The Count of Monte Cristo
Translator: Peter Washington
Genre: Historical Fiction
Original publication date: 1844
Book description: Sent to prison on a false accusation in 1815, Edmond Dantes escapes many years later and finds a treasure which he uses to exact his revenge.
There is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only comparison of one state with another, nothing more. He who has felt the deepest grief is best able to experience supreme happiness.
Thoughts:
So this is a reread but it is the first time I read Dantes's tale in English. I would advise if people who have English as a second language to not begging with this story as their first try. The older style language sed makes it a bit of a slow read, not only that but it has a big page count as well.
We follow Dantes as he goes from having his whole life ahead of him in an uphill trend to the very bottom of the hill and be stuck there. Dantes gets imprisoned unfairly and worse still once he is free, he can't let go of his own prison.
Dantes is blinded by lust for vengeance, he does not enjoy his life, he knows no other lifestyle than fueling his rage and hate.
There is a list of people he wants to destroy and he never changes at all. It is interesting to change to see this type of character:
Dantes starts a good normal guy, compassionate, and what we generally consider good but as the story progresses he changes to an amoral person. He is willing to lie, cheat, scam, blackmail, and kill; he will stop at nothing to destroy the lives of those people he sees as responsible for his demise.
Edmund is a very lucky person overall, he could have enjoyed freedom since the moment he was free and had healthier mental health and life, but oh well he did not want to give up his vendetta.
Edmund even in is weird way, was always a great friend and even in the middle of his worst, he continued to try his hardest to help his friends. He could no longer claim to be a good person, as he was willing to see innocent people die if it was useful for his overall plan. It feels odd as you are only seeing everything in his POV so you continue to expect him to win and find yourself cheering him on.
A totally recommended read, I do wonder if reading it in French would be a good idea.
It did take a bit longer than I expected it but I really enjoyed my time reading it!
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