The Count of Monte Cristo, by Alexandre Dumas

[keilexandra]

The Count of Monte Cristo
by Alexandre Dumas
1462 pages (hardcover)
Genre: Fiction/Historical/Romance

Some might argue that this French literature classic is more of an adventure story, or an allegorical tale; I maintain that it is a romance, even without the standard Happily Ever After. Although Edmond's desire for vengeance is a major theme, second only perhaps to the religious moral imparted, nothing would have happened if Edmond did not love Mercédès and she him. And then of course there is Haydée--Greek princess, ransomed slave, Monte Cristo's redemption.

For those unfamiliar with this story, I'll endeavor to explain. Edmond Dantès, a simple sailor, is about to marry his beloved betrothed, Mercédès Herrera (a beautiful Catalan girl), when he is falsely arrested for treason. Through a coincidence of fate, Edmond ends up imprisoned in the Chateau d'If for 18 years. There he meets a supposedly mad abbé named Faria, who sustains his hope and tells him of a great treasure hidden on the barren isle of Monte Cristo. When the abbé dies, Edmond manages to escape and discover the treasure, thus becoming immensely rich. He returns to Paris as the eccentric Count of Monte Cristo and plots terrible vengeance against the old friends and betrayers of Edmond Dantès. That's the gist of the plot, though of course the story is much more complicated.

It's a very long book, as you might surmise from the page count. I'm reminded of Through A Glass Darkly by Karleen Koen, though in my opinion The Count of Monte Cristo is vastly better writing. Too, Dumas lived during the 1800s, so he has an excuse for old-fashioned prose and lengthy descriptions. The style is obviously not modern, but not (usually) overbearing. The plot is original and exciting. This novel is admired as a literary masterpiece, but for the diligent reader, it's thrilling as well (though a tolerance of historical fiction helps).

Personally, my absolute favorite character was Haydée. Her role is downplayed in the Depardieu adaptation (briefly reviewed), but I loved Dumas's portrayal of their complex relationship: master-slave, father-daughter, even a hint of husband-wife at the end. Overall, I believe the book is and always will be better than the film, but the latter would work well for those without the patience to read almost 1500 pages of archaic prose. Also, there's a certain quality to seeing something acted out dramatically. I saw a film version before reading the book, and both have their merits.

So now I just need to see the 2002 adaptation, though I doubt it'll be as good--for one, it's half the length. But we shall see; I hate judging things by hearsay.

Links
- 1999 film adaptation (my brief review)
- 2002 film adaptation (my review)
- The Stars My Destination, by Alfred Bester (future link)
- Revenge, by Stephen Fry (future link)

Comments

[inkylj.livejournal.com]

It's a sf novel by Alfred Bester, written in the mid 50's, and despite the setting being totally different is a loose adaptation of The Count of Monte Cristo. It's set on a nearish-future dystopian Earth as this guy who was left for dead in outer space comes looking for revenge. This book and his other big one, The Demolished Man, still feel pretty innovative and exciting despite being 50-odd years old.

[(Anonymous)]

Interesting! I'll put it on my to-read list.

[keilexandra]

That was me, by the way.

[inkylj.livejournal.com]

Thinking about this again a week later, I remembered another adaptation you might be interested in -- Revenge, by Stephen Fry (aka The Stars' Tennis Balls outside the US). It's a modern adaptation of the story (guy's wrongfully committed to an insane asylum, and escapes with the number of a swiss bank account) but it is more noteworthy for being 1) funny 2) bawdy and 3) dark. I haven't read the original so I dunno how it compares for sure, but I feel pretty safe in saying it's a more modern/"realist" treatment of the latter half of the story.

[keilexandra]

Sounds interesting. (And you really should read the original!)