The Count of Monte Cristo

My Rating: ★★★

Method of Reading: Personally owned paperback novel, 441 pages
Dates of Reading: January 9, 2014-March 11, 2014
Author: Alexandre Dumas
Publication Year: 1844-1845 serialized
Recommended to: Adventure movie fans.
Quotes: 
   "Happiness is like those palaces in fairy tales whose gates are guarded by dragons: we must fight in order to conquer it" (15).
   "That ultimate word of human wisdom: 'Perhaps!'" (76).
    "…you are unable to see those men whom God has placed able kings and ministers by giving them a mission to fulfill, rather than a position to occupy" (176).
   "I'm ready to pick a quarrel with anyone today. But don't worry; I'll give you priority over everyone else" (302).
   "…the Count of Monte Cristo is commanded only by the Count of Monte Cristo. I do as I please, and, believe me, it's always very well done" (309).
   "suffering is like life… there is always something unknown beyond it" (373).
   "…all human wisdom was contained in these two words: Wait and hope" (441).
Movie: Of course.

Wikipedia Link: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Count_of_Monte_Cristo
Link: http://www.sparknotes.com/lit/montecristo/

My View: An adventure book for the ages! Filled with what I suspect was some intentional Christian allegory, many Frenchie parallels to Les Mis (Otherworldly priestly mentor turns an unfair/wretched life around, escaping as a "corpse," lovers at garden gates, aliases galore), and themes echoing The Odyssey, Romeo and Juliet, and The Great Gatsby. The writing is quick, choppy, and cartoonish, allowing for very little scenic description, leaving historical and psychological constraints entirely out of the picture, and focussing mostly on heart-pounding action. This necessitated a different reading style than my usual and I kept no notes or annotations, reading quickly. 

As I read, I wanted to scream at Dantés something similar to what Watson once did at Sherlock (in the BBC TV series), "People don't have arch nemeses in real life, you know?" I have a feeling he would have responded much like Sherlock did: "They must get so bored." In "the Count's" crazed drive for revenge (rather than redemption), I felt hubris piling up to my ears and was shocked by his final admission that he had, indeed, gone too far. 

Always,
Your Bibliomaniac

Bibliography:

• "Count of Monte Cristo" cover. Digital image. N.p., n.d. Web. 14 Mar. 2014. .
• Dumas, Alexandre. The Count of Monte Cristo. Trans. Lowell Bair. N.p.: Bantam Book, 1956. Print.