My life is a lie. The abridged version of TCoMC was the only assigned reading in school I enjoyed. I loved it and have since been under the impression that this is one of my favorite novels.

But alas, I was deceived. The purists of the reading world will say the unabridged version is so different. And to that I agree. But not for good reasons.

The first 250-ish pages of this are amazing. Just like I remembered and I breezed thru them. Then the rest of the novel is a muddy waist-deep pit. It’s like a different writer took over for Dumas and needed to reach an astronomical word quota.

Lots of pages were skipped. SparkNotes was consulted. And I will never revisit this doorstop of an epic ever again. I might cry. ( )

Also listening to an audiobook version of this: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/24500631-the-count-of-monte-cristo

This book is an excellent and fun adventure story. ( )

A very long book. Probably longest I have read, other than the bible. A great tale expounding on so many profound issues! Love, honor, pride, despair, greed, power, the list goes on and on. A master storyteller, Dumas wrote a book for the ages. It was worth the energy to read it. ( )

Young Edmond Dantes has everything: he's engaged to a beautiful woman, is about to be named captain of a ship and is well liked by his peers. This perfect life is shattered when Edmond is framed for a crime he didn't commit and thrown into prison for the rest of his life. After fourteen years of suffering an opportunity to escape presents itself and Edmond takes full advantage of it. With his freedom obtained, Edmond is ready to put his plans for revenge against those who wronged him in motion.

The Count of Monte Cristo is the timeless tale of adventure, love, betrayal and revenge. It's was so much fun to read, I don't know why I waited so long. The story starts off slow and then gains momentum once Edmond is thrown in prison. Soon after events are moving at a very fast pace making the story quite a page turner. My favorite part is while Edmond is in prison gaining his education from the Abbot. It is this education that allows Edmond to so carefully plan out his revenge. And boy is he thorough! I was surprised at the many Oriental references and influences in the book. It helps to lend an exotic edge to the Count's character that makes him so interesting once he returns to France. The Count himself is a great, multi faceted character in general. It's a shame most of the other characters are not so complete.

My copy is an abridged version. At the end it has a summary of the parts that were cut out. Seems like I only missed out on some of the meandering side stories while the main tale was left intact. I do enjoy Dumas's style of prose so I'm sure those parts are just as entertaining to read. I may need to look for an unabridged version for a reread. ( )