The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

 

Summary (from the publisher): Thrown in prison for a crime he has not committed, Edmond Dantes is confined to the grim fortress of If. There he learns of a great hoard of treasure hidden on the Isle of Monte Cristo and becomes determined not only to escape but to unearth the treasure and use it to plot the destruction of the three men responsible for his incarceration. A huge popular success when it was first serialized in the 1840s, Dumas was inspired by a real-life case of wrongful imprisonment when writing his epic tale of suffering and retribution.

Review: I have been intimidated by the immense size of this book for years but spurred on by the news that PBS had a new adaptation set to air and a buddy read group to help me stay on task, I decided to tackle it this year. And I am so glad I did! I read this very slowly from January to the end of March and it felt so good to slowly savor this book. Originally published as a serialized novel, it felt very true to the book to read it slowly in small installments over time. Despite being over 1200 pages, it truly didn't feel like I had read nearly that many by the end of the book. I found this story and the language used so much more accessible and entertaining than I could have guessed. 

So much of Edmond's story is truly heartbreaking. It's brutal to see him go from an optimistic young man, in love and with his whole life before him, to a broken one robbed of his future and driven to the depths of despair in prison for a crime he didn't commit. In addition to feeling deep sadness for him, I was crushed for his poor elderly father and his love, Mercedes, who is left wondering what happened to the man she had planned to marry. It's even more upsetting to see how much imprisonment changes Edmond's character from a kind and well-intentioned man to one fueled by the desperate need for revenge at all costs. 

One of my favorite sections of the book are the chapters when he finally makes a friend in prison and plans his escape. Not only was this exhilarating to read, but it was nice to see him finally getting some hope back after so many years in prison. My other favorite chapters are the sections detailing his immense wealth and the lavish lifestyle he enjoys as a consequence. He lives like a modern-day billionaire with every resource and luxury at his disposal!

One thing I did not expect going into this book is how much Edmond himself would recede into the background as a character as the novel progresses. He goes from being very much the main focus to being a shadowy god-like creature behind the scenes as the novel transitions to focusing on those he is exacting his revenge on. Second, I did not anticipate how passive much of his revenge would be. Edmond very much pulls the strings and sets the stage, but he preys on his targets' own weaknesses and base instincts to ultimately lead to their own demise in most cases. 

One of the only reasons I'm not giving this full five stars is there were parts that strained my credulity. I didn't buy the survivability of how he escapes. Later, I question his ability to sneak in and out of houses and have certain people behave exactly the way he hopes when prompted by his influence. There are also certain instances of near-magical medicines that have the ability to revive the recipient or conveniently make them appear dead as needed. Much of this is to build tension and suspense and echoes the time period in which this was written, but it was still hard for me to believe it all.  

The other reason that holds me back from giving this book five stars is that in the end, I did think Edmond took his revenge too far. I was left disappointed in the fall in his own sense of morality and right and wrong. There seemed to be nothing left of the man he once was and I wish there had been more redemption and happiness for him. I kept wishing the book could go back in time just a bit, to when a certain almost duel occurs and instead have that be a wake-up call for Edmond and an end to his revenge plans. That would have been a happier ending point to the book for me. Edmond does have regrets by the end of this book, but I felt it was too little, too late. I did not like how the innocent frequently pay a price in his revenge plans and felt like he, of all people, would see this was going too far.