Hacker News Reader

Comment by baseballdork | Hacker News Reader

I realize this isn't really the intent of the question, but I read "The Count of Monte Cristo" this year for the first time and it's now my favorite book. It's a classic that I just had never bothered with and the story sucked me in. The redemption, revenge, scheming, secrecy. It was phenomenal.

View on HN

I love it so much. I am sad that the Halas and Batchelor animated version I watched as a kid seems to be unobtainable :-(

I _strongly_ suggest searching out the modern Robin Buss translation (Penguin books sell it in the Uk) rather than the public domain version as the text is far clearer and several large redactions are replaced.

It has been a long time since I read it, but it is truly a mindbending story. The intricate details and relationships are extraordinary, and I am amazed Dumas was able to come up with all of it. I remember the pacing being also quite good.

Such a delight. And every time I reread it I wonder why the serial story (it was published in 18 parts over a year and a half) hasn't made a comeback given how desperate sites are for eyeballs.

There's definitely stuff like that out there, generally the genre is called "web serials". Worm is a superhero type story that ran over a period of years and is probably the most widely known example. Another personal favorite is Scott Alexander's Unsong, which has a delightfully weird mix of religion and rationalism and science fiction/ fantasy.

I think most of these kinds of things tend to lack mass appeal, but they're out there, and when you find one that tickles your fancy it can be pretty addictive!

I reread it every other year. It's so much fun. It's a shame how much the movie adaptations have toned down Dantes. It seems like the perfect book for a TV show due to its serial nature

Absolutely one of my favorite books. The unabridged, modern (early 2000s, I think) retranslation by Robin Buss is the best English version, IMO. It's long, but worth every page.

It's been so many years than my memory of it is pretty vague, but I remember loving this book.

This was also my favorite 2022 book.

I don’t think it would have been on my list without others recommendations

Yes! I’m glad to see so much love for my favorite book on here. It is truly an epic read.

Very popular suggestion on Reddit. I'm looking to read the an unabridged translation.

I reread this book over and over. What a captivating masterpiece.

Reply on news.ycombinator.com