The Count of Monte-Cristo: Volume 1

I give the The Count of Monte Cristo five stars. . Dumas’ detailed descriptions give us an insight into the very mind of his characters. The complexities of social life in this time period make this a read that one can hardly set aside. While the main character, Edmund Dantes, is p sensible he nevertheless becomes one of Dumas’ most round characters. Alarmingly simple as the plot seems to be, one of love and revenge, it seems to be wrought from something impregnated into our very souls. An idea that lost love, Mercedes in the case of Edmund, could be recouped, and that those two volatile emotions, love and revenge, are precisely what keep us attached to this suffered protagonist all throughout the novel. J. Gaius Heyden

The Count of Monte Cristo by French writer Alexandre Dumas is an enthralling story about how hardship can change a man for the better. The main character, a sailor named Edmond Dantes who lives in a little fishing village not far from France, is engaged to marry a local Catalanian girl, when tragedy strikes. He is accused of being a Bonapartist, one of the most notorious groups of the time, by two people who have much cause to hate him. Fernand, a local, who is in love with the same girl who Edmond is engaged to, furious because he can’t have her, and Danglars, who works on the same ship as Edmond and is mad at him being promoted to captain, write a letter ‘denouncing’ Edmond as a Bonapartist. As a result of this, Edmond is put into a dungeon on a little island where he stays for 15 years. In this dungeon, while trying to escape, he meets the prisoner from the cell next to his who he soon befriends and is taught by. Just before Edmond’s friend dies, he tells Edmond a secret: that there are a lot of jewels and other riches hidden on the Isle of Monte Cristo. Edmond, after escaping from his cell, finds these riches and sets off, now calling himself the ‘Count of Monte Cristo’ and rich beyond all measure, to get his revenge on the people who caused him to be punished unjustly. Much has changed in the 15 years that he has been in prison. This fabulous novel tells not only of how Edmond Dantes gets his revenge, but also from the other side, from the point of view of the people who he is getting his revenge on, showing their pain and suffering. The way in which he does this is intensely fascinating. The Count of Monte Cristo is an extremely well written novel, possibly one of the greatest stories ever written. I think it is a book that everyone should read; it will be enjoyed by everyone who lays their hands on it. It catches and holds the reader until the very end, keeping him in suspense. It truly is a wonderful story and is not too hard to read at all, although the language can be hard to understand at times. The way that the author makes the whole story tie in to the theme is really interesting. Sometimes it seems that Dumas is straying off course, but I really liked it how in the end it all came together to give you the complete story. I thoroughly enjoyed this novel and fervently recommend it to everyone. It should be a book that everyone should read.

I am loving The Count of Monte-Cristo! What a great read! This version is broken into two volumes. This is volume one and does not include the entire book, so make sure to get the second volume to finish the story. There are several typos. Usually you can still understand the words they should be, but still distracting to the flow of the story.