The Count of Monte Cristo (Penguin Classics)
4.8 | 6,219 ratings
Price: 10.99
Last update: 03-26-2026
Product details
- ASIN : B002RI9KL8
- Publisher : Penguin
- Accessibility :
- Publication date : March 27, 2003
- Edition : Rev Ed
- Language : English
- File size : 2.8 MB
- Screen Reader : Supported
- Enhanced typesetting : Enabled
- X-Ray : Enabled
- Word Wise : Enabled
- Print length : 1138 pages
- ISBN-13 : 978-0141901251
- Page Flip : Enabled
- Best Sellers Rank:#11 in Kindle Store (See Top 100 in Kindle Store)
- Classic Historical Fiction
- Thriller & Suspense Action Fiction
- Classic Literary Fiction
- Customer Reviews:4.84.8 out of 5 stars(6,217)
Top reviews from the United States
- DJMeet the Nineteenth Century’s Raymond Reddington!“I too have been carried up by Satan to the highest mountain on earth. Once there, he showed me the whole world and, as he did to Christ, said to me: ‘Now, Son of Man, what do you want if you are to worship me?’” (p477)
What a spectacular adventure story!
I thought I knew what to expect from this novel. I imagined I’d end up writing a somewhat banal review contrasting Monte Cristo (“wrongfully imprisoned protagonist becomes consumed by bitterness and the need for revenge”) and the nearly contemporaneous Les Misérables (“protagonist in comparable circumstances shows what redemption looks like”). I was wrong. I’m delighted to report that this rich, multi-layered novel upended my expectations.
This isn’t “Rambo” or “Kill Bill”. Instead, the Count is the nineteen century’s Raymond Reddington, protagonist of the TV series Blacklist. He’s infinitely powerful, obscenely rich, extraordinarily connected, all-knowing, mysterious, and intentional. He has a strong though quirky moral core combined with a delicious dash of ruthlessness, curious mannerisms, and uncomfortable predilections. He’s the ultimate puppet master. He’s always up to something, and things are often not what they seem to be. You may or may not like him, but you’ll certainly find him interesting. You might root for him, but he’ll also give you (along with most of the novel’s characters!) a queasy sense of discomfort bordering on fear. He’s fascinating!
This novel is certainly morally messier than Les Misérables. But is it also a redemption story? Answering that question would constitute a spoiler, so I’ll leave it to you to discover the answer yourself.
If you use a Kindle, I highly recommend the Penguin version available on Amazon. It’s not a full critical edition, but it helps keep you grounded with a little background material and a sprinkling of footnotes. The text is clean and easy on the eyes – not at all like low-budget eReader versions of the classics that do a bad job with OCR. - SchnizleLong Read, But Well Worth It - Penguin Classics Version UnabridgedI'm reading this book for the second time. I first read it about 13 years ago and forgot some of the details. Since I love this book so much and forgot some of the details, I decided to read it again. I have read many classic and modern novels and this is my favorite. The free Kindle version is abridged and a lot of the free and purchased copies out there are. I started reading the free Kindle version and noticed I got to 4% complete pretty fast. This surprised me, as I remembered it being a very long book. I also felt like some intricacies were being left out. I then compared it to my paperback copy of this very edition (Penguin Classics, translated by Robin Buss), that I had read before, and noticed the free Kindle version to be abridged. A lot of the finer details are cut out of the abridged version. The Project Gutenberg version is abridged too.
Some people may prefer the abridged version. It is shorter and the main plot is still intact. I am sure it is still entertaining and it will take less time to read. Others, like me, prefer to read the unabridged version for all the details, like the author intended. Some adult themes and subplots are missing in the abridged version. The book is a masterpiece and altering it is destroying a piece of art. At least you have a choice to which version you would rather read. I just want to inform you to be aware that many versions are abridged and not appropriately labeled so. The unabridged version is over 1,000 pages, small print. The Penguin Classics version, translated by Robin Buss, is the unabridged version.
The plot involves a young and poor man, Edmond Dantes, who recently gets news of a big career promotion and promptly makes plans to marry a young woman he is infatuated with. She is infatuated with him too. Some jealous acquaintances scheme to ruin his recently found success, because doing so means success for them, instead. The scheming results in Edmond Dantes being imprisoned for many years and his love, thinking him dead, marries one of the scheming acquaintances. The other schemers profit by his misfortune too.
Dantes escapes from prison, after many years, and comes upon a great fortune. The fortune makes him extremely wealthy. He is not very happy though and is not willing to just move on and live his live in lavish comfort. He wants revenge! It is the only thing he cares about. He uses his fortune and also a new well-rounded education to plot and execute revenge, methodically. Will vengeance ultimately be worth it or not? Will it finally make him happy? Read this book and find out! - Alyssa CarrollWOW!What a greatly translated version, so far and a wonderful captivating story. Really invested in this read and enjoying it.