The Count of Monte Cristo (1844)

I am in raptures of love for this beautiful, beautiful book. The intrigue and mystery, the larger-than-life power of Monte Cristo. The desperate journey of Edmond Dantes from happiness to devastation to revenge to repentance. And I love Maximilien. And all the Morrel kids and their sweet love for their unknown benefactor. And the darkness Dumas puts us through to bring us to redemption. I. Love. It. And I didn't want it to end. ( )

I so was not expecting this book to so... fun. It is a near perfect book for what it is - drama, love, action, revenge, kindness, absurdity. You should totally read this book.

Don't be afraid of the label of classic! Or that it is about a man in prison who escapes and gets revenge on those who put him there. Its not a dark story at all. It reminds me an Errol Flynn movie - where everybody is exactly what they seem, the good guys win, the bad guys get punished, and everybody lives the life they deserve at the end.

But, the book isn't perfect - there is some aspects that are quite a stretch to believe. For example, Dante become an educated man by talking to a priest in the next cell over. Or how a ship was completely recreated, cargo and all. Or how the Count has a seemingly unending supply of money. There are a few ethical issues that will cause modern audiences some trepidation. The Count has a few slaves, even though slavery is illegal in France. Or his treatment of Mercedes - was she really suppose to wait for him for all the years he was gone? ( )

I adore this writer. It is from this book that my love for him began! I saw a musical that was put on the plot of this book and he forever sunk into my soul.

The tale of The Count of Monte Cristo is a story of injustice, betrayal and revenge. Edmond Dantes, the main character, works on a ship and is envied by one of his co-workers, Danglers, for his position and favor with his employers. Edmond is young, and has achieved his position through hard work, honesty and trustworthiness. He is in love with Mercedes, whom he hopes to marry, but Mercedes is also coveted by Fernand and is jealous as well of Edmond for her affection. At Edmund and Mercedes' wedding feast, prior to the wedding, gendarmes come to arrest Edmond for being a supporter of the exiled Napolean, for which he was set up by Fernand and Danglers by forgery and circumstantial evidence. He is innocently, but purposefully sentenced to prison in a highly fortified castle on a little island for life. While there, he meets fellow inmate, Abbe, who has been there much longer and is now an old man. He learns much from Abbe, including the location of some buried treasure that Abbe wants to share with him. When Abbe dies, Edmond is able to escape prison after 14 years, posing as Abbe's corpse. He makes his was to the treasure location and finds the story to be true. With all of his new found wealth (making him richer than many in the world), he is able to transform himself into a cosmopolitan world traveler and renames himself the "The Count of Monte Cristo" where the treasure had been buried. Many people guess as to his true identity, without success, and never dream that this was once Edmund Dantes. Time and hardship in prison had taken a toll, and change his features, so that those who had once known him is his previous life never recognize him.
He sets out, with the aid of his wealth, to reward the few who had been kind to him or his father, and punish the many more who had been responsible for losing his love and his years of suffering, and exact justice where he sees injustice. Both those he rewards and those he ruins never recognize him as Edmond, and he never reveals it. I found the book entertaining, with wanting to know how he was going to get his revenge on this one or that, or how it would work out, and did they ever figure out who he was. But, I thought Edmund's lust for revenge had become twisted-- with his fortuitous happening onto the treasure enabling him to pull of his schemes on a grand scale, he came to see himself as the one appointed to mete out justice from God, when in truth, it was really his own lust to see those that had been responsible for robbing him of happiness and wasting years of his life ruined. I can see why this book has become one of the literary classics-- to weave a tale of this proportion was a feat of epic magnitude. Read for The Classics Club (https://theclassicsclubblog.wordpress...) and twogalsandabook.com ( )

I thoroughly enjoyed Alexandre Dumas' "The Count of Monte Cristo" and am very thankful a monthly challenge prompted me to pick this book up, as it really wasn't on my radar. It turned out to be right up my alley and the type of book I really enjoy.

The book centers on Edmond Dantes, a 19-year-old French sailor whose enemies get the better of him, leaving him in jail for over a decade before he makes his escape. Dantes becomes obsessed with meting out justice -- revenge against those who destroyed his life, and favor for those who remained loyal.

There are some great twists and turns (as well as some tangents, but I didn't really mind them) in this book and I enjoyed seeing where Dantes' efforts for retribution landed. I thought this was a pretty fun read overall. ( )