivotal moments in the characters.
The crazy Abbes relief when Dantes believes him.
The live fish being delivered in barrels
The fact no one escapes the Counts wrath.
Wait and Hope Baby. Wait and hope.
I love this book! it’s long but dense, it’s trashy but it’s also high art, it’s tragic but it’s also inspirational. I’m glad Dumas was paid by the word, because it means he wrote as much. You should check out the musketeers books if you haven’t already, I think Count is a stronger book but they’re all written in the same engrossing style.
Thank you. I’m eying the three musketeers next
Having read both, I recommend the three musketeers, but don’t expect it to be quite as good as the count of Monte Christo
I already have it on my Kobo, it might be next, you never know. I try to read fiction then nonfiction then fiction and so on. I might make an exception this time.
Just the first book or the series? All “3” are fairly long between them
I have one book that is 1100 pages
Book three is so massive it’s usually split up into between 3-5 volumes, in total it has 268 chapters
You are saying the three musketeers is 3 books?
I was considering picking this one up. Good to know it lives up.
You’ll love it
I was going to read it in French. I wonder if I’m missing out by doing that (it’s a great movie, and I’m only semi fluent in French).
At worst, it’s going to be excellent practice
I’m reading it in Arabic, as the English version has a ton of words I don’t know and I got tired of translating. I wish I were fluent in French, it’s always best to read a book in its original language IMHO.
I read that last year and it was fantastic. Top 5 for sure, I think my all time #2. It was like game of thrones, where you’ve got all these people showing up, and this spiderweb of seemingly unrelated stories gets told. But unlike game of thrones, it actually threads back together from chaos into a satisfying, well wrapped up conclusion. It is a masterpiece.
Honestly, half way through? That would be considered “the boring part”. It only gets better from there. You’re in for a wild ride. Enjoy!
Oh yeah, I was just looking at that. Thank you
With magnificient art style and music!
It is a masterpiece. If you like the genre, I’d like to recommend Der Schwedische Reiter (The Swedish Cavalier in english). It is the very definition of adventure, mystique, vengeance, and love. The beauty of it made me very emotional. I should re-read it…!
I’ll be checking that one out. Thank you so much
cannot agree more, i love this book and am so glad to see a post about it.
talk about an epic tale
I’m just now realizing that some writers
andare literal geniuses, like this man. He has to know several parts of science to be able to write a book like this. The philosophy part is killing me. It hits hard all the time and I keep reading those pieces over and over. The chemistry part, the medicine part and many other genius things have been said in this bookGreat point, the different disciplines coming together to create such a cohesive and complicated story is so satisfying.
It’s actually been a few years since I read it, I would not turn down a reread at all.
I remember being riveted and pretty much doing nothing else while I read that book.
I do enjoy seeing the ‘oh, this is why’ feeling in people. I got much the same reading Dracula, and I recommend it if you have yet to have the pleasure. You might think you know it, but trust me, give it a go.
Ah that one has been on my list for a while. I need a new book - maybe I’ll finally see what the fuss is about Dracula.
Btw same thing for Frankenstein imo. Ya we all know the story, but man the book delivered so much more than what I thought I was in for.
Frankenstein is sooooooooo good.
It’s been a long time since I read Dracula but I remember really struggling with the start. Nearly quit a few times and it was slow going. At some point it flipped and I think I pretty much finished the book in one sitting. Anyway, it is great and was worth the rough start I had with it.
That’s how Fellowship of the Rings was for me. It took 4 or 5 times starting it before it finally clicked and then I absolutely loved it.
Kind of ajacent but if you havent watched V for Vendetta there is a pretty good scene talking about The Count of Monte Cristo.
I would recommend finishing the book first because i dont know if there are any spoilers.
Bonus points if you watch it on Fifth of November
I’ve always wanted to watch this movie, but never got around to it for some reason. I’m going to watch it soon
