The Count of Monte Cristo

Although this is an "abridged" version, it appears that it is abridged not so much to shorten the novel but to move it along. It remains an essentially full length novel. It is also expertly narrated by David Case/Frederick Davidson who is one of the best narrators in terms of range of characters and emotion.

Wish I'd have gotten this one first. With the 47 hour unabridged version my mind got lost and overloaded.

This was one of those "I want to get to this someday..." books, and now I've gotten to it. I'm glad I did.

If you're not familiar with the story, a quick summary: Edmund Dantes is unjustly imprisioned in the Chateau d'If, where he falls in with a fellow prisoner who knows of a vast hidden treasure on the islet of Monte Cristo. After his escape, Dantes finds the treasure, purchases the title of Count of Monte Cristo and seeks to pay back his old friends....and his old enemies. [There's a lot more to it than this, of course.] It's very well written and a very well-done tale. Romance, adventure, revenge, it's all here.

I have a few minor quibbles, but they really are minor:
0. The editing it a bit glichy in places. Sometimes, instead of a pause between sentencesthenext sentence jumps right on top of the previous one.
1. Yes, it's long and yes, it bogs down in a few places, but not to the point of being intolerable. [That's one advantage to an audiobook...if it bogs down for a chapter or two, you can just wait it out.]

David Case's narration is good without being great. Dialogs, in particular, become hard to follow at times.

Wow what a book. My 13 year old son says this is now his favorite. The character come to life. Each one with it's own unique sound. The reading of this book is just wonderful.

I haven't read the unabridged version but I felt this shortened was well written and I didn't feel that I had missed any of the story. The narrator was very good and I thoroughly enjoyed the book.

A CLASSIC STORY WELL READ BY AN ACTOR THAT MAKES IT COME ALIVE. A MOVIE COULD NOT DO IT JUSTICE.

This was a good listen but I would definitely recommend the abridged version. I started with the other version, got 20 hours in and had enough. That included using the speed filters.
At the same time, my brother is reading this book. I picked up his version and read the back cover. The review was actually very unflattering and in the end, I agree. For such a "classic" the Count is really 1 dimensional and a lot of the other characters are a bit overly dramatic.

Yes but only if you have time to kill. It's a book that is talked about so much.

I thought the narration was pretty good. It must be a hard book to narrate. There are so many names and nicknames for the characters for one thing.

It is and no.

SPOILER ALERT: I guess my biggest issue with this "classic" is by the end, the Count is so perfect it gets ridiculous. He is super-rich, super-strong, can fight, use a gun, great with the ladies...blah, blah, blah. Nearing the end I thought to myself this character is way too "God-Like." Shortly thereafter, this was actually addressed by Dumas so he does score points for that. The summation of his perfection isn't anything amazing, but at least Dumas had the foresight to realize his character made Saints look like your average Joe. The end message is thought provoking and positive in nature.

I cannot listen to another word, because I find the mannered 19th Century Windsor accent unbearable. He sounds insincere and inauthentic; when I listen to him telling me this story I feel like an idiot for doing so. I got this audio-book as a test-case for my aging father. After listening to it for ten seconds, I know that if I give it to my dad, he will throw my ipod out the window.

Can I get my money back?