The Way Back Review Princess Bride Count of Monte Cristo

This is a book I've ever wanted to read, and happily it met and exceeded all expectations.  I expected swashbuckling run a risk merely the volume turned out to be much more psychological than that.  This is one of those books that has been retold and copied so many times you wonder if the original will feel "tired" – but it doesn't.

Monte Cristo tells the story of Edmond Dantes – he's young and handsome, almost to marry the daughter he loves, and has just been made captain of his own send.

Unfortunately for Dantes, on his last voyage he was asked to make a stop at the island of Elba to receive and evangelize a letter.  This is 1815 and France is still torn between the Bonapartists and the royalists, and Napoleon himself is just sitting on an island scheming to retake France.  And then, playing on France's instability, Dantes is framed for treason by jealous "friends" (one wants his job and the other wants his woman).  He's thrown into a dungeon and forgotten by the remainder of the world.

Hither's what y'all probably know already (but stop reading if you don't):

Dantes manages to escape from prison years afterward, smarter and tougher and determined to take revenge against his betrayers.  The surprise in this book is how complicated and subtle his schemes are.  He spends years setting up his plots, integrates himself into the lives of his enemies, and even befriends their children. We know from the start that revenge can be bad business – it takes over your life and leaves you with nothing else.  (I kept thinking of Inigo Montoya in the Princess Bride as I read this book.) And then one question you have as a reader is whether Dantes at some point volition realize that it's better to enjoy his life than punish those effectually him.  The other question is at what point Dantes will realize that he tin't punish the wicked without punishing the innocent people around them.

First, some background on the book, considering Napoleon-era France is pretty damn interesting.

Monte Cristo is considered an "run a risk novel".  It was published in 1844 in series grade and was extremely popular at the time of publication.  It's likewise considered a "historical" novel although it seems strange to me that a novel written in 1844 about 1815-1835 would be considered historical.  Still, Dumas is writing about some of the near pivotal points in French history.

The novel is besides part of the Romantic Period, which ran in Europe from about 1800 to 1840.  I could effort to explain the Romantic period merely there's no need – romance and emotion are the defining features of this book.  Dantes loves Mercedes for life, even though he feels horribly betrayed by her.  He's ruled by emotion just at the aforementioned time he's almost completely mastered his emotions so he can deceive everyone around him.  Not too good for you.  There'south a possibility for love in Dantes' life just he's so caught upwards in revenge he doesn't see it.

Alexandre Dumas was born in France in 1802.  His father was a full general in Napoleon'southward army but was impoverished by the time of Dumas' nascency.  Dumas is the grandson of a French nobleman and a Haitian slave, which has led some to speculate that the imprisonment in the book relates to the captivity of slaves.  Dumas lived through the historical events described in Monte Cristo, then he knows what he's writing most.  He even, apparently, knows the Napoleon family.

From Wikipedia we get this cool description of the origin of this story:

It appears that Dumas had shut contacts with members of the Bonaparte family while living in Florence in 1841. In a small-scale boat he sailed around the island of Monte-Cristo accompanied by a immature prince, a cousin to Louis Bonaparte, who was to become emperor of France 10 years afterwards. During this trip he promised the prince that he would write a novel with the island's proper name in the title. At that fourth dimension the hereafter emperor was imprisoned at the citadel of Ham – a name that is mentioned in the novel. Dumas did visit him there, although he does not mention it in "Etat ceremonious". In 1840 Louis Napoleon was sentenced to life in prison, just escaped in disguise in 1846, while Dumas'due south novel was a bully success. Just in the manner of Dantès, Louis Napoleon reappeared in Paris as a powerful and enigmatic human of the world. In 1848, however, Dumas did non vote for Louis Napoleon. The novel may take contributed, against the will of the author, to the victory of the future Napoleon 3.

What I enjoyed most was the complexity of Dantes' schemes, and the way Dumas takes his dull fourth dimension in unfolding them.  Of course as a serial writer, he had an involvement in drawing things out and making them suspenseful, which he does.  But if you want a novel to really sink yourself into, this is a great one.  You know exactly where it'southward going, but yous nevertheless can't pull away.

The real stars of this volume are the children of the 3 "enemies".  While the parents may be rotten (mostly), the children are innocent (more often than not).  Dumas really brings each of them to life and the way they intersect in each other'south lives makes the book an entertaining read.

Fifty-fifty though he's a super-genius and has piles of money, Dantes learns he can't control lives as much equally he thinks he can.  He finds himself about a male parent figure to these immature people that he's trying to destroy, and ultimately they actually teach him something.  Watching these relationships gradually plough into friendships is one of the most intriguing things about the volume.  I found myself merely waiting to see at what point Dantes would realize how much his schemes were going to hurt his new friends.

And then the question becomes, is he a monster or a man?  Dumas portrays Dantes every bit an "avenging angel", punishing evil through the hand of God.  Simply taking deportment that result in people being destroyed, even if they deserve it, is that really the piece of work of God? I'll acknowledge I wasn't clear nigh Dumas' intent here.  Dantes is portrayed every bit god-similar, yet I by and large felt kind of sorry for him.  He tin be cold and merciless and y'all just want him to enjoy his life rather than taking people apart.  Only the of import affair is that he does good when proficient is called for, even when it goes against his plans for revenge.

I besides liked that the volume made you think most whether evil is absolute or whether the villains have redeeming characteristics.  They aren't all painted with the same brush; only yous don't exactly feel sorry for what they get, either.  Villefort, the King's attorney, is probably the most interesting because he takes great pride in his work yet he violates that delivery by throwing Dantes in prison.  Dantes knows that the greatest hit on Villefort volition be destroying his professional reputation (which he does, brutally).  Mercedes was too interesting, because Dantes is genuinely torn between resenting her for giving up on him and so speedily, only also knows she was manipulated into union with his betrayer.  And after all, she couldn't take waited forever.

There's a lot more I could say nearly this book.  Information technology'southward a long read and slow in parts, and I recall I might not have read the best translation considering there were sentences that only didn't brand sense.  But honestly, this is the rare classic that's hard to put down.  If it's on your "someday" listing, I would definitely give information technology a try.

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Source: https://thebookstop.wordpress.com/2012/05/20/review-of-the-count-of-monte-cristo-by-alexandre-dumas/

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