The Count of Monte Cristo (Penguin Clothbound Classics)

Who wouldn't want to be The Count of Monte Cristo? A god-like creature, master of disguise, wealth beyond the dreams of avarice, extremely handsome, expert marksman, expert swordsman, philosopher, apothecary, highly moral, (carrying out God's work of vengeance, not his own) unimpeachable manners, speaks many languages, can quote both Roman and Greek mythology and philosophers from Cicero to Plato, in fact is an expert on every subject under the sun, never lies and is never wrong. (p.1027) A perfect human being who loves young girls in a fatherly way, kisses his slave on her forehead, acted as guardian angel to 17 year old Valentine and go-between for her and her fiancé. I would not want to see the film of this book, no earthly creature could match up to the mysterious, romantic, mythical figure of The Count of Monte Cristo. Imagination is far far better. This wonderful man takes on all the various shapes and forms of his different disguises, he is so clever it takes your breath away. Oh, if only we could get away with that! Oh, if only we had half his skill to get back at our enemies the way he did. It makes one's mouth water to think of it. Delicious! Men are turned on by this book because it is full of adventure, the ultimate "Boy's Own" story. Women are turned on by it not only because it is thrilling but because it speaks to the fairy tale longing, (Cinderella) of finding the perfect man..... He doesn't exist girls and boys, sad to say, it is just a fantasy. In the beginning, even though far fetched, (the escape from jail, the treasure) one goes along for the ride, but towards the end of the book Dumas gets a bit carried away. The fantasy good as it is becomes a bit hard to sustain, the magic cure-all drops, the murderous step-mother nobody suspects, the crippled grandfather blinking in Morse code, and then of course the almost Shakespearean ending of the star crossed lovers. All stretching the imagination to the limit, but loving it being stretched, and rejoicing in the thrilling ride. I enjoyed the book enormously and found it almost impossible to put down for all the same reasons everyone else did. It is so well written and the pace never stops. I particularly enjoyed the scene described when Albert and Franz came to watch the carnival with Monte Cristo and Franz asked The Count if he could obtain a window overlooking the Piazza del Popolo where there were to be two executions at the start of the festivities. The coolness with which Monte Cristo explains that the program has been changed, in a "tone of voice" Dumas says, "as though he were reading the personal column." (p.383). "Hum! The first will be mazzolato, the second decapitato. Yes, this is what was originally intended, but I think that since yesterday there has been a change in the order and conduct of the ceremony. .......they were speaking of some kind of stay of execution to one of the two men...... That means you will be denied a guillotining but you still have the mazzolata, which is a very curious form of torture when you see it for the first time - or even the second; while the other, which in any case you know, is too simple, too unvaried. There is nothing unexpected in it. ..... Ah come now, don't talk to me about Europeans where torture is concerned. They understand nothing about it. With them, cruelty is in its infancy - or perhaps its old age." You can imagine this man with a sword in his hand, never flinching, nerves of steel! Read it to escape, it's a ticket to a magic carpet ride. Be a little like Monsieur le Comte himself when he said "....chaque fois que je souhait je peux me séparer du reste du monde" " ....whenever I wish I can separate myself from the rest of the world." (p.314). Worth every one of its five stars. Another favorite book of mine which will certainly be read at least two or three times more whenever I feel like floating away...

Friends, do any of you share in my aversion for book reviews that go: “I received the book on time and it arrived in good condition”? How does that help us? Is it not the quality of the writing, the beauty of the prose, the context, the enjoyment of the story, itself, that we truly care about? I must begin my review of The Count of Monte Cristo with the confession of an infraction of my own. You see, I made a vow to myself never to write a review without first completing the entirety of a book. From cover to cover. However, in this particular case, I simply couldn’t wait. I am on page 339 of this 1243 page book. I am writing because I am enjoying it so much. I find myself reading a few pages, every single day! This being a classic, I had heard the title many times throughout my life. Yet, to be perfectly honest, I was under the impression that it was going to be a story somewhere along the lines of a Dracula novel. Perhaps my mental association was due to the word “Count” in both titles. As in “Count Dracula.” And that was why I wasn’t particularly drawn to it. That is, until I saw a You-Tuber praise The Count of Monte Cristo as the best book that he has ever read. “I just love this story,” he kept saying over and over again, with true and genuine emotion. I, too, am loving this story. And I now believe in the Power of Beautiful writing. The story is so easily digestible. The writing, so clear, so precise, so simple, that my brain easily captures everything. Every description, every emotion, every experience. I find myself pulled right into the story. I am at the part of the story where everything is finally turning around. Where the bright sun is finally breaking through the dark and thick clouds. There was so much suffering at the beginning, that I found it a bit depressing to reengage in my reading. But I couldn’t stop. I wanted, very badly, to know what was going to happen next. I found myself caring for the good hearted and honest people. The bright and pure souls. I prayed for their freedom from bondage, due to the dark circumstances that unfolded around them. I found myself praying for justice. The writing was so amazing, that I had completely forgotten that this was only a novel. I was reminded of the day when my 16 year old brother was killed by a man who had been a close friend of the family. The man claimed that it had been an accident. My little brother’s personality reminded me of Dante’s. My brother was turning into a fine young man. Young, vibrant, good looking, honest, humble, kind. Although I don’t ever remember hating the man who had taken his life, I did wonder what would become of him. Because he had taken an innocent life. I knew that that burden would always torture his conscience. And not more than two years passed, when one day, while sitting on my living room couch, I was watching the news when suddenly, on the right side of the news anchor’s shoulder, I saw the picture of the same man who had taken my little brother’s life. I quickly called out to my parents who were in the kitchen. They came running in time to see the man’s picture. The new’s anchor said that the man had shot his girlfriend on the head, then turned the gun towards himself and ended his life. “A double homicide,” the news anchor said. Life has its own way of correcting itself. No deed goes unpunished. Nature always seeks balance. I later read an article in the Los Angeles Times about this “double homicide.” Apparently, the man’s girlfriend had made her decision to leave him. He couldn’t accept it. He had become too attached to her. He couldn’t see his life continuing without her. So, he shot her and then ended his own life. The interesting thing is that he never spent a day in jail, in connection to my little brother’s death. Because he had no prior criminal history, the District Attorney had gone easy on him. But it seems that he could not escape the torture of his inner demons. The Count of Monte Cristo expresses a similar pattern. When others act in ways that affect us, and even change the course of our lives, there are always counter-currents created. It is as if we throw boomerangs to hurt others, but eventually said boomerangs must return to clobber the sender. I don’t want to give anything away, but I am enjoying, very exquisitely, what is unfolding. The way that the dark and stormy clouds are breaking, and the rays of sunlight that are breaking through, are shinning upon all those who were always Pure Souls. Everyone that Edmond loved, and who loved him. My journey with this book continues. And to be perfectly honest, I almost don’t want it to end. I’ve fallen in love with all of the good characters. My heart has torn for those good Souls who have passed on. Who did so, in ways that they shouldn’t have. Even this pattern parallels real life. And this book has powerfully reminded me that life, itself, in the Ultimate sense, is nothing more than a living novel that the Invisible Author is delightfully expressing. This, I am certain, is a book that I shall never forget.

I’m on page 766 of this book and I’ve enjoyed every page of it. It’s been one of those books that I fear ending because it’s created a world so intriguing to me with characters that are so complex and entertaining. The writer feels unpretentious. I can’t necessarily explain how I feel this way but I never feel stupid when I’m reading this book. I don’t feel like there’s something I missed and now that I’ve missed it I’m completely lost. Whenever the character has to talk about someone or something with ambiguity they give enough of a hint, combined with my intuition, that puts my curiosity at ease. I’m an avid reader and there are some books with words, syntax or linguistics that aren’t all familiar to me and it can be frustrating until I get used to it. This book IS one of those books for me… but this author - brilliant author. Never leaves me frustrated for more than a page or two. I came to this book after reading 14+ of the dune series books, some other one-off sci-fi books and a few historical bibliographies, including the former Emperor of France Napoleons. This book is nothing like those but Al’s everything I loved about them. I originally decided to read this book because it was featured in a video game called Starfield and I thought of the creators of this game, for some reason, found this book relevant enough to put in their video game maybe there was something about it worth learning. A few years later I finally realize the significance of this book being in that game and I wish, like dune, there was a part 1-6. If you’ve been on the fence about reading this book… just do it.

The Count of Monte Cristo is in my top 10 best books of all time. It’s a classic book that’s almost everyone has heard of for good reason. The twists and turns the book takes is amazing and it really encapsulates life with its ending message. I would recommend everyone read this at least once. Since it is a translated work it is a little more difficult to read, but it’s not too bad. I’ve found that this translation is the best out of the ones I could find. The book came in pretty good shape and I don’t see any printing errors so there are no faults I can find. Worth a read if you get the opportunity.

I was not expecting this classic novel about revenge to also be ironic, sarcastic, funny, witty, and based on a true story. The Count of Monte Cristo is about more than just revenge, especially in the unabridged edition that I read. As long as this story is, I really can’t see how you would abridge it without losing something. A few of my favorite funny moments were when this love sick guy talks about dying for love and the drunk guy responds, ‘There’s love, or I don’t know it (pg. 34).’ I also thought it was hilarious when Albert is trying to hook up in Italy and finds that Italian women are faithful in their infidelity and so not at all interested in him. I’m pretty sure that this is the funniest line in the whole novel: Do you think that, if I did, I would lead you to the answer inch by inch, like a dramatist or a novelist? - Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo (pg. 741). There’s nothing quite as funny as an author making fun of themselves. The irony that shows up every now and then could be summed up in this one perfect line: No one likes a free box as much as a millionaire. - Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo (p. 597) Revenge shows up and not just from the Count. When I saw this line I just couldn’t help being reminded of the Princess Bride movie. “I am Giovanni Bertuccio! Your death is for my brother, your treasure for his widow: you can see that my revenge is more perfect than I could have hoped.” - Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo p. 499 Every one talks about this plot being about revenge, but I found it interesting that the Count just kind of gives them a tiny, little nudge and they bring about their own destruction. I like the introduction’s description of the Count as an early detective. All the Count really did was uncover the truth for justice to come about. Well, except for maybe the last revenge which was my favorite because it was very fitting and kind of funny. Speaking of descriptions of the Count, I found the frequent comparison of him to a popular literary vampire hilarious. Vampires were popular in the 1820s. Who knew. I also found it interesting that there were numerous chapters and story lines where the Count of Monte Cristo was actually a side character. I don’t know that I’ve ever seen that done before. I found some of the themes and topics in this novel surprisingly modern. Chapter 31 was all about getting high. There’s a lesbian character that says to heck with marrying who her father says and runs away instead. There’s commentary on sexism and how men can be elevated by scandal and women ruined by the same scandal. As modern as the themes were, I did have a few issues with predictability and writing that drove me nuts. It was obvious to me why a character got kidnapped which made it slightly tedious, but it was funny to see that characters reaction to it. I think every character went pale every other page. For shock, for illness, for fear, for kicks, for giggles etc. And it was stretching it a little too much when a man who can’t move or speak could say “obey” with his eyes. This roll of my eyes means “give me a break.” Despite a few moments of bad writing (that could very well have been from the fact that this was a translation), I did enjoy the writing overall and it’s many witty moments. The Count puts a pompous guy in his place with verbal sparring about titles that was perfect. And when the Count takes a tour of some apartments owned by another pompous idiot, he describes it as “characterized by tedious ostentation and expensive bad taste (pg 537).” Overall, it was a great classic novel about much more than revenge with modern themes, humor, wit, and was enjoyable to read even unabridged.

The story grabs you and never lets go. I never expected to enjoy this book as much as I did. Every day I looked forward to returning to the world of Edmond Dantès. Part adventure, part historical fiction, and part a study of human nature, The Count of Monte Cristo is a remarkable journey. It even made me want to visit Château d’If. I highly recommend taking this journey with Edmond Dantès.

Totally worth reading. While it is long, it is an extremely interesting novel that is enjoyable to read; The translation is great and allows you to understand the novel very well.

Excellent! I've seen earlier versions of The Count of Monte Cristo, one with Robert Donat, another with Richard Chamberlain, and they each were good in their own way. But this one, with Sam Claflin, is outstanding. I first saw Claflin in Me Before You, with Emilia Clarke, and he was wonderful, so I looked forward to this version of The Count of Monte Cristo, and I wasn't disappointed. He really is a terrific actor, the script was well-written, casting was spot on, beautifully directed, and the whole thing is visually stunning. I never wanted it to end. Highly recommend.

The book is well wrapped, the printing is very clear. Can’t wait to read it !

Red this when I was 15-16 years old. Bought this for my granddaughter. Hope she will like it too. I watched French, Italian, Russian, and US movies The Count of Monte Cristo. Do you know that Alexandre Dumas wrote 400 or 500 books and novels? There is no person in the world who managed to read all of Dumas' books. If my granddaughter likes it, the next will The Three Musketeers, Twenty Years After, Ten Years After, The Man in the Iron Mask, Queen Magot, Black Tulip, The forty-five guardsmen.

Ovviamente come sappiamo e' un capolavoro. Sebbene dubito che sia veramente una versione integrale e senza censure, in quanto avevo sentito parlare di temi clerici censurati che non ho veramente visto. Ma non essendo sicuro lascio 5 stelle.

This is about the clothbound edition by penguin. It is the only version I could find with the Robin Buss translation. It is the most modern and most readable translation in English. Highly recommended. I hope that one day Penguin will publish a bit more elaborate edition of this version. I think this book deserves it.

Book delivered promptly Prime worth every penny