A worthwhile read, but far from one of my favorites

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	• The Count of Monte Cristo (Penguin Classics) Alexandre Dumas père Penguin Classics, 2003 - 1312 pages average customer review:based on 122 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

The Count of Monte Christo

The Conte of Monte Christo

The Count of Monte Christo, written by Alexandre Dumas, is about a man named Edmond Dantes who experiences many twists and turns in his life. Edmond Dantes is a respected sailor who was going to marry a girl named Mercedes. Edmond was going to be the captain of his own ship and make a living. He lived in France in 1825 with his father. He is falsely accused of being a Bonapartist (a friend of Napoleon's) on the day of his wedding. Two men planned this accusation and they both benefited from his disappearance. Edmond was sent to a horrible prison and after a month an old man tunnels into his cell. The old man becomes Edmond's teacher in language, manners, and math. He also tells him the names of his two enemies, Danglars and Fernand. Edmond is filled with the power of vengeance and vows to avenge himself. Together, they plan their escape but the old man is hit by a disease. Before the old man dies, he gives Edmond a treasure map. Edmond uses quick thinking to devise a plan to escape and retrieve the treasure. Edmond gets out of jail and recovers the treasure making himself rich. He starts to do good deeds for others and changes his name to the Count of Monte Christo. The Count (Edmond) begins to slowly avenge himself while he helps out "Edmond Dantes'" loyal friends even though it is Edmond who is really helping them.

My favorite quotes are "I have instilled in your heart vengeance" and "For the last four nights I have been watching over you." These quotes show the two main meanings of this book, which are Edmond getting vengeance and Edmond helping his friends. The Count of Monte Christo is a fiction/adventure book that tells Edmond Dantes life story and his adventures. Alexandre Dumas creates great pictures in my mind with his fabulous details. He made the characters consistently sound the same in their dialogue. He used wonderful language and added a little bit of humor in some parts. I was amazed how he mixed English and French together.

I would recommend this book to fourteen or fifteen year olds because it is hard to comprehend and the language is old fashioned. I think that it would be hard for younger children to keep track of all the characters. The Count of Monte Christo is unlike any other book that I have read. It is the only book that has had me guessing all the way through. I would infer something and then I was completely wrong, which makes the book exciting. I would compare the Count of Monte Christo to the Lord of the Rings because they are both great adventures. They are extremely well written books and I like them both. Another book series that I compare The Count of Monte Christo to is the Clive Cussler, Dirk Pitt series because in both of the books there are great schemes. In the books, written by Clive Cussler, the people who make up the ingenious schemes are bad. In The Count of Monte Christo, the good guy is the schemer who plots his revenge. They both have good schemes but what separates them is that the good guy is outsmarting the bad guys, Fernand and Danglars. The Count of Monte Christo is the best genre it could be. Very few fantasy or mystery books that I have read matched up to it. The Harry Potter series and Eragon were also good books that I would compare to The Count of Monte Christo.

This book was really addicting and I read the whole thing in three days. I was completely hooked by the twentieth page because of the author's detail. I could not put down the book; I even brought it in the car for a two minute drive. The book ended with a twist that I never saw coming.

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A worthwhile read, but far from one of my favorites

I recommend reading this book -- simply because so many others have read it. At some point a book gains such a critical mass of readers that reading the book is necessary to maintain your level of cultural literacy.

Considering only the text, I felt it was very good, but not one of the greatest. I agree with all of the positives cited in the other reviews. Dumas is a master story teller, the tale is coherent and easily visualized. There are however, two drawbacks that ruined the book for me. Firstly, the story is so contrived that it completely destroys any suspension of disbelief. Secondly, the story is so predictable that you can see what's going to happen several hundred pages in advance. Other than these two annoyances, The Count of Monte Cristo is about perfect.

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The movie is good, but the book is classic

I often enjoy reading a book, and then checking out the movie. Almost always I enjoy the book more, although it is fun to see the movie version after reading the book. I don't think it would really even be possible for a two hour movie to do Dumas' classic justice (although the movie is enjoyable). This book is very entertaining, involves an intricate plot with many intertwined characters, and elements of suspense that could not be understood in a movie. It also covers a 24 year time span. The story is of Edmund Dantes, who after being promoted to captain of his ship, is brutally betrayed by those he trusts. On the day before his mairrage to his beautiful fiance, Mercedes, he is arrested for treason and taken to a prison on an island off the coast. He holds the image of his fiance in his mind, but unknown to him, she assumes he is dead and marries his friend who betrayed him. He is in prison for years, but life becomes barely tolerable after a tunnel is dug from a priest's cell to his. They are able to meet daily, and the priest is able to teach Dantes science, language, and even defense. Through his torturous incarceration, Dantes vows revenge on those who betrayed him. The two plot an escape through a tunnel, and the story continues to tell Dantes' life after prison.

This is an excellent book and certainly a classic that most people, even younger readers, will enjoy. I plan on reading it again in a couple of years, and just may read it again after that. It is that good!

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The Count of Monte Cristo

Edmond Dantès, framed of treason by some people he thought he trusted, seeks revenge. After becoming promoted to captain at the early age of nineteen, Edmond is envied by many, Mondego is in love with Edmond's fiancée, Danglars wants the position of Edmond, and Cauderousse despises Edmond and his fortune. The men plot to have Edmond thrown in jail, and so he is. There he meets Faria, a priest who teaches him the secret to a treasure, hidden on the island of Monte Cristo. When Edmond breaks free, he finds the treasure, and with it he develops elaborate plans from what he finds out about those who betrayed him, and takes away everything from them, one by one. This is an excellent book, recommended to readers who enjoy examining complicated plots.
This book did indeed have a very interesting plot. Edmond first finds Cauderousse and receives important information about the other two people who framed him. He becomes a great friend of Mondego who is very powerful and wealthy by saving his son from bandits. He learns that Mondego received his wealth by betraying a friend. His deceitfulness wrecks his reputation, his wife (Edmond's former fiancée) and son abandon him and commits suicide.
The characters are also very interesting, being very unique and realistic. Edmond at first is a young man having great honesty and friendship, one you would not expect to take revenge so severely. He almost develops a complete different personality as the Count of Monte Cristo, a grudge-bearing and angry man hidden under a mask of kindness. One of Edmond's targets, Danglars, may be described as greedy and selfish. It is through this trait that Edmond punishes him and makes him bankrupt.
Aside from having an interesting plot, this book also is suspenseful in many ways. When Edmond attempts to escape from jail, he is thrown unexpectedly into the sea. Another suspenseful scene is when Edmond watches as a ship is torn apart in the storm. This story may also be suspenseful in other ways beside intense action. When Edmond follows through with his plots of revenge, it is exciting to see what will happen next.
This book is an excellent and challenging work, good for almost any reader who enjoys classic novels taking place in the past. This particular classic is one which challenges the work of Edgar Allen Poe

I. Leung

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A great read!

All is well for Edmond Dantes life: he has a beautiful girlfriend, plenty of money, a loving father, and a good job as a sailor, soon to be captain. That is, until he is accused of being part of the Bonapartist party. On the day he was to marry is fiance, Mercedes, he was taken to the worst prison in the area, The Chateau D'If. No one has ever escaped this prison. He is sentenced to life and spends over 15 years in a cell until he plans an escape. After escaping he goes on to find a treasure he was told about from a man he met in prison. After finding the treasure, he begins helping people around the world, being known as The Count of Monte Cristo.
I loved this book, although it was a bit long. The storyline was very exciting and the characters are so real. It's amazing how a man goes from sitting in a prison cell for years with no money at all, to becoming one of the richest people in France. I would definately recommend this book to readers of all ages. If you're looking for a good, exciting book then this is the one for you. The only thing I can complain about is every few chapters it starts getting a little boring, but hang in there becuase it only builds to something even better!

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reviews: 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, page 15, 16, 17, 18, 19, 20

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