Monday, February 9, 2009

Review: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Tags: classic, French, swashbuckling, revenge

Don’t be daunted by the bricklike appearance of this book. The writing is extremely engaging and the pages will fly by so fast you’ll wish it never ends.

Edmond Dantes loves his father; has a beautiful, perfect, and loving fiancĂ©e; and is poised to become captain of a whole ship at the tender age of nineteen. Then, in a couple of hours, he loses everything, the victim of slander by some jealous and ambitious “friends.”

Locked away in an underground dungeon on an island prison for 14 years, Edmond learns of a massive treasure buried on the island of Monte Cristo. When he finally manages to escape, Edmond is a changed man—for better or for worse—and vows to use the island’s treasure to exact complete revenge on the men who ruined his life.

THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO reads easily and contains a myriad of characters you will get to know as well as the back of your hand. What could possibly take 1200 pages to work out? you might think. But don't judge before you start reading: this novel is worth every one of its pages. I am flabbergasted that any author could produce a social world as complicated, satirical, and calculated as Edmond Dantes'. It is exciting and difficult to put down once you start. Get the Penguin edition translated by Robin Buss for the best read. I highly recommend that everyone read this book!

Similar Authors
Dostoyevsky (Crime and Punishment)
This is not a very helpful list because I think just about ANYONE will greatly enjoy this book.

Rating: 5/5

1 comment:

  1. I love French books. They always blow me away.
    Thanks, Steph ^^

    ReplyDelete

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