Twelve Days And Twelve Books Of Christmas - Day 9

Something a little different today, my stand out book from September was a classic and it really took my breath away! 

Day 9 - September Book - The Count Of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

The Count of Monte Cristo is one of the great thrillers of all time. In 1853 William Thackeray wrote to a friend: 'began to read Monte Cristo at six one morning and never stopped till eleven at night.'. Falsely accused of treason, the young sailor Edmund Dantes is arrested on his wedding day and imprisoned in the island fortress of the Chateau d'If. After staging a dramatic escape, he sets out to discover the fabulous treasure of Monte Cristo and catch up with his enemies. A novel of enormous tension and excitement, Monte Cristo is also a tale of obsession and revenge. Believing himself to be an 'Angel of Providence', Dantes pursues his vengeance to the bitter end, only then realising that he himself is a victim of fate.

My Thoughts

The Count Of Monte Cristo was one of the most surprising books this year for me as I went into it expecting not to like it. Me and my buddy reader F are working our way through classics and taking turns choosing the next read. For one of my choices, I chose The Count Of Monte Cristo as I thought that it would be long and wordy and just....not very interesting. How wrong was I!

I found The Count Of Monte Cristo extremely fast paced and exciting. The story was full of revenge and intrigue and is incredibly well written. The characters are all incredibly well developed, in particular Edmond Dantes, obviously. It has actually made me excited to pick up more Dumas books in the future. 

I also think that this book is now in the joint top spot for my favourite classic alongside Crime And Punishment. I did think it might top it, but no Crime And Punishment will not be toppled just yet anyway. 

If you're wary about trying classics, I would 100% recommend this as your first go. Yes it is long, but it is so action packed and interesting it is worth every moment. I will definitely be going back to re read at some point in the future. 

So that was my September stand out book. Have you ever read The Count Of Monte Cristo? Is it one of your favourites? Don't forget to join me tomorrow for my October book choice.

About The Author

Alexandre Dumas, père (French for "father", akin to Senior in English), born Dumas Davy de la Pailleterie, was a French writer, best known for his numerous historical novels of high adventure which have made him one of the most widely read French authors in the world. Many of his novels, including The Count of Monte Cristo, The Three Musketeers, The Man in the Iron Mask, and The Vicomte de Bragelonne were serialized. Dumas also wrote plays and magazine articles, and was a prolific correspondent.

The Count Of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas - Review

I am horribly behind on my reviews of buddy reads! F and myself finished The Count Of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas back in September and we're on our third book since then. So here I am being good and catching up. I'll have reviews for The Essential Kafka and Twenty Thousand Leagues Under The Sea in the next few days. 

The Count Of Monte Cristo 

The Count of Monte Cristo is one of the great thrillers of all time. In 1853 William Thackeray wrote to a friend: 'began to read Monte Cristo at six one morning and never stopped till eleven at night.'. Falsely accused of treason, the young sailor Edmund Dantes is arrested on his wedding day and imprisoned in the island fortress of the Chateau d'If. After staging a dramatic escape, he sets out to discover the fabulous treasure of Monte Cristo and catch up with his enemies. A novel of enormous tension and excitement, Monte Cristo is also a tale of obsession and revenge. Believing himself to be an 'Angel of Providence', Dantes pursues his vengeance to the bitter end, only then realizing that he himself is a victim of fate. 

My Review

The Count Of Monte Cristo has to be one of the biggest surprises for me this year. I really had doubts about reading it as I didn't really know much about it and it is quite a chunky book; but I absolutely fell in love with this book! 

Edmund Dantes is easily one of my new all time favourite characters. And I now have two all time favourite classics. I was considering if The Count Of Monte Cristo had knocked Crime And Punishment off its perch, but no I think they are both equal. 

I thought the writing was really wonderful and so easy to read. I loved the characters, both the good and the bad and I thought the story was so well thought out and just so very enjoyable. Apparently I like a good revenge story! If I ever need to get revenge on someone I hope I can do it with as much cunning, class and flair as the Count Of Monte Cristo! 

I can now see how this is a lot of peoples all time favourite classic as it is so much more accessible than a lot of other classics due to the language used and the stories aren't always relatable in modern times. Revenge however is understood through the ages. 

Overall a really excellent book, one I'm so glad that we picked up as buddy readers as I may have missed out on this if not. I really look forward to picking this up again in the future, so I can re read Dantes adventures. 

I gave this book 5 stars.