![]() I will not threaten you with the exact word count of the book, but if you pick this book up, just know it will be a long time before you keep it down. Each chapter lasts for quite a long time and quite a few pages. And no, regular Dan Brown readers, these aren’t three or four page long chapters. When I got my hands on the digital book, I didn’t know that the novel has over 100 chapters. And ‘The Count of Monte Crist’o was number one. So when I came across a Youtube video with Archer talking about his top five favorite novels, I immediately clicked on it. ![]() So how did I come across this book? All thanks to Lord Jeffery Archer.īeing a fan of the genres of mystery and familial dramas, Jeffrey Archer is among my absolute favorite authors. And no, I only read this novel in that one month. I can say it with absolute honesty that it took me a month to finish this book. If it’s worth reading, it’s worth reading the whole thing.This is probably the longest book I have ever read. Whichever you choose, do yourself a favor-avoid abridgements. There probably are multiple editions of The Count of Monte Cristo to choose from at your local library or bookstore. But, in the final words of the book, “has the count not told us that all human wisdom was contained in these two words-‘wait’ and ‘hope’?” Alexandre Dumas has been dead now for almost 150 years, making it unlikely that we will see any more. The story ends rather abruptly, leaving me wanting more. His heart is not exactly softened, but appeals to the old Edmund Dantes cannot be ignored. In the end, an element of mercy and self-denial interrupts the count’s vendetta. There is an almost voyeuristic thrill in seeing retribution slowly and inexorably approach those we know are guilty while they go about their lives, unaware of and even facilitating their doom. The pleasure of The Count of Monte Cristo is watching the count’s insinuation into the lives of those he is about to destroy and following the gradual progress of his plots. Except for the fabulous treasure, Dumas describes the bleak isle, which is home primarily to goats and birds, quite accurately. Montecristo today is a nature preserve, part of the Tuscan Archipelago National Park. It is just south of Elba, where Napoleon was exiled before his brief return to France in February 1815. The Island of Montecristo, from which the count takes his title and name, is a 4‐square‐mile island between Italy’s Tuscan coast and Corsica. For those of you who expect romance, there is the beautiful Haydee, daughter of the Turkish Ali Pasha and now the count’s slave. ![]() Those who had crossed the young sailor, and their children, begin to suffer.Ī cast of mysterious characters, including Sinbad the Sailor and Abbe Busoni, conspire with the count to move heaven, earth and the bond market to work his will. A generation later the mysterious, fabulously wealthy and almost supernaturally powerful Count of Monte Cristo appears and involves himself in the lives of those who knew Dantes. He is imprisoned in the notorious Chateau d’If, from which there is no escape. On the eve of the wedding he is falsely accused of conspiring to help Napoleon return from exile on Elba. Edmund Dantes, a young merchant sailor with a bright future, returns to Marseilles in 1815 after a prosperous voyage to marry his beautiful fiancé. The plot of The Count of Monte Cristo has become common knowledge whether you have read it or not. There are many translations of it available today, some of them abridged to shorten the lengthy story and to skip over drug use and sexual themes. It was immediately translated into English. The Count of Monte Cristo was published serially, as were many novels of the time, from 1844 to 1846, and published in book form in 1846. It’s not exactly a happy book, but it is satisfying. If you are sick of politics and don’t have anything scheduled from June through August, you can disappear into early 19th century France and Italy and enjoy the pleasure of seeing prosperous and self-satisfied villains get just what they deserve. This is one of those big (1,200 pages) leisurely books that you can lose yourself in when you have some time and you want to escape from the world for a while. If you like your revenge served ice cold, The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas is the book for you. According to an old Klingon proverb (“Wrath of Kahn”, 1982)-or it might be French or Sicilian (they all know something about vendetta)-revenge is a dish best served cold.
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