The 1800s version of an action movie : love, jealousy, revenge, unbelievable wealth, badassery, and triumph over your enemies.This month has been a mixture of sending out all sorts of job applications (hire me!!!!), taking two ballroom lessons a week (yikes!), competing, and getting ready for Halloween (shoulder angel and devil!). Oh, and we just started planning Friendsgiving.
In between all that, I’ve been reading The Count of Monte Cristo… which, as it turns out, is a great frickin’ read. I’ve also figured out how to get Google Books to read eBooks from Project Gutenberg. Not gonna lie, I did a little victory dance.
Why I'm reading
So, I’ve got a weird reason for finally reading this. I’ve been watching anime on Crunchyroll recently, and came across an anime adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo. More specifically, a psychedelic-space-vampire-demon anime adaptation called Gankutsuou. So I’ve got the gist of the story, but I’m guessing the Count isn’t actually possessed by a vampire-space-demon.
Where I got the book
Project Gutenberg! The Project Gutenberg library hosts eBooks that can be freely used in the United States, because they are not protected by U.S. copyright law (or authors have given permission). That means entirely free (no ads) and entirely legal.
Expectations
A long story about betrayal, revenge, and setting things right. I wonder if the Count will be a more sympathetic character in the original, and if I will agree with his idea of “setting things right.” I’m also expecting it to be a little hard to read, in terms of writing style/complexity.
So how was it?
First of all, why hasn’t HBO or AMC made this into a miniseries yet?! The characters are so engaging - the servants, the enemies, the frenemies, the good guys; they all have backstory and personality. And the whole thing is so full of suffering and delicious revenge.
The story follows Edmund Dantes, a salt-of-the-earth (salt-of-the-sea?) first mate aboard the Phaeron. Things are going pretty well for Dantes: he’s young, attractive, does his job well, he’s engaged to a pretty woman, and he’s about to be made captain. Then politics and jealousy get in the way, and he ends up in prison for fourteen years. He escapes and acquires a massive fortune; for the rest of the story, he uses his money to exact sweet, sweet revenge.
The book is separated into volumes, but I would separate it into six thematic sections: before prison, during prison, recovering from prison, rewarding friends, building revenge, and closure. Each one has a different feel to it. The revenge section is by far the longest, and perhaps the slowest - but by then, I was hooked, and I liked waiting for the hammer to fall on the count’s enemies.
Recommendation
Anyone who loves a historical fiction, adventure, or suspense. This is also a great read when you only have time for a chapter or two in one sitting.
Feels
Well-rounded, exciting, colorful. Satisfying (lots of revenge and wish-fulfillment).
Favorites
The side characters are fantastic, and I’m a sucker for good villains. The thing is, no one is “the evil villain” - they’re regular people, and you understand them even as you hate them. I also loved the way storylines intertwine, but without cheesy parallels. A lot of modern books/TV/movies tie the story up in a perfect little bow, everything symmetrical and no loose ends.
Least favorites
The ending was satisfying, but it did feel a little rushed.
Writing style
Just as elaborate as I was expecting, but surprisingly easy to read, once you get used to the names. The perspective bounces around to different characters/locations every chapter or so, letting you see each new event in a slightly different light. You see the Count as himself in one chapter, then you meet a “mysterious stranger” in the next (with a wink and a nod from the author). Dumas doesn’t always tell you what the count is doing, so much as he leads you gently down the path to figuring it out yourself.
So what did I really think?
Click "read more" - massive spoilers ahead!
Holy balls, the ending! In terms of writing, it felt rushed, but I was expecting this whole thing to wrap up with a reunion between Dantes and Mercedes. She was kind of annoying in the beginning: she should have rejected Fernand outright, instead of the whole “I don’t love you, but I love you... as a brother! BFFs for life!” The fact that she moved on after Dantes disappeared wasn’t really the betrayal; it was that she moved on with Fernand. She basically had a backup boyfriend. Not cool.
Even still, I could see them getting back together, except that she’d given up right at the finish line. He didn’t come to her expecting love - her husband just died! - just friendship and forgiveness, and she rejects him heartlessly. She basically says that the Edmund she loved is dead as far as she’s concerned - right to his face! His reaction, brief as it is, hit me right in the chest:
Monte Cristo dropped his head and shrank from the vehemenceShe sends him away, and then sits there (in his little house, with the dowry he left for her) pining for him. Apparently wanting is much sweeter than having...
of her grief. "Will you not even say you will see me again?" he asked.
But Haidee!? Wow. On the one hand, he spends a great deal of the book calling her “daughter,” and she’s a lot younger than him. On the other, their relationship never struck me as father/daughter; she clearly had the hots for him, she is a very headstrong woman, and he treated her more like a queen than a princess, if that makes any sense. 19 vs. 40 is… well, they deserve happiness, I guess.
Albert went from mildly annoying fop to… pretty awesome, actually. After spending half the book stirring up stupid trouble, he hits a point where most characters would flip out, and he acts rationally. He actually turns into a stand-up guy in the face of adversity, and seems happier for it.
Eugenie. Oh my god. Clearly, completely, unsubtly a lesbian. She’s portrayed as different, less feminine, but still good and beautiful and she gets to run off into the sunset with her girlfriend! Dumas, you enlightened sonofabitch!
Caderousse. I love (to hate) him. This guy had so many chances to help Dantes, and to save himself; he just needed to do the (easy!) decent thing. And he never does. He’s a “friend” of Dantes, but extorts money from his father; he got too drunk to stop the conspirators, accepts that it was just a joke, and doesn’t bother to expose their plan; he lets his wife kill the jeweler, and runs off with the jewel; he’s set up with a nice stipend, but extorts and robs for more. He acts like he’s this great guy, but he’s really quite terrible, and doesn’t understand why his life keeps crumbling around him. Oh my god. He’s a Nice Guy™.
I didn’t set out to “cast” the book… actually I was trying to force the anime characters out of my head. But I immediately pictured Gillian Anderson as Caderousse’s wife. Benedetto was one of my favorite side characters, and he was Tom Hardy all the way. I just see him as this rough tough burly street guy… who’s good at interior decorating and a bit of a scaredy-cat.
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