Bienvenue à Paris - The Count of Monte Christo, thread 2

[LeylaOfCircassia]

Welcome back - we now find ourselves in Paris, where we have discovered:

• the Count has unlimited resources
• apparently unlimited patience
• is being rather harsh on Mercedes
• has unmasked adultery and a rather tragic act and reunited father, mother and son, but with an incestuous twist, everyone remains in innocent ignorance
• grandparents have died, there may have been foul play
• a couple of women don't want to marry a couple of men, who in turn, also don;t want to marry them

If you are new and joining us - God Speed.

Previous thread here

Next week, from 31st
Monday - Lemonade
Tuesday - The Accusation
Wednesday - The Retired Baker’s Room
Thursday - Breaking and Entering
Friday - The Hand of God
Saturday - Beauchamp
Sunday - rest

Thanks @TimeforaGandT either of those timetables would work for me! I also noticed that the chapters are longer than the CoMC chapters.

I suspect @LeylaOfCircassia @AgualusasLover is a bit snowed under, as she's started a new job, plus she's generously organising the upcoming London 50-bookers meet up.

I've thought about volunteering myself to organise this read along (though I have no expertise on the books), but due to work deadlines, the earliest I could get things going would be this weekend.

Actually I think I prefer the two chapters a week idea; slow is good. The important thing is that we wanted to finish by the end of the year to leave Jan free for a new readalong.

Am happy with any plan though!

I like the sound of doing three chapters a week. I thought the chapters in The Count were quite long at times and I don't want to feel rushed keeping up.

Thanks for the analysis, Time:)

Thanks Fuzzy and cassandre. Will see if any other views but 3 chapters a week means I am more likely to stay on track. Happy to set up a thread for this when we hear from others. Although it may be that we now start next week in any event.

I am happy with the three chapters a week. I suspect it might be a bit 'chewier' than the Count, and we are coming up to school hols as well.

I was worried that @LeylaOfCircassia had gone MIA and am pleased it's just because she's busy!

It would be good to get going on KL though, thank you @TimeforaGandT for volunteering.

Yes, massive thanks @TimeforaGandT ! it would be brilliant if you were able to set up a new thread. And when I said 2 chapters a week, I meant 3, duh.

Thanks @TimeforaGandT. I would also be happy with 3 chapters a week. I liked the way we talked several times a week on the COMC thread, so I think people could be free to comment before the weekend if they wanted to? I like the idea of starting next week.

Thank you very much @TimeforaGandT. I’d prefer the slower pace too.

Thank you all - looks like three chapters a week is the popular option so will sort out a thread and let you know when it's up and running.

Rubbish with links but hopefully this links to the shiny new Kristin Lavransdatter thread:

https://www.mumsnet.com/talk/what_were_reading/5367282-kristin-lavransdatter-read-along-2025?reply=145450182

Has anyone been watching the version of COMC on U & Drama?

I caught a bit of it yesterday evening and parts seem very accurate, the cast looked good, but parts of it completely bonkers. Caderousse is his servant in Paris. I can't remember the servants name in the book - the one who thought he had murdered Villefort.

I've just watched it and thought the screenplay was awful. Sounded like it had been written in French snd poorly translated and the acting was pretty bad too. Shame because it obviously had a big budget.

Oh no, that's disappointing - I am planning to watch it with one of the DC who has read the book.

To be fair my DS15 watched it with me and loved it!

I quite fancy watching it but I hate it when they mess with characters and merge them!

I just found it particularly irritating because I’ve read the book so recently.

I understand why they would merge characters (particularly with such a huge number of people who appear in CoMC) but to make Caderousse into the servant (whose name I still can’t remember) makes no sense!

It did look like a good production and I’m very pleased that @Buttalapasta ’s DS is enjoying it!

@TonTonMacoute Bertuccio! I couldn’t remember either and had to ask DH who loves the book too…

@MotherOfCatBoy

Thank you (and DH!). I read it in about 5 different kindle volumes, it would have taken an age to track down.

This isn’t going to make me any friends, but I have been trudging through this since January and still have 15 hours left of the audiobook😭 I’m determined to get there by the end of the year, but my goodness it is not the book for me

There was a review of the TCOMC in theTimes recently, it's a section where they recommend classics to reread, they're not that behind the times. Apparently the latest tv series is just being shown in France and it's triggered a whole new interest in Dumas and The Count in France.

I was struck by this paragraph in the review.

The text glitters with mirror images and resounds with echoes. The novel begins with an engagement broken off and ends with parted lovers reunited. Imprisonment similarly bookends the narrative. Edmond Dantès’ initials (which lurk in Alexandre Dumas’s name) are seen in Eugénie Danglars, the lesbian who yearns for freedom from an arranged marriage, as Edmond yearns for liberty from revenge. They are also those of Édouard de Villefort, an irritating boy whose murder spurs the Count into realising that maybe his appetite for revenge has turned to excess.

www.thetimes.com/culture/books/article/count-monte-cristo-alexandre-dumas-review-xnp5gzf6p?gaa_at=eafs&gaa_n=AWEtsqeuuBiwGJzb6Yq7lxyNPCVSIARFf5JySW9guGBuTPBu0fOLPoNEjMCrvVPvHRU%3D&gaa_ts=695802f4&gaa_sig=okQV0BWeSTmyEf1MpiinKcSpePosYIgS_wEhUsl8EgWiKDkXId-UzHKHHBUbuj74kyDpFQDPzAC8qKekYh08Fg%3D%3D

Must keep an eye out for that series! The recent film was really good but had some irritating elisions (completely obliterating Villefort Père for a start). A series would have more space. (The old Depardieu version is good).