I've been listening to the Count of Monte Cristo on audio tape for the past three months. (long time... long book!) I wanted to read it after watching the movie; it's probably one of the best movies out there. It's a classic. However, if you're looking for anything that has to do with the book, don't watch the movie. The movie is about plotting, murder and revenge. The book is about the complete opposite: forgiveness, redemption and mercy. The last two words of the book are wait and hope. That sums up the entire book.
In the movie, the Count only retaliates against one person; in the book, he goes after everyone. He goes from a know-nothing sailor, put in charge of a ship, to a prisoner. While in prison, he becomes a man of education, learning mathematics, physics, chemistry, physics,language, culture and more. Once he escapes, he becomes one of the richest men in the world, rivaling that of princes'. He uses this new-found wealth and knowledge to execute his plan of revenge on the three men who put him in prison, along with any and all who got in his way of them.
Along the way, though, his heart begins to soften again. The first man shoots himself, the second becomes insane. The third and last, Monte Cristo forgives and pays off his enormous debt. This last man is also the main villain, the main reason that he spent more than a decade in a dungeon.
Pretty different outcome from the movie. While both are awesome and amazing, not only are they different, but they have completely different plot lines. Watch the movie if you haven't in a while; if you have the stomach to listen to it for about 20-30 minutes a day, download it on audio. Diffidently worth the read.
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