Reviews

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

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isbnopal's review against another edition

5.0

This book is officially one of my favorites. Absolutely in the top three. I cannot even begin to explain how much I love it. I started reading the unabridged and ended up having to return it after 500 pages because it was overdue. So I bought the abridged book. I finally finished it after putting it off for months. I love the writing in both the books but prefer the quotes from the unabridged.

stw07's review against another edition

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1.0

i’m so mad i spent so many hours of my life reading this, Alexandre needed an editor

arytaco's review against another edition

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5.0

“The Count of Monte Cristo” may frighten readers via its 1200 page-length, but Alexander Dumas’ quickly welcomes the hesitant with his gripping story of retribution, suffering and ultimate peace. Beginning with Edmond Dantés’ unjust prison sentence, one of literature’s ultimate adventures is sparked, where the very same man will craft new identities and release his vengeance by a spiritual guide. The wide-ranging influence can be seen everywhere from “Captain Blood,” Batman and “The Shawshank Redemption,” in a story that spans decades, includes dozens of characters and occupies the regions of Paris, Rome and everywhere in between. Dumas pens a true epic, which ties all of its moving parts into a quant bow by the end. Although seemingly a large undertaking, the reader will come to regret that the experience is over so soon.

joglasgow1's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? It's complicated
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

autogeek's review against another edition

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5.0

This review is partly about the book itself and partly about the medium - which in my case was an audiobook from Audible narrated by John Lee.

Like most classics, the pace is a bit slow and the descriptions are a bit tedious at times, but really, these are very small issues in what is otherwise an excellent book. The plot is simply superb (good plot summary in the book description) and the author does an excellent job of building up the tension before important events.

Even more impressive though, is the narration. John Lee does an amazing job of it. Given that story takes takes you through several countries in Europe, there are a lot of Frech, Italian and Spanish names and phrases in the book. I am sure I would have stumbled across most of them, but John Lee makes them all sound absolutely fantastic. He also does a truly great job with all the different accents. I could always immediately tell who was speaking just by the accent. Furthermore, the accents also give an insight into the characters themselves (for e.g., that Lucien Debray is a British aristocratic asshat comes across nicely in the accent).

Honestly, I cannot overstate how brilliant the narration is in this audiobook. The book is very good, but the narration makes it brilliant. I wish I could give this book more than 5 stars.

I am looking forward to reading the "paper version" of this book.

lucardus's review against another edition

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5.0

Alterslos, geschwätzig, stellenweise etwas überdehnt, spannend, abenteuerlich, romantisch, kurz gesagt: Wer keine Angst vor dicken Büchern hat und schon immer mal wissen wollte, was beim Grafen von Monte Christo wirklich alles geschieht und was Film und Fernsehen kürzen, entschärfen und vermurksen, der sollte das Buch lesen. Natürlich ungekürzt.