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the_andyThis is the book that made me fall in love with Dumas and still my favorite of of his. If I remember right I bought a copy on a whim, perhaps burning some bookstore credit (maybe because Brust's Khaavren Romances were Dumas pastiches and I enjoyed those). Anyway I bought a copy, loved it, realized it was abridged, bought a full copy, still loved it, read about how it was the Victorian translation and some things were still dropped, picked up a brand new translation, still loved it. At one point Chris got it for me in French, but we ended up returning it because a) it was still beyond my rudimentary French and b) had Gérard Depardieu on the cover (aside, I eventually saw that version of the Count of Monte Cristo and thought it was actually pretty good. Sorry, Gérard).
Anyway, it takes a fair bit to get going (I'm a fan of method the Gankutsuou anime uses where it starts by focusing on when Albert meets the count in Rome) since there's a lot of set up about how awesome Edmond Dantes is, why various people are conspiring against him, his time in prison, his escape, recovering the treasure, etc, etc. The novel really gets going once he reemerges as the titular Count to enact elaborate revenge. But the revenge is pretty sweet. Who wouldn't want to swoop into society, insinuate yourself in the inner circle of your enemies, and destroy them totally? On the one hand it's super Mary Sue revenge fantasy, but really, isn't that how we want our revenge? And the (infrequent and inconsistent) sections where the Count ponders if what he's doing is evil or carrying out God's will are good drama.Pretty much any time the Count ends up revealing his true identity is some awesome drama. Damn, just read it already.
Ok, so I could gush about how awesome this is all day, let's talk about the problems (trying to avoid spoilers, but it is over 150 years old, so I care only because I want you to enjoy it for the first time if you havent read it). First, the pacing is a bit uneven, largely, I think, because it was published as a serial. The end is a bit rushed. The Count is a dick to Maximilien near the end (then again, the Count is a dick to a lot of people, but still). Mercédès gets a crap ending (I will never have a problem with the fact that many film versions change this). The Count's ending is a little bit off-putting. The one person who is the most to blame for the events is the only conspirator to live at the end.
The only two adaptations I've seen are the aforementioned Depardieu version and the anime. Both have their strong points. The Depardieu version was quick in getting moving, made Bertuccio a good sidekick, and gave Mercédès a better end. Overall I liked it pretty well. Also, Depardieu's accent when pretending to be an Englishman speaking French is awesome.
Gankutsuou is set in the future, has fascinating design, does a lot of things I like (making Albert the focal character is a good move in order to start in the action), but, like many anime, goes off the rails before the end. It leave out/invalidates (in my not so humble opinion) the two best scenes. Also it has Albert/Eugénie. Eugénie isn't interested in guys, get that shit out of my series.
Ok, going to stop now, but I can talk forever if you're interested. Seriously, I will read this book to you if that's what it takes.
Anyway, it takes a fair bit to get going (I'm a fan of method the Gankutsuou anime uses where it starts by focusing on when Albert meets the count in Rome) since there's a lot of set up about how awesome Edmond Dantes is, why various people are conspiring against him, his time in prison, his escape, recovering the treasure, etc, etc. The novel really gets going once he reemerges as the titular Count to enact elaborate revenge. But the revenge is pretty sweet. Who wouldn't want to swoop into society, insinuate yourself in the inner circle of your enemies, and destroy them totally? On the one hand it's super Mary Sue revenge fantasy, but really, isn't that how we want our revenge? And the (infrequent and inconsistent) sections where the Count ponders if what he's doing is evil or carrying out God's will are good drama.Pretty much any time the Count ends up revealing his true identity is some awesome drama. Damn, just read it already.
Ok, so I could gush about how awesome this is all day, let's talk about the problems (trying to avoid spoilers, but it is over 150 years old, so I care only because I want you to enjoy it for the first time if you havent read it). First, the pacing is a bit uneven, largely, I think, because it was published as a serial. The end is a bit rushed. The Count is a dick to Maximilien near the end (then again, the Count is a dick to a lot of people, but still). Mercédès gets a crap ending (I will never have a problem with the fact that many film versions change this). The Count's ending is a little bit off-putting. The one person who is the most to blame for the events is the only conspirator to live at the end.
The only two adaptations I've seen are the aforementioned Depardieu version and the anime. Both have their strong points. The Depardieu version was quick in getting moving, made Bertuccio a good sidekick, and gave Mercédès a better end. Overall I liked it pretty well. Also, Depardieu's accent when pretending to be an Englishman speaking French is awesome.
Gankutsuou is set in the future, has fascinating design, does a lot of things I like (making Albert the focal character is a good move in order to start in the action), but, like many anime, goes off the rails before the end. It leave out/invalidates (in my not so humble opinion) the two best scenes. Also it has Albert/Eugénie. Eugénie isn't interested in guys, get that shit out of my series.
Ok, going to stop now, but I can talk forever if you're interested. Seriously, I will read this book to you if that's what it takes.
