Count of Monte Cristo - 1

Not long ago, Dave and I watched the DVD of The Count of Monte Cristo, and ever since I've been wanting to read the novel. I saw glimmerings of a Christian perspective on forgiveness in the movie and wondered if that perspective might be more visible in the novel.

I picked up an old copy from the public library last evening. It's 2 1/4 inches thick! I measured it. And the small print is in an archaic serif font that is difficult to read, but I'm enjoying it tremendously already. It's fun to compare the book with the movie.

Dumas, like all authors of his day, tells his readers much that they could figure out for themselves, and this undoubtedly makes modern English professors cringe (if they read such books). I find it easy to overlook being told which characters are good and which ones are bad since I get caught up in the story.

So far the character of the main villian is quite different from the movie portrayal, but I'm only up to chapter five. An important difference is that the novel clearly depicts the relationship between Dantes and Mercedes as pure. That kind of destroys a big surprise element of the movie.

I hope I can find time to read the 66 chapters with their 649 pages over the next couple of weeks!