Delightful but verbose. The story was initally published in 18 installments - he must have been milking that serialization for all it was worth. I suppose that's why people usually read the abridged version. The abridged version I saw, however, left out some pretty important information from the story. I guess if you want the whole story, you have to read the whole story. Despite its length, Monte Cristo rightfully survives in popular culture today as one of the best stories of revenge ever told.