South Shore Readers discussion

Our long December/January read is the classic The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. We will meet over Zoom the last Sunday in January to discuss. You can RSVP to the event here in our group. People with a YES RSVP will be messaged a zoom link.

Reading guide available on LitLovers here: https://www.litlovers.com/reading-gui...

Questions pasted below:

1. The central issue in The Count of Monte Cristo is the question of revenge. In the case of this book, is Dantes' quest for vengeance morally just? Can vengeance ever stand in for justice?

2. Discuss Villefort's decision to imprison Dantes. He believes Dantes has been unfairly accused, but at the same time he fears for his own father's life.

3. Talk about the role that the Abbe Faria plays in Dante's development. Why does Dantes consider him a second father?

4. Why does Dantes treat Caderrouse more lightly than he does Danglars and Mondego?

5 What truths do Julie and Emmanuel reveal to Dantes? What does he learn from them?

6. As he takes his leave from Maximillian, Dantes claims that "there is neither happiness nor misery in the world; there is only the comparison of one state with another, nothing more.” What does that statement mean—in the context of the story and in real life—and how does it reverberate throughout the novel?

7. Talk about Dantes' profound alienation when he escapes from prison and his gradual movement back into reconciliation with humanity. How does that development take place: what and the plot benchmarks who are characters who help him regain his humanity.

I still have a long way to go but if this book was written today we'd all be rolling our eyes at the melodrama!

I am still waiting for my copy on libby. It says "Available soon" so fingers crossed. :)

Dumas desperately needed a better editor. Some of the tangents go on for too long and he suffers from too many characters, but still got some good stuff in there :)

I just finished the whole story within a story

I hit enter by mistake-so I just finished the whole story of Vampa and Theresa and I’m really wishing someone chopped out a lot of this! Also, I’m reading the Sparknotes summaries which is definitely helping.

Still waiting for my copy. Waiting until I cave and get it from Amazon...Then the LIBBY hold will end. :p I guess I know what I will be doing ALL week: Count of Monte Cristo!!

alright. I am about 15% of the way through. I don't know if I will be finishing this beast by Sunday, but I am trying my hardest. :) I am enjoying the overall writing, but agree with the comment about a lot of characters and a lot of tangents.

My copy is 1462 pages long so I just passed the halfway mark. Dear God. This is so not what I was expecting. I feel like I haven't cared about anything that's happened since he escaped and found the treasure and I still have 700 pages to go!!! Ughhhhhhh

I am almost a third of the way through. I am a few chapters beyond them arriving at the Island of Monte Cristo. Time for some roasted goat!!

Ummm, did they not have editors in 19th century France?!? sigh.

Dantes is playing the lonnnnnnnnnggggggggg game (as is Dumas!)

I finished! I feel like the final fifth of the book really picked up the pace.

Done!!!!! Whooohoooo!!!!’n

Oooooh! I am almost there! Ooooh! Reading on a prayer.


I am on chapter 107 of 117!

Karen, you are right, the last portion of the book is more bearable. At least there aren't 8 million tangents.

On the call Karen mentioned this book. It is non-fiction about Dumas' family.

The Black Count: Glory, Revolution, Betrayal, and the Real Count of Monte Cristo by Tom Reiss