This is probably the longest book I have ever read. I can say it with absolute honesty that it took me a month to finish this book. And no, I only read this novel in that one month.
So how did I come across this book? All thanks to Lord Jeffery Archer.
Being a fan of the genres of mystery and familial dramas, Jeffrey Archer is among my absolute favorite authors. So when I came across a Youtube video with Archer talking about his top five favorite novels, I immediately clicked on it. And ‘The Count of Monte Crist’o was number one.
When I got my hands on the digital book, I didn’t know that the novel has over 100 chapters. And no, regular Dan Brown readers, these aren’t three or four page long chapters. Each chapter lasts for quite a long time and quite a few pages. I will not threaten you with the exact word count of the book, but if you pick this book up, just know it will be a long time before you keep it down.
So what exactly goes on for pages and pages? Well, it is a winding story. Long story short, an innocent man is wrongly convicted of a crime and imprisoned and then he seeks revenge on each one who did wrong to him. Hmmmm….sounds familiar? Yup! Jeffery Archer himself admits that his novel ‘A Prisoner of Birth’ was inspired by this classic. However, beyond the main plot, the two novels are quite different. For one, Archer’s novel is much shorter, is written in the contemporary style and is based in much more recent times. Annnnnnd…. Spoiler Alert! The endings are not at all the same.
With The Count of Monte Christo, you get an in depth and winding story. Oh my God! Don’t be baffled if while reading this book you feel like you might have started another book. each character who is introduced comes with a back story and by the end you will even know where the sub and the sub- sub characters were born, and what happened in their childhood.
Its not that the book has many characters, but several characters change identities multiple times throughout the story, that its hard to keep track of. This novel justified the use of the X ray feature offered by Kindle.
The writing style is also slightly old school, with the author addressing the reader directly multiple times and setting up the scene like its done in a play.
Over all, is the time and effort worth it? Well, if you have the time, then why not? It definitely is a good and a well written story. You know what’s going to happen, the guy will take revenge, but exactly how will he do it is kept a mystery quite till the end. The fact that each character and sub plot is indulged in with so much depth actually keeps you hooked even if the main plot is staggering a bit in pace. And I must give it to the author, no sub plot is left with lose ends. Most of all, once you have finished such a long book, with winding plots that have the potential to confuse you more than a 1000 piece jigsaw puzzle, you emerge with the feeling of a conqueror.
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