Bienvenue à Marseille | 2025 The Count of Monte Christo, read-a-long

Today’s chapter (The Cemetary) is a nail biter for sure!

Welcome @polkadotmonstera and @Scatterbugg - it should be easy to catch up, the story rolls along so fast!

Can I join or is it too late? I'm ordering the book on amazon. Thank you.

I've enjoyed reading Jean de Florette and Manon des Sources in French. I would say give them a go, @MotherOfCatBoy. They're good stories and not too daunting in length. Interesting that you say the English translation is poor @AwardGiselePelicotTheNobelPeacePrize (excellent username btw. What an incredible woman she is).

@TonTonMacoute Good point about the readability of classics. They've stood the test of time for a reason.

I'm sad the old abbé isn't going to be around to see the fun which I assume is on the way (I'm not familiar with the plot but guessing revenge is on the cards).

Hello, please can I join too? I was also catching up with you all and now have.

I'm enjoying this a lot which I wasn't expecting. DH has been saying it's great for years but like others was put off by the size and age.

Loving how fast it moves and how it's quite funny thrown in with the otherwise sad story. Like how does the Abbe have all that stuff undetected, it's great.

I mean I knew it was coming but I'm gutted to see the Abbé go. I would have loved to see "The Adventures of Abbé and Edmond: A Tale of Dastardly Revenge."

Thank you for the recommendation @TonTonMacoute and @cassandre - I will have a little explore when we have finished this - maybe over the summer..

Oh yes, definitely. The autobiographical ones are charming, moving and funny. La Gloire de Mon Père and Le Chateau de Ma Mère are the ones I have read.

That was an enjoyable chapter 18. It reminded me of Treasure Island.

I also thought the last few chapters were great. It's a bit implausible maybe that Dantes could become educated in such a short time. But Faria is a great character and the relationship between him and Dantes is very moving. It's a reminder of the power of human connection. Dumas portrays very well the awfulness of Dantes' isolation, and shows how a deep connection with just one fellow human being can make life worth living.

It's quite exciting the way Faria helps Dantes search his own memory to work out the identity of the villains responsible for his wrongful imprisonment.

And we learn that Dantes really is a good guy (if we didn't know that already), because he sacrifices his own chance of escape in order to be with the disabled abbe.

@Sadik I like your point about YA lit. I didn't expect this book to be so gripping and fast-paced.

@MotherOfCatBoy I haven't read the Pagnol novels in many years, but I recall the French as being not-too-difficult. The Jean de Florette books were some of the first novels I ever read in French on my own, after seeing the films.

Ooh you are making me want to read them now - if I can manage Monte Cristo do you think Pagnol is fairly readable?

Haven't been commenting, but reading along with you all and enjoying the books and the chat immensely. I do think it's ideal reading these books over time much as people would have done originally (though obviously our waiting time per installment is rather less!).
I always think of the Dumas novels as more the YA lit of their day, rather than A Classic, perhaps because I read a number of them as a young teenager, and they're so fast moving and dramatic.

Chapter 19

The Third Seizure

• As it turns out, Edmond already knows the isle of Monte Cristo from his sailor days.
• Faria talks constantly about the treasure, and forces Edmond to memorize the entire letter.
• Times passes.
• One night, he hears a cry come from Faria's cell. Edmond heads over and finds Faria in the throes of his third seizure. The abbé tells Edmond that there's nothing he can do, but Edmond tries to revive him with the red potion nonetheless.
• He fails. The abbé's last words are: "Monte Cristo! Do not forget Monte Cristo!"
• Soon enough, the jailer discovers Faria's body. Since he's a churchman, they decide that he deserves to be buried in a sack. Before they can get to burying him, the governor insists they make sure he's dead by poking him with a hot iron.
• He's definitely dead.
• The governor and jailers leave Faria in the cell, covered in the sack; they will bury him in the morning.

(Orland0’s addition: R.I.P abbé Faria 😔)

Poor Abbe and Dantes, I'm just wondering how and when Dantes is going to get out. I'd half thought they might leave the door to the Abbes cell unlocked, given that he's dead. But that would be too easy!

Pagnol was translated by a beginner translator whose French wasn't up to the job, basically. There are loads of misunderstandings of pretty basic stuff.

I think we tend to think of these classic books as 'literature' - therefore harder to read. But they were written as entertainment.

There wasn't a distinction historically between literature and genre writing the way there is now. But I agree the greek myths, Shakespeare and Dickens are all now seen as intellectual rather than the popular entertainment they were when first written.

That's interesting, how could they mess them up? Only read them in French but the writing is so unfussy, maybe it's difficult to convey the simplicity.

I think we tend to think of these classic books as 'literature' - therefore harder to read. But they were written as entertainment. It's a cracking story, and I'm loving reading it. It was such a dull afternoon yesterday that I read todays chapter as well.

When Edmond talks about Mercedes I love the way people refer to her as his mistress (even the abbé!) and he always corrects them, 'No, she's my fiancée!'

These prison chapters have been fabulous. Love that the treasure is buried on the isle of Monte Cristo as well. This island is really very significant.

I was a little bit naughty and read today's chapter at midnight. Very emotional as you might guess from the chapter title.

The Pagnol translations are famously terrible, as it happens.

Yes, me too @LuckyMauveReader It's so readable and engrossing. And packed with action. I've read that the 1956 TV series had 39 episodes and I can see why! I'm not sure how many episodes the current TV series has planned.

It's hard for me to judge how accurate the translation is, as my limit in French tends to be Maigret stories or Marcel Pagnol novels, but it certainly reads very smoothly without any clunky passages; I'm impressed.

@MamaNewtNewt The next chapter's title makes it sound like Edmond will be on that adventure on his own, sadly.

They're a great pair. The abbe and Edmond are more like Father and Son rather than teacher and student or two jailbirds.

When I used to see books from this period and/or this thickness I never imagined the language to be as accessible as this with such a gripping storyline. Needless to say, I have avoided many great books over the years. This thread and the 50 bookers are teaching me to venture where I have never before. I have never taken part in a read a long before. This is teaching me to be patient and not race ahead so I can see what happens next and it's killing me.

I can't wait for the next chapter

Welcome @MonOncle and good work on catching up.

I'm really enjoying this so far, and although I'm tempted to read ahead I'm quite enjoying being forced to read at a more leisurely pace, and having time to think about each chapter before moving on.

Loving the Abbé and his relationship with Edmond but not laying good odds on them getting that treasure together - sob.

Hello, would you mind if I belatedly join you? I saw this thread last week and thought I’d see if I could catch up, which I’ve finally done so. I wasn’t sure what to expect but I have to say I’m loving it and also realising I know basically none of the history. Trying to rectify that as we go!