Book Review: The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Title: The Count of Monte Cristo
Author: Alexandre Dumas
Genre: classic
Published: May 27, 2003 by Penguin Classics (originally publ. 1846)
Translator: Robin Buss
1276 pages
My rating: 5/5

Alexandre Dumas’ The Count of Monte Cristo first appeared in serialized form in 1844 to 1846 and was published in book form in 1846. The main character Edmond Dantès, a nineteen-year-old sailor, is falsely accused of treason and imprisoned without a trial in the Château d’If, a fortress off the coast of Marseille. A fellow prisoner Abbé Faria deduces that the people responsible for Edmond’s imprisonment are his romantic rival, an envious crewmate, and an ambitious magistrate who is desperate to protect his career. When Faria is on his deathbed, he reveals the location of a secret treasure to Edmond. Edmond escapes the prison, finds the treasure, and enters the 1830’s Parisian society to avenge himself as the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo.

This was a fun book! This review will have spoilers because the book is a classic—if you haven’t read it yet, do yourself a favor and read it.

Authors Are Weird (Am I?)

A couple of months ago on YouTube, I came across a fun tag with ten questions about weird habits authors and writers might have. I obviously wanted to know if my habits can be considered weird! Check the video below to find out my answers (spoiler: it seems I'm not very weird).

Favorite Classics: Daniel Defoe

Robinson Crusoe and Moll Flanders by Daniel Defoe

In this second instalment of some of my favorite classics, let’s talk about Daniel Defoe (c. 1660–1731). Defoe was one of the earliest advocates of the English novel and helped popularize the genre in Britain. Besides novels, Defoe wrote books and pamphlets on diverse topics, including politics, religion, and psychology. From modern standpoint, his novels are clearly products of their time, but Defoe's influence in the development of the genre is irrefutable. I’ve only read two of Defoe’s novels, but they are probably his best-known works, and well worth reading.

April Wrap-Up and May Goals

April reads

April Wrap-Up

• Finished: 5
• Started/continued but not finished: 4
• Total pages read: 2,746
• Average rating: 3.2

April was a lackluster month, at least rating-wise. I finished five books in April, but only one of them was a novel. I read an ancient Greek retelling, Sarah Underwood’s Lies We Sing to the Sea (2/5 stars). I had high hopes for that book but unfortunately, it was a massive disappointment. You click the link and read more about why I didn’t like the book.

Book Review: Lies We Sing to the Sea by Sarah Underwood

Lies We Sing to the Sea by Sarah Underwood

Book title: Lies We Sing to the Sea
Author: Sarah Underwood
Genre: Historical fantasy
Published: March 7, 2023
432 pages
My rating: 2/5

"There were twelve bodies in the water. They always found their way to the island of Pandou eventually, though the seas that stretched for miles around it were invariably still and silent. Melantho would have been foolish to think that it was the natural currents that had brought them; she had been there long enough to know that nothing found its way to Pandou unless it was meant to."

When Odysseus came back from the Trojan War, he hanged the twelve maids of Penelope and cast their bodies in the sea. This atrocity angered the sea god Poseidon, and for three hundred years he has ravaged the island of Ithaca and demanded the yearly hanging of twelve girls marked with a necklace of scales. But when this fate comes to Leto, she doesn’t die. Instead, she meets an immortal being, Melantho, who gives her a mission: to kill the Prince of Ithaca, Mathias, and end the curse of Poseidon for good.

Lies We Sing to the Sea is a debut Greek mythology retelling of (or rather, a sequel to) The Odyssey. As I love ancient Greek mythology, I was super excited to read it. Unfortunately, this book was a massive disappointment.

Short Story Submission and Writing Contest Feedback

Past few weeks have been very productive for me! First, I sent out a literary fiction short story to three literary magazines. They are my top-tier magazines that are currently open for submissions. It will take several months before I hear back from them, so now I can only wait.

In the meantime, I'm continuing on with draft five of Project Prehistory, a coming-of-age story set in a matriarchal prehistoric society. I'm doing so well that instead of the originally intended two chapters a week, I'm now editing three chapters a week. Last week, I reached and passed Chapter 20, which is the midpoint. At this speed, I should be done with the first round of edits by early June. Then I'll do another pass of the draft in case there are still some things that I've missed.

Favorite Classics: Anne Brontë

Anne Brontë's two novels

Welcome to a new series where I talk about some of my favorite classics! The star of this first instalment is one of my favorite classic female authors (probably second only to Jane Austen), Anne Brontë (1820–1849). She’s less famous than her sisters Charlotte and Emily, but I have to say that Anne is my favorite of the Brontë sisters, mostly because I find her love interests more likable.