Count of Monte Cristo

I think this may be coming up soon on my TBR list. Which edition should I get? Abridged or unabridged? Thoughts?

Definitely unabridged. For me, the first third went really fast as did the last third. Just remember that if you get bogged down in the middle third.

I just purchased the edition published by Ecco, sold at Amazon. It's unabridged. It's lumped on top of my TBR list as well.

I've never read Count, but having done a few lengthy books (and preparing to tackle another over the summer), I'm a big proponent of unabridged versions. There's lots of potential for getting bogged down at certain points, but part of the allure of longer works is tracing the author's arc over the course of the narrative. Most of the time the challenge is well worth it!

I mistakingly listed the information about Don Quixote I purchased. However, I also recently purchased the Count of Monte Cristo, issued by Modern Library. It is certainly unabridged at 1,488 pages.

Unabridged! I've never read the abridged version, but I'm so much in love with the book I can't imagine editing parts out of it.

I was recently proofreading an abridgement of Don Quixote for Project Gutenberg and kept being horrified at what they'd cut out. You lost so much of what made it Don Quixote. Abridgements are potentially OK for kids to get them started on classic literature but as a "grown up" I think they're a waste of good writing.

Abridging is like translating - you never quite get the right feel of the original. Too often if I am reading something abridged, I think 'I wonder what is being left out'. Also, you haven't quite read the book until you've read it as it was written. It is almost better reading the wikipedia entry than an abridged version!

Think of it this way: if you get the abridged version, you have no way of knowing if you prefer reading those little bits and pieces and the little valuable things that make up a book that they like to cut out. On the other hand, if you get an unabridged edition, YOU get to pick and choose what you want to read or skip. No one is making that choice for you. Then you can read what you want to.
For instance, in my school, we were required to read Pride & Predjudice for a book report. The copies of the books we received were horrible. They cut so much out, I hardly recognized the story! Some of the passages I loved best were omitted because someone else with different tastes though I would get bored or not want to read those passages. I wasn't allowed to make the choice for myself. lol, it was so torturous reading that version that I read my unabridged one instead. (sorry, long I know. shutting up now.)

Unabridged, absolutely. It's comparable to the director's cut of a film. If you want to read or see what the writer or director wanted you to see--then go for the whole original. I recently saw the director's cut of Once Upon a Time in the West, the Western where Henry Fonda is the villain, and it included 30 minutes cut from the original U.S. release, which I saw many years ago. I'd never liked the film, felt it was incomplete, and not wholly understandable. What a difference that insert made! Suddenly the story made sense, and the film became totally watchable and enjoyable.

Besides, if you want abridged versions of this story, you can find them on any children's bookshelf or, on any film shelf (the closest to the book is the 70's miniseries starring Richard Chamberlain).

Enjoy the full pleasure of the author's work!

abridged are fine for books on tape but to truly appreciate a good book you need to read it as the author intended.

The Count of Monte Christo is a wonderful book. If the size scares you break it down into a trilogy.

I wanted to point out that, my ex and I are both reading the Count at the same time and I chose his edition for him. Comparing my French edition to the English translations I chose the Penguin Classics version. I felt it followed Dumas style much better than the other editions that were on the shelf.

Yeah, Penguin classics are normally good and unabridged version is the way to go!