Quote:
Originally Posted by hols57
I did try to read The Count of Monte Christo and to be fair, the first third or so was good, dealing with the imprisonment and escape and so on, but then the whole thing stalled and got involved with these characters on a (very) long trip to Rome, and I realised that there was still another 1000 pages to go!  So I gave up.... |
I think it's actually the best classic I read in all my childhood! I didn't like 3 musketeers, I read Les Misérables in over 2 years, I couldn't finish David Copperfield... but I could read Monte Cristo over and over again
Quote:
Originally Posted by DMB
Ah. I love the Count of Monte Christo. I have to admit that Dumas is easy to read in French, so OK for my level of French, whereas I have horrible problems with Balzac, for example.
I think one reason why Monte Christo works is that it's a revenge story, and most of us find something deeply satisfying in seeing the baddies get their comeuppance.
|
I agree with your comment up there about the revenge part! I know that Dantès gets revenge, kills the bad guys, wins the girl... they all seem a little bit too perfect for a poor lad imprisoned 14 years. In comparison, Voynich's
The Gadfly is more "realistic": even though he proves to be incredible, almost flawless in characteristics, the protagonist becomes ugly, cruel to others, he dies in the end and never has the girl he loves. How about that?