Rating: 
Summary: A Riveting Masterpiece
Review: In my opinion The Count of Monte Cristo is one of the most riveting literary masterpieces of all time. For anyone who is looking for a novel that combines romance with high adventure will find this a highly satisfying book. The story is set in 19th century France. The storyline concerns a young man named Edmond Dantes who has his whole life ahead of him. After being promoted to ship captain, he makes plans to marry the love of his life, Mercedes. He is suddenly betrayed by three jealous rivals and arrested on the eve of his wedding, being unjustly and falsely accused of treason. He is transported to an island fortress prison where he remains in confinement for fourteen years. Dante's dying cellmate reveals to him that there is a vast, hidden treasure buried on the island of Monte Cristo. Edmond promises to escape the dungeon and seek out the treasure. After orchestrating a narrow escape, Dantes finally discovers the vast fortune on Monte Cristo. Edmond Dantes becomes the Count of Monte Cristo and returns to Paris to seek out the one he loves and also to use his new fortune to seek out revenge on his betrayors. A tale of high adventure, romance, and vengeance. Personally, I would highly reccomend taking time to read the complete and unabridged version. What's the point of reading an abridged or condensed classic? The Count of Monte Cristo is a masterful work by Alexandre Dumas.
Rating: 
Summary: Worth a second read.
Review: I read and enjoyed this book as a youth. Later I read some of the Three Musketeers, was bored, and thought maybe Dumas had been a taste of adolescence. But the second time around, I found this story still a great read. Monte Cristo is not a study in psychology or culture: it is an amusement park ride before Disney, an Indiana Jones film in ink: a heck of a way to spend a rainy afternoon. (And make sure your plans for the evening are flexible.) The version I bought, Bantom, was too skinny, however. (Thus the missing star, also for typos.) Life is too short to read half of a masterpiece. Subvert the culture of instant gratification, and buy the unabridged version. Same goes for Hugo's Les Miserables, a similar bit of 19th Century French romanticism, even more rambling and magnificent in its un-cut version.
Rating:
Summary: Dantes...
Review: this is the second best book i have ever read. the first shall remain inconspicuous. Edmond Dantes is one of the most intriguing characters i've read about. a certain classic. this book is for smart people with a taste of prudency. it offers many discerning plot twists and something is always happening to bend the story. thank you Alexandre. you have left behind a gem of a novel.
Rating:
Summary: A Very Moving Story..........
Review: Unfortunately, the only copy of The Count of Monte Cristo I could find was the unabridged version in my school library. At the time I was glad I was reading the short version, 1,500 pages seemed a little too overwhelming at the time. But after reading the short version, I found myself wanting more. I could tell when they cut stuff out and it drove me crazy, I kept wondering what I was missing. I found myself wanting to read this book in the first place because I saw the commercials for the movie on t.v. (Which I know I'm not going to watch because they changed everything.) My mom told me it was a really good book so I checked it out. It took me a little bit to read because of school and chores. But once I picked it up I read 20 or 30 pages at a time. Sometimes more. Alexandre Dumas is a genius. His writing style is so unique. He draws a beautiful picture inside the readers head. All the characters in this book were multidimensional. I'm not used to seeing characters like that. At the beginning of the book Edmond Dantes was leading a happy, perfect life. He was engaged to the woman he loved, Mercedes. He was going to become a captain. And he had wonderful friends. But before he knows it his wonderful life becomes nothing but misery and pain. Two of his so-called friends, blackmails him and he's thrown into a dank prison for being a Bonapartist. Over the long harsh years ahead of him he plots his revenge on the people who sent him there. . . I'd love to tell you more, but there aren't enough words in the world to describe the impact this story had on me. I'll just give you a quick overview: This story is mostly about a man who gets revenge on those who made his happy life miserable. He slowly ruins their lives and they don't even realize it's him. No one recognizes him, except Mercedes, but she doesn't let him know for a long time. She becomes a very weak woman, who lives only for her son. But she still loves Edmond and I believe in some ways he still loves her. But he's a completely different person, then. He knows their time has passed. This book is very well written and has all the elements of a good story. Romance, adventure, revenge, mystery...And anything else you can think of. I'm going to have a hard time reading a book after this one. Other books will pale in comparison, I'm sure. Someday, I'll read the abridged version, but not today. . . Maybe when I'm older and have enough patience and time to read the whole thing. This story will stay with me forever, even if I never read it again.
Rating:
Summary: A classic novel on hope and revenge
Review: The Count of Mote Cristo is a really exciting and fabulous story; I really enjoyed the book while reading it. The main character Edmond Dantes is about 21 years old, and for him, life is just full of success. He is a successful merchant and is about to be promoted to captain of a ship. At the same time, he is also about to marry a beautiful young girl whom he has loved for a very long time. But amidst all of these happy things, misfortune strikes, and Edomnd Dantes finds himself to be a prisoner in the Chateau D'If for life. He is a prisoner because he is betrayed by his so-called "friends" and rumored to be a servant of Napoleon Bonaparte. However, something miraculously happens, so read it to find out. Although this novel is usually thought of as a story of revenge, it has an even deeper meaning than that. This story not only warns people who betray others, but it also promotes love, friendship, and most of all hope. When the Count of Monte Cristo comes back and seeks revenge, he also meets some friends on the way that move his heart. Some of his friends become poor and have a sad life because of his imprisonment long ago, but they still hope that he will return and they wait for him day by day. The count rewards them in a secret way, and shows how important it is to have hope in one's life even when there looks like no hope. So when you read this book, keep in mind that there is more to it than just vengeance. This book is very pleasant and I finished it in a couple of sittings. It will definitely put you on the edge of your chair and you will hardly be able to put the book down. This book is for all kinds of people, but it is especially for people that think life is hopeless, because as this book will point out, nothing in life is ever hopeless.
Rating:
Summary: There's a good reason this one is a classic!
Review: I admit, I was motivated to read the book because I saw the movie first. I don't know how I escaped both high school and college without reading this one, but I regret not having found it sooner. The movie, though enjoyable on its own, shares only one thing in common with the book: its title. Everything else has been inexplicably altered. There is sooo much more to the story. Here is a man, who, unfairly convicted and imprisoned for 14 years, has everything good in his life taken from him. He cunningly escapes prison, finds immense wealth, and spends the next 10 years plotting vengeance on those who took his former life away from him. He studies his enemies and, one by one, brings about their downfall and destruction by exploiting their vices. He also finds cause to reward those who did not betray him, and who lived irreproachable lives of unrewarded nobleness. The writing is enthralling and fast-paced. It is a fascinating story, well-told and impassioned. I wouldn't limit it to any specific audience, like juveniles or only those who know they like adventure stories ~ I would recommend it to anyone.
Rating:
Summary: The Count of Monte Cristo
Review: somehow i managed to get out of school without ever having read this book. what a bummer, because i truly loved it! i couldn't put it down! i even brought it with me in the car and read it at the red lights. i started reading it because the movie was coming out and i thought i would just never get to it if i saw the movie first. but i waited, read the book and just saw the movie last nite. the book is better because it is more detailed, but the 2002 movie version is worth the [money], on its own. it's different enough from the book that those who have read are still entertained. and vice-versa to those who have seen the film...READ THE BOOK, TOO! it's wonderful and i had a lot of fun reading it.
Rating:
Summary: Great in Several Ways
Review: When I was an early teenager, I went on a reading binge, and intentionally sought out very long books to read (I guess I saw them as challenges). I found many good books this way ("The Count of Monte Cristo", "Doctor Doolittle", "Gulliver's Travels", "Ivanhoe"), as well as some clunkers. The treasures I found were generally well-known classics, and "The Count of Monte Cristo" clearly falls into that category. Some books get labeled "classics" because they're well-written and technically good, as good representatives of literature of their period. "The Count of Monte Cristo" is all of those things, but it is also simply a great adventure novel, with lots of action, well-written characters, important (even today) issues addressed, and a fast pace. The writing is highly detailed, giving the reader the sense of having been to the places described and having actually known the characters. It's the same sense that one gets from seeing a very good film: a visual memory is created of the people and places. This book is not for everyone, but is an excellent one for introspective adults and bright teenagers, especially if they want to think about issues of justice versus revenge. The recent movie version did justice to the book.
Rating:
Summary: Don't waste 8 bucks on the movie.
Review: I have had the pleasure of reading one of the greatest novels of all time, and the displeasure of seeing one of the worst movies. Both were The Count of Monte Cristo. If you've never had the pleasure of reading the book, I urge you, read it. But at all costs, stay away from the movie. Don't even watch it on cable for free. If you want to read an enriching tale, read The Count of Monte Cristo. It will not disapoint!
Rating:
Summary: "Count" This Novel as a Classic
Review: WARNING: May include "spoilers". "The Count of Monte Cristo" is the most extraordinary book I have ever read. The first aspect that makes it so interesting is its variety. "The Count of Monte Cristo" is usually described as an action-adventure novel about revenge. It is that, but it is also much, much more. It is a fantasy novel, a romance novel, a mystery novel, a horror novel, a comedy, and a social satire. There is something in this novel that will please nearly every reader. The second aspect of the novel that causes it to be so wonderful is the characters. There is, of course, first and foremost, Edmond Dantes, the Count of Monte Cristo. Dantes is an amazingly charismatic character. He is also incredibly complex, being at once a philanthropist and a sadist, a man who is remarkably intuitive about what motivates his enemies but who at the same time is frequently oblivious to the feelings of the people who he cares about. For example, he thinks that Haydee, a beautiful Greek-princess-turned-slave, loves him like a father. He's right about the love part, but not the "like a father" part. In parts of the novel, he appears God-like, in others, he is compared, not entirely without justification, to the Devil. Edmond Dantes is fascinating. Then there are the secondary characters. The secondary characters in this novel are such that you can't help but wish that many of them had their own novel for which they could act as protagonist. There's Albert de Morcerf, Eugenie Danglars, and Haydee. Of the three, Haydee is my personal favourite. She is, initially, somewhat annoying due to her hyper-sensitive, cloying, and comedically melodramatic nature. Gradually, however, as the reader learns more about her tragic past, it becomes extremely easy to sympathize with her and care for her. She later demonstrates her inner strength when she aids in the ruination of Albert de Morcerf, one of the men who had betrayed Edmond. Both she and the Count have gone through similar experiences and are remarkably alike, which helps makes the novel's conclusion logical and rewarding. An additional aspect of the novel that makes it qualify as a classic are its themes and the way the novel presents those themes. Dumas pokes fun at the aristocracy, mocks the often contradictory social values of his day, and philosophizes about revenge, love, hate, and philosophy itself, among other things. Some readers have complained that the plot is too complex and confusing. I, for one, found that not being certain about what the Count's plans were made the novel all the more interesting. As well, some readers have said that too much of the plot relies on coincidence, luck, etc. True, some portions of the novel stretch believability, however, I did not find that this in any way damaged my enjoyment of the novel. The story is, in many ways, allegorical, as a result, the occasional implausible plot twist makes little difference in whether a reader enjoys the story or not. It's impossible to summerize what makes this novel so wonderful in a simple review. I strongly advise against reading the abridged version, because there's something worthwhile on every page of the full-length novel. "The Count of Monte Cristo" is that rare specimen of a book that manages to be intellectually and emotionally satisfying, and, at the same time, is extremely fun to read.
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