# Should I finish reading The Count of Monte Cristo?



## AnelaBelladonna (Apr 8, 2009)

Hello.  I need some advice.

I am reading The Count of Monte Cristo.  At first it was awesome but about 1/3 of the way through, it started getting a bit tedious and I don't look forward to reading it anymore.  Does it start getting good again soon?  I read books to enjoy them but I don't want to give up too soon.

Anela


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## Jeff (Oct 28, 2008)

I haven't read it in many years and don't recall the tedious part, but I do remember it as a wonderful book and would encourage you to finish it.


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## LauraB (Nov 23, 2008)

One of my favorites, but I will say, if you don't have a good translation the going can get tough. I read it on Kindle, I'll see if I can find the link to the translation I read, because I found it very entertaining. 


This edition is available for free from feedbooks I think. I tried the free one first and it locked up my kindle because of format issues. I removed it, bought the above one and read it. I haven't tried the feedbook again, so it may have been fixed.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

As previously observed, a good translation is a must.  I will also observe that when it was written, there was much less available in terms of home enteretainment.  As a result, books tended to be longer with lots more descriptive detail.  Many were serialized, so a chapter would come out with each monthly issue of some periodical.  They'd try to end with something that would make folks go buy the following month's issue.  Also, at least in England, I think writers were paid by the word, which, as you can imagine, encouraged rather more flamboyant language than we're used to in modern books.  You might want to try a good abridged version to get to the meat of the story.  Or an annotated version that will help explain the period detail.

Ann


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

It's been so long since I read it I don't remember any specifics, though I remember I liked it quite well (if not enough to re-read it). I don't recall any "slow spots", but then again I enjoyed the middle portion of _Moby Dick_ when many other people I know have said how boring they found that part, so who knows?


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## MarthaT (Mar 3, 2009)

I read it a little over a year ago, it was a great read. I really hope you finish it


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## AnelaBelladonna (Apr 8, 2009)

I downloaded a sample of the version Red recommended and will give that one a try.  Maybe it is just the translation I have.  Thank you all for your input.  I will continue reading it.

Anela


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Seems like lots of us have read it. . .so if you have questions or comments post 'em. . . .maybe we can get a good discussion going. . . . .maybe I'll go get it and re-read it just to refresh my memory. . . .

Ann


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Also, at least in England, I think writers were paid by the word, which, as you can imagine, encouraged rather more flamboyant language than we're used to in modern books.


I think the process is/was that an editor would tell the author how much space he wanted to fill up and how much he would pay for the work. The actual numbers on the payment per word was a calculation done to see if the editor was making a good offer.



Ann in Arlington said:


> You might want to try a good abridged version to get to the meat of the story.


I seem to recall an article I read somewhere saying that few people had read the entire book in English, as it was commonly abridged to 2/3 of it's original length in translation. I've got the full version on my Kindle, but haven't started it yet.

Mike


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## AnelaBelladonna (Apr 8, 2009)

jmiked said:


> I think the process is/was that an editor would tell the author how much space he wanted to fill up and how much he would pay for the work. The actual numbers on the payment per word was a calculation done to see if the editor was making a good offer.
> 
> I seem to recall an article I read somewhere saying that few people had read the entire book in English, as it was commonly abridged to 2/3 of it's original length in translation. I've got the full version on my Kindle, but haven't started it yet.
> 
> Mike


I am at the part where he is filling up space.


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## Ann in Arlington (Oct 27, 2008)

Stick with it Anela. . .skimming is a good skill to have sometimes!  

Ann


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## LauraB (Nov 23, 2008)

Most of the English translated "abridged" versions are really ones that were censored. The sexual overtones were removed.Specifically


Spoiler



and the chapters where two of the female characters have a sexual relationship, and some implied between the count and a young, but Legal age, male friend. [/spoilers]


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## Sweety18 (Feb 14, 2009)

I never read the book, watched the movie and really liked it.  Now that you mention the book, I think I'll pick me up a copy (unless its available on the K).


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## LauraB (Nov 23, 2008)

Sweety,. the link to one of the kindle ed. is on this thread.


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## Sweety18 (Feb 14, 2009)

Red said:


> Sweety,. the link to one of the kindle ed. is on this thread.


Cool. Thanks, didn't see the link before


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## NogDog (May 1, 2009)

jmiked said:


> I think the process is/was that an editor would tell the author how much space he wanted to fill up and how much he would pay for the work. The actual numbers on the payment per word was a calculation done to see if the editor was making a good offer.
> 
> I seem to recall an article I read somewhere saying that few people had read the entire book in English, as it was commonly abridged to 2/3 of it's original length in translation. I've got the full version on my Kindle, but haven't started it yet.
> 
> Mike


Steven Brust's _The Phoenix Guards_ and _Five Hundred Years After_ (no Kindle versions yet) were written as a sort of homage to these "romance" novelists (in particular Alexandre Dumas): lots of florid writing that is overly wordy by today's standards. It's often humorous, though sometimes it gets in the way of the story. (My favorite is where the narrator spends a couple paragraphs explaining why he is not going to waste the reader's time with a description of a character's horse since it would do nothing to add to the story, then a few pages later he mentions a character riding off on a horse which he describes in a long sentence or two, making me laugh out loud.)


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## Carol Hanrahan (Mar 31, 2009)

I read the abridged version and loved it.  Then I read the abridged version to my kids, before we all went to see the movie.  It helps to keep a list of the characters so you know who is who.


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## AnelaBelladonna (Apr 8, 2009)

Carol Hanrahan said:


> I read the abridged version and loved it. Then I read the abridged version to my kids, before we all went to see the movie. It helps to keep a list of the characters so you know who is who.


I have a spreadsheet.


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## JCBeam (Feb 27, 2009)

I'm currently reading it and have been for awhile--have read several books in between.  I cut, pasted and printed the chapter summaries and commentaries from Cliff Notes and also printed some stuff from SparkNotes, just I can refresh my memory in between reads and keep track of the characters.


Juanita


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## Ignatius (Feb 22, 2009)

Does anyone know the details of the version contained in the Mobilereference Works of Alexandre Dumas collection? Translator? Abridged or unabridged?

I really like the Mobilereference collections, but the details on the translations they use are some kind of state secret or something.


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## Anne (Oct 29, 2008)

Red said:


> One of my favorites, but I will say, if you don't have a good translation the going can get tough. I read it on Kindle, I'll see if I can find the link to the translation I read, because I found it very entertaining.
> 
> 
> This edition is available for free from feedbooks I think. I tried the free one first and it locked up my kindle because of format issues. I removed it, bought the above one and read it. I haven't tried the feedbook again, so it may have been fixed.


Red you are right. It is important to have the right translation. Thanks for the link.


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## James Conway (Jul 7, 2011)

My vote is to finish it. I don't know exactly where you are in the story but when he gets back to France things don't go quite as I expected them to.


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

Yeah, so what's the update?  Did you finish it?  I love the Penguin edition (unabridged) with a translation by Robin Buss.


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

DYB said:


> I love the Penguin edition (unabridged) with a translation by Robin Buss.


That's the one I'm currently reading. I like much more than previous versions I've tried.

Mike


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## AnelaBelladonna (Apr 8, 2009)

I tried to read two different translations.  (I don't remember which translations they were)  It just stopped being fun and I read for fun.


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## brianjanuary (Oct 18, 2011)

Definitely finish it! Since Dumas wrote novels in serialized form for newspapers, there is a lot of padding, but the payoff is good.

Brian January


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## brianrowe (Mar 10, 2011)

I had to read Count of Monte Cristo during freshman year of high school. It was one of my faves growing up!! I know it's long but it's worth it in the end. The 2002 film starring Jim Caviezel is really good, too. Check that one out after you finish.


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

LauraB said:


> Most of the English translated "abridged" versions are really ones that were censored. The sexual overtones were removed.Specifically
> 
> 
> Spoiler
> ...





Spoiler



Exactly. It is a wonderful novel, one of my absolute favorites, but you really need a good translation. I recommend the Buss translation.

Avoid the translation on Project Gutenberg which is horrendous.

The abridged versions are the most bowdlerized, omitting the affairs, illegitimate children, homosexuality, and hashish trips and extremely confusing because they omit essential plot points. I strongly advise against them.


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## Ardyth (Oct 13, 2010)

I suggest skipping ahead to the next fun part of skimming.  I also really love this story, but the style can bog it down.  I have no problem with skipping ahead in books until I hit something interesting that sucks me back in.

I heard it aloud as a kid though... I ought to reread the full version, but I'm sure that it was an abridged one that was read to me.


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## Iain Edward Henn (Jan 29, 2011)

Anela, I read the Penguin Classics edition translated by Robin Buss, a couple of years ago and it is without doubt one of my all-time favourite novels. So my advice is go back to it - however it's possible an older translation may be heavier going and not do the original Dumas story justice? There are some entertaining film adaptations over the years but all of them change the storyline considerably and, of course, given the length of the novel, films do not cover many of the sub-plots and characters. (There is a French miniseries starring Gerad Depardieu which comes closest.)

For myself and many other readers, the unabridged Dumas tale with all its epic grandeur is certainly an enriching reading experience.


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## Darlene Jones (Nov 1, 2011)

I read it many years ago and it is still one of my favorites. Don't give up!


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## Mike D. aka jmiked (Oct 28, 2008)

Iain Edward Henn said:


> (There is a French miniseries starring Gerad Depardieu which comes closest.)


It's been in my Netflix queue for a few months. I may have to bump it up.

Mike


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## joanhallhovey (Nov 7, 2010)

Push on through.  It's gets better again.  

Joan


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## DYB (Aug 8, 2009)

Iain Edward Henn said:


> (There is a French miniseries starring Gerad Depardieu which comes closest.)


Yes, I have that miniseries on DVD and have watched it a few times. (Gerard Depardieu's son, Guillaume (RIP), plays the young Edmond Dantes.) It does cover some good ground of the novel, but they also make some significant changes (especially the ending - which is awful). But beggars can't be choosers, I suppose.


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## Krista D. Ball (Mar 8, 2011)

JRTomlin said:


> The abridged versions are the most bowdlerized, omitting the affairs, illegitimate children, homosexuality, and hashish trips


....but that's the fun parts!


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## GerrieFerrisFinger (Jun 1, 2011)

AnelaBelladonna said:


> Hello. I need some advice.
> 
> I am reading The Count of Monte Cristo. At first it was awesome but about 1/3 of the way through, it started getting a bit tedious and I don't look forward to reading it anymore. Does it start getting good again soon? I read books to enjoy them but I don't want to give up too soon.
> 
> Anela


Stick with it. I know what you mean. Like a lot of great books it sags for a bit, but gets back to the action.


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## GerrieFerrisFinger (Jun 1, 2011)

Ann in Arlington said:


> Stick with it Anela. . .skimming is a good skill to have sometimes!
> 
> Ann


Yep, I agree 100%.


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## JRTomlin (Jan 18, 2011)

Krista D. Ball said:


> ....but that's the fun parts!


Exactly! Which is why you should never read those "translations" which are actually an attempt to "clean it up".


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