Okay after reading The Brothers Karamazov last year I can confidently say I'm not intimidated by a rambly author and. I'm still not! I think some of Dostoyevsky's ramblings were more side tangents whereas Dumas somehow manages to tie everything together and make everything make sense by the end. All the character backstories really become worth it because they give so much context and make the events so much more impactful! It took me over a month to read this and what I love about this and other freakishly long novels is that they really take you on a journey. Yes, there were times where I was bored and going "what's the point of all this" but then I would get to a scene that had me fucking gasping from the drama of it all. Also, a lesbian couple that runs away together? A pleasant surprise!

This book obviously has a lot of things that don't hold up anymore, the relationship between Monte Cristo and his adopted daughter being one of them...certainly a bold move to refer to someone as a lover and a daughter in the same sentence, I'll give you that! So yeah the ending wasn't my favorite thing in the world but thankfully in the scope of things this wasn't a big part of the book so I can happily focus on the stuff I liked instead lmao.

The way this built up the lives and relationships of all these rich people and then proceeded to thoroughly take them down was incredible. This just succeeded so well in creating a satisfying revenge story, I really felt for our protagonist which just made that much more engaging. I also loved the way this explored the significance of names and titles and how effectively those were used throughout. 

I don't have many coherent thoughts right now but wow! I'm glad it's over but I'm also glad I read it.