The Count of Monte Cristo

The Count of Monte Cristo is a tale about revenge - anyone who has seen the movie knows the outline: Edmond Dantes, a young and successful sailor about to marry the girl of his dreams, is sent to prison falsely accused of being a spy. Presumed dead by his family, he vows revenge against those who got rid of him for their own greed and desires. Left a treasure by the only true friend he found in prison, he escapes and becomes the Count of Monte Cristo. One by one, he takes down his enemies. Consumed by revenge he sees nothing - not even the innocent.

I really enjoyed reading The Count of Monte Cristo. It was a light and easy read and those who like adventure, mysterious strangers, and fabulous treasure will love this book. For history geeks, the story captures the essence of France and Italy in the early 1800s and has a lot of references to historical figures. Actually, the whole story is historically inspired with Edmond being sent to prison because it was believed he was a Bonapartist - a follower of Napoleon.

This is the second book I've read by Alexandre Dumas that has been turned into a film. Like The Three Musketeers, the film is not completely faithful to the story. For one thing (spoilers ahead), Edmond doesn't end up with Mercedes!! Yes, that was a shock to me too, but as I read the story, I realized that the author wouldn't have him wind up with an 'old lady' when there was someone young and beautiful under Edmond's protection. Another huge change was that the villain in the movie was a morph of two villains in the novel. Unlike in the movie, Alexandre Dumas shows Edmond's interest and love for his old benefactor and employer Morrel and his family. The Count views them as his own family and does everything for them, taking care of them in their time of need. All in all, although the movie is good, there are a lot of differences from the novel and trust me, reading the book will be fun and different from the experience of the movie.