There are no words. I laughed. I cried. I am so happy. But so sad to leave these characters behind. Definitely a must read. "Wait" and "hope".

It's easy to see why this has been a favorite of many for nearly two centuries! The Count of Monte Cristo is a classic revenge tale with liberal dashes of manners, swashbuckling, and romance (along with surprising pinches of telegraphy lessons, insider trading, drug-induced hallucinations, and 19th century-coded lesbians). While the story is long as only a serialized novel can be, I was enraptured from my first evening of reading, and many nights I only put it down because I physically had to sleep.

While I have not read other translations of the story, this unabridged version by Robin Buss for the Penguin Classics edition was phenomenal. Buss gave a "classical feel" to her translation without resorting to cumbersome or archaic language. As a result, the text is easily read and understood without losing the essence of Dumas' writing. I also appreciate that she she did cut out scenes that have been seen as distasteful by past translators.

So, while the length of The Count of Monte Cristo may be daunting, but I highly encourage anyone who is curious to give it a try!

I'm sure there are worse adaptations out there, but I would hardly recommend this one outside of an easy enough practise French reader. C'est trop simple! J'avais besoin d'expliquer l'intrigue à mes pairs.

just a wonderful read

For readers who crave an intriguing tale of justice, redemption, and the unyielding pursuit of truth, this is a timeless masterpiece that will captivate and inspire with its epic story of one man's unwavering quest for revenge and the ultimate triumph of good over evil.

WHEW!! I do believe this is the longest book that I’ve read!

Clocking at around 1316 pages on my ole Kindle, it’s a beast of a book. Honestly, this is not something to be taken lightly if you take on this masterpiece.

Not only is it HUGE but it’s a classic. So it’s going to be wordy my friends. They paid authors back in the day for every word that was written.
So my dear Alexandre Dumas, he got bank with this tome!

The Count of Monte Cristo has always been on my bucket list for completing. So late one night after drinking multiple glasses of wine,

I said, “Fuck it! Let’s do this!”
Yeah, it was a lot of liquid courage.

And it was a journey folks.

The Count of Monte Cristo is not a book to finish in a day or even a week. It’s a journey of revenge, redemption and hope. It’s a journey to take down your enemies in a frightening and calculating way. Does my beloved Edmond Dantès find love again? Does he get revenge for being betrayed and framed?


Well, if you’ve seen multiple movies of this plot over the years, then you already know some of these answers.

What I did not realize is that the movies are not remotely like this beast of a book. There is so much more calculating, more characters (good grief, the amount of characters...whew!) and plot points that are completely different.
Yes to books! Now that I've read this, I prefer this tale instead of the Hollywood version. It’s much more believable and the "too convient" plot is taken out.

Some word of advice.

You might struggle with this book if you’re not into classics. You might also struggle in the middle with all the characters and plotting.
You know why? Because you can’t see the ending and all the precise planning that the Count is putting into play.
It’s a dull blade being sharpening over and over again, until it’s finally ready to be plunged into a evil, dark heart.

Am I glad I finally read this? You bet your sweet ass I am.

Thank you Edmond Dantès for making me "wait" and "hope" to see what type of man you actually turn out to be.