The Count of Monte Cristo (Classics) Paperback – Illustrated, 31 Jan. 2013

I feel compelled to leave a review here as when I began reading I was shocked at the wording and inconsistent grammar scattered in every single sentence. It's as if one were reading a translation done by a translation service magnitudes worse than google translate. This is only relating to this particular "translation" as I own the Penguin classics version of the book and it is brilliant. I urge anyone who wants to read this novel to use that version or any other because I am frankly appalled at this one.There's no need to cherry pick examples so I'll simply take the first paragraph. See for yourself. Here is what this version offers:"One the twenty fourth of February, 1815, the appearance-out at Notre-Dame de la Garde signalled the 3-grasp, the Pharaon from Smyrna, Trieste, and Naples. As standard, a pilot do away with without delay, and rounding the Chateau d'If, were given on board the vessel among Cape Morgiou and Rion island."Compare this to the penguin classics version of the first paragraph:"On February 24, 1815, the lookout at Notre-Dame de la Garde signalled the arrival of the three-master Pharaon, coming from Smyrna, Trieste and Naples. As usual, a coastal pilot immediately left the port, sailed hard by the Chateau d'If, and boarded the ship between the Cap de Morgiou and the island of Riou."Do what you will with those examples.

What a fantastic book! I'll refrain from giving the one millionth comment on the plot but just offer some reading advice instead. This is a book of 117 chapters and my Kindle tells me that it takes some 39 hours to get through. The plot, though elegant, is complex, with a mass of characters, some of whom change identity - and some then disguise themselves as well. The middle third of the book, in particular, will challenge many in keeping up with the action. So it would be a good idea to keep reading speed up to 2-3 chapters, or more, a day. This is a good book to take away on a gap year.

“He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness.”Chapter 117, The Fifth of October, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre DumasAs you may remember, I made a decision a little while ago to fill in the gaps in my knowledge of classical literature by actually reading some. I know. Such a rebel. This was, as ever, in the hopes that I would recognise obscure quotes and oblique references in the course of the sorts of run-of-the-mill, intellectual conversations I plan to have as I approach my middle years. I am not entirely without understanding. Thanks to a childhood in the nineteen-eighties, I am an aficionado of film, television and pop culture. All of which have, in their way, exposed my brain to all manner of literary giants with sneaky jokes and asides. So as much as I might recognise a quote and even know where it’s from, that doesn’t necessarily mean I’ve read the book. Hence this quest.All of this is really just to introduce myself. Apologies for that.I remembered a film I’d watched years ago and felt certain it was based on something literarily magnificent but I couldn’t remember the title, the author or anyone who’d appeared in the adaptation I barely recalled. So far, so good. I had a vague recollection of the plot, so I headed on over to Google.“Book Frenchman convicted of a crime he didn’t commit, escapes from prison and claims vengeance.”And good old Google came back with: “The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas.”Pretty certain I already knew that, at least deep down where I need not produce proof, I went straight to Amazon.I found the ebook advertised with a price of practically nothing and a page count of 486. I know how fast I read. Although, no doubt, a sophisticated story, translated from the original French (I would struggle to read a menu in the original French - it’s something I plan to work on next year), with possibly loftier language than might be found in the more modern novel, I reckoned I could finish it in four or five days. A promising start to 2022 and a thundering classic to tick off my list - I was well pleased.As an ebook, of course, the number of times you tap to turn that page doesn’t necessarily correlate with the number of pages in the physical book. This is due to print size, screen size and technological whatnot I can’t begin to understand. But I was surprised, after twelve or so taps of the screen, to find myself still at 0%.Back to Google: How many pages in The Count of Monte Cristo (Unabridged)?Oh, Amazon. How my heart shook. Even at 0%, I was loving the story - vast and operatic and sitting-in-the-firelight as it is - but 486 pages it is not. Not even close, actually.Of course, there are probably a good number of English translations out there, but I suspect they’re all in ballpark of each other for length and according to Google, that’s 1297 pages long. My 4-5 day read had suddenly swelled into two weeks, without interruption, which is asking a lot in a house full of dogs.It’s lucky I’m not the only person in the house because I’ve barely looked up from my phone in the past fortnight. My eyes have become bloodshot and watery, caused solely (I suspect) by the hours spent staring at the screen. I have thought of little else.So, the story follows Edmond Dantes, a successful young sailor and the beloved of the beautiful and adored Mercedes. When popular Edmond returns home from the sea with the promise of promotion and engagement, he cannot know that three villains are plotting against him, planning to rob him of his destiny and throw him in a dungeon, alone, forsaken and forgotten.And so, when, many years later, two of the baddies are wildly successful, living the high life in the upper echelons of society, and their co-conspirator, encouraging manipulator, is still a small rather pitiful figure, the villains are falling over themselves to meet the deathly pale but fabulously wealthy and mysterious Count of Monte Cristo.But after fourteen years imprisonment, and another ten seeking answers, treasure and himself, has Edmond left it too late to claim his revenge? And, if he gets it, will it really balance the scales?For the most part, I felt like I was sitting in a wingback chair, by the fireside, being told the story by an avuncular (as we can see from the cover) high-cheekbones Frenchman with a bottle of brandy catching the light from the flames. The command over story and character exhibited by the author was powerful and assured.There were some irritating moments. Spectacles, such as Paris at night, and various other majestic sights, were alluded to with expressions like - 'those who have seen [whatever it might be] will already know how glorious a sight it is’ - but those of us who haven’t are left waiting for a description that doesn’t come. There were a fair number of instances of feelings and impressions which were “impossible to describe” - which felt a little bit like a cop out.People who don’t care for the opera often complain that there’ll be a bad guy on some nefarious rampage and it’ll turn out that it’s the town mayor, wearing a hat. The audience knows exactly who he is but his wife doesn’t, and that makes the suspension of disbelief more than a little tricky. Although I got a sense of that from time to time, the sub-plots and characterisations were so rich as to distract me from it almost immediately.Although I found the character of Valentine just a little but too sweet for my tastes, I’m pretty sure Eugenie Danglars is my kind of girl. Avoiding marriage to run off with a lady musician sounds about right to me.Unfortunately, this translation uses the word ‘his’ in place of ‘has’ a fair number of times, a couple of instances of ‘be’ that should have been ‘he’ - but I think I’ve found the origin of the phrase “folded his arms over his chest”, a phrase that seems favoured by USA Today Bestselling, and other American, authors (8% in, Chapter 11, The Corsican Ogre, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas).An incredible story, beautifully told, but make sure you have a couple of weeks free from drama to read it.

I first read The Count of Monte Cristo in abridged form and am glad to have finally read the full version. The backdrop is the chaotic politics of France from 1815-1838, and we are taken on a journey through France (largely Paris & Marseilles), Italy (Rome) and the islands of the Mediterranean.Edmond Dantes is young, idealistic, honest and has the world at his feet. A sailor, he returns from a trip having taken over from the captain who died en route. Set to inherit the captaincy, an impressive feat for one so young, Dantes has agreed to deliver a letter, granting his old captains dying wish. However, unaware of the incendiary nature of the letter, he unwittingly opens the door for his enemies to strike.Dantes finds himself unjustly imprisoned, the proverbial key thrown away, and in the depths of despair he meets another prisoner who transforms his life. When Dantes eventually finds his way out of prison, we meet him in several guises, including as the titular Count, a hugely wealthy, altruistic and mysterious foreigner who makes an impression on all of those he meets. As time passes, we see Monte Cristo/Dantes plans take shape, but there are unexpected consequences that he must live with.The book is rather long, but it is well worth it. There is a wide cast of characters created with depth, the locations and events are beautifully described, and the themes of justice, hope and despair are evident throughout. There are occasional clichéd moments where the good characters are portrayed as saints, but that's my only quibble. The historical background is nicely woven in, giving a sense of purpose and reason as to why the story unfolds as it does.Overall, I cannot recommend this enough - 100% worth your time. I saved this for a holiday, starting it on a long flight, and then dipping in when there was time to relax on the beach. Absolutely a classic.