Book Review: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

“There are two ways of seeing: with the body and with the soul. The body’s sight can sometimes forget, but the soul remembers forever.”

Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo

Review:

After hearing so many wonderful things about this book, how could I not pick it up? Otherwise, this is a classic that hasn’t particularly been on my radar, though of course I’d heard the title countless times. 

Edmund Dantès is wrongfully imprisoned thanks to three men in matters of jealousy and spite and he is confined for fourteen years. Thanks to the help of a fellow inmate and his own plans for escape, Edmund is able to flee his cell. He joins a crew of smugglers and sets off in search of the treasure of Monte Cristo and, most importantly, revenge. 

I was pleasantly surprised to discover how modern the writing of this book felt. Within a few chapters, I was less intimidated by the page count. I switched back and forth between paperback and audiobook which also made a difference. I can’t claim this to be my new favorite classic as most of my enjoyment lies with the first quarter of the book and I found most of the middle dry whenever it ventured away from Edmund, but I still enjoyed it more than I anticipated to. 

Likes & Dislikes:

What I liked:

• The accessible writing and storyline.
• Multi-dimensional characters.

What I didn’t like:

• Extremely long and there are too many different plots and sets of characters to keep track of, but it was clearly not written to be a single installment.

Afterthoughts:

I’m glad I gave this a try! (Now I need to make peace with the fact that my paperback copy is only half annotated…)

Where to buy the book: