Book info

• Title The Count of Monte Cristo
• Author Alexandre Dumas
• Year 1844
• Genre Classic

Thrown in prison for a crime he has not committed, Edmond Dantès 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 he becomes determined not only to escape, but also to use the treasure to plot the destruction of the three men responsible for his incarceration.

Thoughts

I enjoyed reading this so much. The start of the book was all action/adventure, how is he going to escape from prison, and gradually it turned into more of a mystery - how exactly is he going to get revenge on all these people that have done him wrong? It was a page-turner throughout though, totally captivating.

There was a brief period in the middle where I found it hard to keep track of who was who, which daughter belonged to which Count, Viscount, Baron, etc. Particularly as there are name changes from the characters at the beginning, so remembering which one played a particular part in Dante’s downfall was tricky. However, it all became clear eventually, and thankfully came together in a satisfactory ending.

I hesitate to say happy. A brief review I had read of this book previously said that it all unravelled a bit at the end, and that made me worry as I was reading. Things do go wrong, of course, but overall I felt it came together nice and neatly.

Rating: 4 / 5