Skip to main content
PBS logo
 
 

Book Reviews of The Count of Monte Cristo

The Count of Monte Cristo
The Count of Monte Cristo
Author: Alexandre Dumas
ISBN-13: 9780333023235
ISBN-10: 0333023234
Edition: Leather
Rating:
  ?

0 stars, based on 0 rating
Book Type: Hardcover
Reviews: Amazon | Write a Review

37 Book Reviews submitted by our Members...sorted by voted most helpful

reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on + 38 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 15
For those who care, this is an abridged version of the Dumas classic.
reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on + 2 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 10
Please note that this ISBN #0760723788 is the Abridged Version.
BaileysBooks avatar reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on + 491 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 7
This is one of my all-time favorite books. I have only read the unabridged version so I cannot compare how much more in-depth it is compared to an abridged version. Even though this book is long, I cannot imagine how any part of the story could be omitted for the sake of brevity.

I was completely engrossed in the story from the very beginning. This book is a true classic and is well worth the time it takes to invest in reading it. Don't let the thickness of this book turn you away...Even at the very end I was still left wanting more.
SeanP avatar reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on
Helpful Score: 3
This is one of my favorite books.It's a must read Classic! I believe this is one of the greatest novels of all time. The story is amazing. A tale of sweet revenge, filled with mystery, adventure, and a slight touch of romance, What more could a reader possibly want?
reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on + 39 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
The classic. This is the unabridged version - be prepared to dig deeper into this story than most of the abridged versions out there. Compelling.
sevenspiders avatar reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on + 73 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
This is one of the thickest books I've ever read, and it was worth every page. Don't be daunted by the size, the complete, unabridged Count of Monte Cristo is not just one of the best adventure stories ever written, but one of the best stories period. The simplicity of the story conceals everything the story has to say about life; the expectations, disappointments, despairs, hatreds, loves, joys and bittersweetness that everyone experiences. This book is timeless and unforgettable.
reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on + 39 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
An excellent tale, and nothing more need be said about Dumas. This is a nice edition. Abridged, but almost 700 pages. Pocket-sized hardcover, gold edged pages, nicely done and handy for travelling, briefcase, etc.
skywriter319 avatar reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on + 784 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Don't be daunted by the bricklike appearance of this book. The writing is extremely engaging and the pages will fly by so fast you'll wish it never ends.

Edmond Dantes loves his father; has a beautiful, perfect, and loving fiancee; and is poised to become captain of a whole ship at the tender age of nineteen. Then, in a couple of hours, he loses everything, the victim of slander by some jealous and ambitious "friends."

Locked away in an underground dungeon on an island prison for 14 years, Edmond learns of a massive treasure buried on the island of Monte Cristo. When he finally manages to escape, Edmond is a changed man--for better or for worse--and vows to use the island's treasure to exact complete revenge on the men who ruined his life.

THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO reads easily and contains a myriad of characters you will get to know as well as the back of your hand. It is exciting and difficult to put down once you start. Get the Penguin edition translated by Robin Buss for the best read. I highly recommend that everyone read this book!
reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on
Helpful Score: 2
ABRIDGED VERSION (500 or 600 pages instead of 1300 or 1400)!!!
reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on + 7 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 2
Abridged version... about a third as long as the original 1600 pages, but still good.
reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on + 3 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This book may be daunting to some because there are so many pages but once you open the book and start reading, you're mesmerized! Alexandre Dumas knows how to capture his readers and with this book, it was hard to put down. LOVED IT.
reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on + 4 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This is one of my all time favorite books!!! This is a book that I could read over and over and never get tired of it. With over 1200 pages you'd think that there would be some boring parts but the whole book was amazing, I absolutely love it!!
swingsistert avatar reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on + 78 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 1
This novel qualifies for the title "deep" literature. There are several layers of plot woven together very masterfully. Love, intrigue, action, drama and suspense all roll together in this must-read. It's on my summer reading list every year.
runningfromzombies avatar reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on + 2 more book reviews
I'm a huge fan of The Count of Monte Cristo. I loved Edmond Dantes character and the intrinsic web of revenge that was woven into this story. I was unable to put it down. I'd tried reading this book 10 years ago and was glad I picked it up again.
reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on
This book is an amazing adventure story. Dont be daunted by the size. Once you are reading you wont want to put it down. Dumas develops his characters in depth and is witty and sarcastic at times when narrating about him.
A must read.
reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on + 2 more book reviews
Great book!
reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on + 31 more book reviews
Classic, set in the years of the Napoleonic Era, the celebrated story of Edmond Dantes. A man sentenced to life imprisonment for a drime he did not commit, who escaped the noorious impregnable fortress, the Chateau d'lf, in order to exact a terrible vengence on his enemies.
SwapperShopper avatar reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on + 8 more book reviews
One of the greatest books of all time, and one of my top five.
reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on + 61 more book reviews
Childrens abridged version
reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on + 145 more book reviews
A great love story, a wonderful mystery, and a lot of humor to make one great classic. You will not be disappointed!
reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on + 36 more book reviews
This is the best book ever! I could read it over and over again (and I have).
reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on + 40 more book reviews
Great book, and although so much longer, the unabridged version is so much more detailed and worth the read. I would say one of my top 5 books of all time.
scrapbooklady avatar reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on + 472 more book reviews
"The Count of Monte Cristo" is the only book I've read written by Alexandre Dumas, and I have to say I loved it. The size is rather intimidating, but it is completely worth it.
reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on
This is my all time favorite classic!!! At first I was a little intimidated by the length, but after I started reading I just couldn't put it down! Wonderful book I can't wait to read it again!!!!
abbykt avatar reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on + 113 more book reviews
I have read this book once before but I did not remember it well. I did not remember how over dramatic most of the characters were, always trying to kill themselves! No one wanted to take accountability for their bad choices in their lives. Oh, the romantic novels! It did not seem that the Count needed to work very hard to take his revenge. The characters were already pretty corrupted.
reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on + 29 more book reviews
Four stars because this is an abridged edition. Otherwise, it captures the feel of The Count of Monte Cristo quite well and cuts out some of the leisurely pace and unwinding. Which really might be better if you plan to read it again... and again; in the unabridged version, sometimes you felt like saying, "All right, get to the point," and this version does it for you. Other than that, a decent version. Beautiful trade-sized hardcover book. Very classy looking on a bookshelf.
reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on + 7 more book reviews
Great Classic
reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on
What a fantastic read! I was so surprised at how the story grabbed me and pulled me in, especially since The Three Musketeers seemed so dry to me until "The Plot Thickens". This is a classic vengeance novel, and builds slowly and deliberately. My only reservation about it is that the victim who avenges himself shows little remorse about how thoroughly he rips other lives apart. Though there is a strand of thought in the novel devoted to how consuming and ugly vengeance can be, Dumas focuses most of his efforts on the meat of the revenge plot. Despite my reservations, it was a delightful story.
reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on + 116 more book reviews
This is such a great story! There are so many characters with so much happening in their lives. It keeps you involved throughout the story.
reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on + 17 more book reviews
Great Book!
reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on + 81 more book reviews
I love this book! Give it a try- I don't know how anyone could swap it.
reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on + 10 more book reviews
it had a few slow moments, but i loved this classic. the movie that recently came out based on it was terrible! read the book!
crytal avatar reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on + 155 more book reviews
Holy crap! That was a long book! I loved the movie and was reluctant yet excited to read the book. In a way, it was better than the movie, but at the same time, the movie was just as good. I definately enjoyed the depth of the story that was written, but felt that a lot of it could have been skipped. I think if I ever reread it, it will be the abridged version, just to see what was left out. To see if it is what I would have been glad to have seen cut. Anyway, a good book, but I'd probably recommend the abridged version.
23dollars avatar reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on + 432 more book reviews

THE COUNT OF MONTE CRISTO is a definitive journey-of-the-soul narrative.


Edmond Dantésa young Frenchman who was freshly promoted on the job and was on the eve of marrying his beloved sweetheart Mercédèsis wrongfully accused, imprisoned and condemned to suffer for fourteen long years in the Château d'If before good fortune befalls him and he escapes to become the great Count of Monte Cristo, and continues his spiritual growth through an elaborate plot for vengeance against the men who were responsible for his wrongful imprisonment.

There were lots of key elements in this story that speak to the ultimate truth about life itself. Particularly at the end with Maximilien, who goes through a "death" experience of giving up the world only to find that it leads him to the reward of his heart's desire.

This is a very deep tale for those with the eyes to see that Alexandre Dumas wrote much more than just a mere story with this work.

I don't think this book is for everyone. The writing style is dated and not the most accessible prose for modern readers. I also felt that many of the middle chapters could've been left out without losing too muchbut I can understand the length given the fact that the author initially wrote the story in a series of installments.

Although it took me well over a year to complete the experience of this novel, in the end, I think it was most definitely worth the time and I can certainly understand why the story has endured for over 170 years. A-
that70sgirl avatar reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on
Dumas' masterpiece IMHO--- loved the movie too! A must have for english classes also :)
RaccoonGirl avatar reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on + 97 more book reviews
In this ever-popular tale of love and revenge in the post-Napoleonic era, Edmond Dantes, a nineteen-year-old sailor from Marseilles, is soon to be captain of his own ship and to marry his beloved, the beautiful Mercedes. But spiteful enemies provoke his arrest on the very day planned for his wedding, and without ceremony he is condemned to lifelong solitary imprisonment in the notorious Chateau dIf. His sole companion in prison is the crazy priest Faria, who shares with Edmond a secret plan of escape and a map to hidden riches on the island of Monte Cristo. When Faria dies, Edmond attempts the incredible and daring escape plan alone. And finally he is free- and rich beyond imagination- after fourteen years of unjust imprisonment. Keeping his true identity a secret, Edmond enters society as the Count of Monte Cristo, a polite, refined nobleman with a private determination to reclaim his lost loveand to exact a slow, careful revenge upon his accusers.
reviewed The Count of Monte Cristo on
This book is in excellent condition.