Customer Reviews

Classic Literary Adaptation: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(2)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(2)
1 star:		(2)

 

 

Twenty-five years ago, I was in freshman college French class, and could read plays and short stories by the great French authors. A recent visit by a French exchange student showed me how much I'd forgotten, so I decided to try reading French again. This great tale by Alexandre Dumas was the perfect way to start: it's the familiar story of false imprisonment and exceedingly complex revenge in the early 19th century. This is the unabridged version with each of 2 volumes running to 750 pages, so it became my bedtime companion for months. Dumas is a wonderful story-teller, almost always amusing or exciting. It's light reading; my old vocabulary wouldn't have been up to metaphors or symbolism. The only draw-back is a lack of footnotes: much of the action takes place in Italy and the text is sprinkled with some Italian terms that I couldn't translate. The Oxford English translations of Dumas' works offer little tidbits of historical and geographic information that are very helpful in understanding context; none of that is available here. Overall though, I heartily recommend this edition for the reader who wants to wade into the original works of a great French novelist.

It's a pity that Amazon's description of this item isn't more complete--I never would have ordered it. This item is NOT a novel! It is not the original French version of Alexandre Dumas' classic adventure. The closest I can come to describing this book is that it must be the French equivalent of Cliffnotes!

The book itself is only about a 130 pages long. The story contained in it is a pathetic paraphrasing of the actual novel, condensed and simplified to make an interesting study guide for the student. I'm not sure how the author hoped to accomplish this, though--the entire story is changed.

This book might be of value to someone who only wanted to read something in French. It has notes in the margins to explain words that might be unfamiliar, and is rather easy reading. But if you're looking for anything more than that, you'd be better off taking a trip to Paris yourself and picking up your own copy.

The book was delivered on time and it is in good condition. The only issue is that it wasn't made clear that it is only a portion of the book. I thought it was the entire story--the price is high for just one of four parts.

It is so great to be able to have my favorite book in the original language digitally. This book contains everything you need: adventure, revenge, plots, fights, love,...
Usually I have to get my mother to send me french book from France. This time no waiting, no extra cost in shipping and euros. It is just instant gratitude.

"Le Comte de Monte Cristo" is one of my favorite books, actually. Albeit written more than 150 years ago, I persist considering it as the first thriller ever. In "Le Conte de Monte Cristo", you'll find murders, conspiracy, espionage (the first known case of economic intelligence is in it!), betrayal, and even romance. Alexandre Dumas' writing style is rather simple and easy to read, contrary to all assumptions. Well, it is really written as a modern thriller, but you'll not find a single word of crude language in it, of course.

My negative critics relates to this long part in the middle of the story that unfold in Italy and that does not add much to it. It is even totally useless, in my own opinion.

"Le Comte de Monte Cristo" is the story of Edmond Dantes, a young and successful man who is falsely accused of conspiracy against the government by a bunch of envious folks. Edmond Dantes is arrested and is sent to jail for a very long time in a prison located on an island where no one is supposed to survive for long. There he meet an old priest who was has been wrongly accused, like him, whose cells is just next to his. Just before he dies, the priest tells Edmond Dantes he was the guardian of a huge treasure belonging to the Roman Catholic Church in Roma, buried in a cave on a small and deserted island named "Monte Cristo Island" and located in the Mediterranean Sea, near the Italian coast (this Island is fictional too). Edmond Dantes manages to escape just after the priest dies, and is saved from drowning by some Italian fishermen. As he is convinced that the old priest said the truth, he goes to the Monte Cristo Island, and finds the treasure indeed. Then, he uses this fortune to take revenge against all those who accused him of being a conspirator against the French king, and thus sent him in jail for fourteen years. Also, he wants to find out where his fiancé is, as he was about to marry her the very same day he was arrested by the French police. From this on, Edmond Dantes changes his name for "the Count of Monte Cristo", goes back to France where he is going to chase and kill all the men who accused him, one by one, thanks to his huge fortune. This is from this part on that the story becomes a terrific thriller.

Now, be warned that it is a very long story; it is one of the longest French novel, actually.

Just in case, I let you know that Dominique Raymond Poirier, a French author who claims he has been deeply influenced by "Le Conte de Monte Cristo", recently wrote what I call a modern version of this novel, although the way the plot unfolds is very different. The title is "Grandoria", and - surprisingly enough - it is available on Kindle and in hardcover in French language in U.S. only on Amazon.com (?). If you liked Le Conte de Monte Cristo, then you'll enjoy reading "Grandoria", doubtless, a long novel too, indeed.

It is too bad to see that French Kindle books are so scarce.

How wonderful to be able to read original novels in French. I love Alexandre Dumas. And what a great price to have the 4 volumes of Le comte de Monte Cristo for 0.99c.
My only complaint is that I wish Kindle woud make the online dictionary in French available (the cursor only gives you the online english dictionary)and also use a French native for text to speech. I am a French native and cannot understand anything when switching to speech. But, I am sure Kindle will find a way to do it in the future!

This edition is in French and it is NOT abridged. Exactly what I was looking for!

Despite what one of the reviewers above claims, this IS the original, unabridged French classic novel. It is over 1500 pages long (not the mere 150 pages claimed). It is a beautiful, classic story, with the gorgeous prose and intricate plots which Dumas is renowned for. One of my absolute favorite books. Of course, this particular ISBN is written in French.

J'ai reçu la kindle en cadeau et le premier titre que j'ai téléchargé, c'est le Comte de Monte Cristo ! Ce fut le premier Dumas que je lus à 9 ans, et le charme est toujours aussi grand. Le nouveau format du lecteur ne m'a pas trop gênée, je m'y habitue ! Mais je regrette que le choix de livres en français soit si limité, et très difficilement accessible sur amazon.fr ...
Il faudrait qu'Amazon s'y mette un peu !
J'attends avec espoir. En tout cas, message à tous : il faut lire, déguster, et relire "le comte", avec ses mystères, son trésor, sa vengeance... Ah ! le séjour dans les cachots du château d'If, l'évasion, les scènes de bandits romains... Un seul regret : pas d'illustrations! Elles étaient si belles, les illustrations du XIXème siècle!

None of the other reviews, nor the description, noted that this is an abridged version of the book. Other than that, it's an interesting in that it is a series of prints of the exact scans from a 1900 abridged edition of the book.