I like big books and I cannot lie and this big book is an action-packed classic.
4/5 stars.
ebook, 1276 pages.
Read from July 19 to September 02, 2016.
Everyone has one. A big book that has been recommended to you a million times that is just sitting around collecting dust. You believe that those recommending the book are sincere, but every time you look at it you find yourself overwhelmed with its barbaric size. Well I am here to say, that it is time to bite the bullet and give that big book some love. It is worth it. My big book was this one, The Count of Monte Cristo, and after countless glances at it from across my living room, to getting tired of not being able to check it off as read when it comes up on reading lists, I gave it go. Sadly, my hard copy of this book is in Canada so I had to settle for the ebook, which, given its size was probably for the best.
Edmund is a young and ambitious man. He has been promoted to Captain of a ship and is going to marry his love, Mercedes. However, as ambition goes, there are always those that are jealous. On the night of his wedding, Edmund is arrested for a crime he did not commit and thrown in jail without a trial. Behind a gaunt prison wall, Edmund spends his youth. He befriends a man Faria in the cell beside him who teaches Edmund everything he knows. The two of them plan to escape together. However, when things do not go as planned, Faria insists that he go on alone and that he go and find the massive stash of treasure that he has hidden on the Isle of Monte Cristo. After escaping and finding that these riches are real, Edmund changes his identity to discover and plot revenge on those that had wronged him so cruelly.
Did you know that this story is based on true events? Dumas took the idea from the a book complied by French police-archivist Jacques Peuchet. Peuchet tells the story of a shoemaker, Pierre Picaud, living in Nimes in 1807 who was engaged to marry a rich woman and his three jealous friends accuse him of being spy for England. Picaud was placed under house arrest and had to be a servant for a very rich man. When this said rich man died, he left all of his money to the Picaud, whom he had come to love as a son. Picaud then spent the next few years plotting revenge against his accusers. One of his old friends had even married Picaud’s ex-fianceé.
This first half of this book is a solid 5-stars. I couldn’t put it down. However the last half wavered for me. I had to re-read some sections to follow some of the many new characters that were introduced and I found some of the content a bit dry compared to the action that I was reading before hand. However, the ending was worth it. When it all comes together, it is clear why this books is a long standing classic.
This is a timeless read. So I encourage you, if this is one of the big books that you have not tackled yet, I promise you that you won’t be disappointed.
The Pluviophile Writer 