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This book is far and away the most entertaining I have ever read. It will not make you think in the same way that a book like 1984 might, but Dumas has an incredible skill when it comes to storytelling. If you think that you would enjoy a book that is packed with adventure and emotion, read this one.
I have just finished reading this for the umpteenth time. I don't agree. Also, there was certainly a satisfactory explanation.I think my favorite character is Albert. I can see all my notes in the margins from the many other times I've read it. Albert is sarcastic; has a great sense of humor; is fun-loving, intense, loyal, and intelligent. Afterward I read the critical essay in the front, which stated that Dumas was good at plots, but not very good at character. . I have actually seen people in my own life who changed in exactly the same way.
I _disagree_. They said that the count changed, but with no satisfactory explanation of his change of character; and that the change of character (into a vengeful / resentful person) was not plausible. I wish there was more about him. He can also be rash.
Even though it was written over 160 years ago, it's still hard to beat. We have grown teenagers who don't like to read and cannot pronounce the simplest words. He's a well respected sailor who has a beautiful bride-to-be named Mercedes. As for the classics, they are shunned upon as being too complex and too long to read.
There he spends fourteen years of his life, the only company he has is a secret communication with the supposedly mad Abbe Faria, who helps him figure out who the framers were. At least I still got the reading mojo people lacked. This is probaly the greatest book I've read in awhile. In these troubled times, we are facing a crisis that is not mentioned very much. The novel is filled with many characters who have their own agendas, as well as some extraordinary writing and many twists in the story. Edmund Dantes has it all.
But unknown to him, a man named Fernand, (who is also Mercedes' cousin 0_0) wants her as well. So with the help of a man name Danglers, he sends a letter accusing Dantes of being a traitor, and the prosecutor Villefort sends him without trial to the Château d'If, an island prison, which is a real place, by the way.
It's actually kind of sad that this book doesn't get as much respect as it deserves. If they do read, it's the latest Wal-Mart fad novel that will not be remembered in 100 years.
When he dies, Dantes replaces his body with his own and he is thrown off to sea, where he manges to recover and heads to the island of Monte Cristo, where Faria said there was a treasure at. The basic outline of the plot is simple.
It takes place in France, and even though it is written in English, many French elements remain. After becoming rich, he plans his unique revenge against his accusers, under the alias of the Count of Monte Cristo.But it's more than a tale of revenge.
While you may be turned off by its length (don't get the abridged version, or God forbid the Great Illustrated Classics version, AKA 'Literature for Dummies') and its archaic language, but anyone who actually knows how to read should understand this book.So yeah, the next time you're at the library or the bookstore, perhaps you should skip Breaking Dawn and read something good, like this.
(I've got about 6 hours of listening left).Eduard Dantes started his life as an innocent and trusting man. There are many days that I pull into the parking lot at work or my garage at home and just can't turn off the recording. I bought this book off Audible.com and have been listening to it on my daily 1 1/2 hour commute. He's thrown into prison where he undergoes a transformation. Man, it's a page turner. 47 hours of listening and I'm going to be sad when I get to the end. After 14 years he escapes, finds great wealth and goes after those who wronged him. For the next 10 years he turns life into a chess game in order to win the ultimate award, to witness the ruin of his enemies.This is by far the best audio book I've listened to so far.
I am still reading the book but I can say it's a wonderful translation and the story itself is unbelieveably good. I love classic novels and always seemed to have skipped over this story for years. A must read for anyone who loves a big, sprawling novel.
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