The Count of Monte Cristo

Alexandre Dumas pere Other

(1844-45)
This is a dangerously fabulous read. Telling others that this novel is your favourite can reveal a malevolent side to your personality. Genius plot writer, Alexander Dumas, constructed a story so evil, so clever, and so violent that future reads will just be boring. The sum of the book can be understood in three simple words..."Pede poena claudo", or "retribution comes limping." To seek justice for the three men who so selfishly stole 14 years of his life, Edmund Dantes uses deception to emotionally and financially destroy his foes. The Count of Monte Cristo operates very much like the Russian mafia; if a wrongful act is committed, the wrong-doer's entire family and fortune is extinguished before his or her very eyes.
When this novel appeared for the first time between 1844 and 1846, it was instantly a huge success. The story speaks to the reader from the first page to the last and, although it consists of about 1600 pages, it never bores. A young ignorant sailor, Edmond Dant s, is sucked into the political games of the time just before the Hundred Days in the year 1815 that would bring back Napoleon. In prison, he discovers the truth and decides to take revenge on them. When he then finally discovers the treasure, he starts to prepare for the revenge he longed for all those years. The revenge is compelling, smart, admirably bad. Ironically the bad guys of 14 years before destroy their own lives because of the same characteristics they used to put Edmond in prison. In this book Dumas deals with very real feelings of people, addressing the treacherous circumstances people had to live in in France at the time of the revolution, but asks a very fundamental question as to justness. The book, ends on a high spiritual note.--Submitted by kiki1982
The story takes place in France, Italy, islands in the Mediterranean, and in the Levant during the historical events of 1815–1838. It begins from just before the Hundred Days period (when Napoleon returned to power after his exile) to the reign of Louis-Philippe of France. The historical setting is a fundamental element of the book. An adventure story primarily concerned with themes of hope, justice, vengeance, mercy and forgiveness, it focuses on a man who is wrongfully imprisoned, escapes from jail, acquires a fortune and sets about getting revenge on those responsible for his imprisonment. However, his plans have devastating consequences for the innocent as well as the guilty.--Submitted by Anonymous

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