![]() ![]() ![]() My train wasn't for a few minutes so I made a detour. A guard I've become friendly with was supervising the restocking of the vending machines. I imaged the thought that was forming under his feed cap: "What a dweeb." Instead, his jaw dropped, his eyes popped and he said "That's a great book! I read the unabridged version, and there's a lot of detail, but it's just fantastic!" A few weeks later I was catching the train to work. In the horsepower-and-self-propulsion world of your average lawnmower shop, literary discussions are not the ticket to respect. "That's ok, I have an iPod and I just started The Count of Monte Cristo." As the words left my mouth I realized I just forfeited any chance I had that this guy would treat me as a man and a brother. and the guy says, "With a lawn as big as yours, you really need a riding mower." I smiled, knowing I had the perfect counterargument to his sales pitch. It is a bit like watching "Masterpiece Theater"-not for everyone or every taste, but it's not an acknowledged masterpiece for nothing. Yes, there are some slower sections (characters, in accordance with the era, sometimes take 30 words to say what could be said in 5), but overall I found myself wanting to get back into the car or back on to the plane as soon as possible. This review relates to the whole book, not just Part I, but each section was a new adventure and looking back, you can see how Dumas has not wasted a character or scene that does not justify the plot and the outcome. ![]() One can only marvel at the decades-long plan that The Count, Edmund Dantes, has carefully set in motion to serve as suitable revenge for those whose greed and self-interest caused him to spend 14 long years in a dungeon. What a mistake it would have been to miss it! After a little "attitude adjustment", I found the flowery language elegant and fascinating and the character development is superb. I have "meant" to read this book for many years, but the length seemed daunting and the language stilted, at least by 21st century terms. Read this book, it is like one of those dreams that you hope will never end. If you are thinking about reading a classic or just want to check out Dumas. It was a joy to listen to John Lee's voice which took me back to Europe and to places I have wandered endlessly, he gives all characters their own identity and makes you forget that its a book and not a dream or fantasy your in the middle of experiencing. The length of the book seems like to much of a commitment, but when I finished it I was sad that it had ended. It is a story that has it all, love, romance, grief, hate, envy and on and on. It is not only a story that transports you instantly back to a very interesting and tumultuous time in European history, but its also a story that is very confined to a specific group of people. But I just can't help myself from expressing what this book did to me. At first I didn't want to write a review because so many have done that before me. ![]()
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