the count of monte cristo

I can confidently say that I have finally passed HALF WAY! Congratulations to me! Page 669.

I have to finish this book before my upcoming travels so three weeks to fully dedicate myself to this! I can do it!

This book is far too complicated to blog a running commentary of what is happening and I wouldn't want to ruin it for anyone...you know ALL my readers! (jk)

What I can do is quote some of the deeply touching passages, quotes or sections that I come across.  So here is one that reads almost like poetry:

The count is describing himself:
"I am one of those exceptional human beings, and I believe that, before today, no man has found himself in a position similar to my own.  The kingdoms of kings are defined, either by mountains or rivers, or by a change in customs or by a difference in language; but my kingdom is as great as the world, because I am neither Italian nor French, nor Hindu, nor American, nor a Spaniard; I am a cosmopolitan.  No country can claim to be my birthplace.  God alone knows in what region I shall die.  I adopt every custom, I speak every tongue....In this way, you see, being of no country, asking for the protection of no government and acknowledging no man as my brother, I am not restrained or hampered by a single one of the scruples that tie the hands of the powerful or the obstacles that block the path of the weak. I have only two enemies: I shall not say two conquerers because with persistence I can make them bow to my will: they are distance and time.  The third and most awful is my condition as a mortal man.  Only that can halt me on the path I have chosen before I have reached my appointed goal. Everything else is planned for. I have foreseen all those things that men call the vagaries of fate: ruin, change and chance.  If some of them might injure me, none could defeat me.  Unless I die, I shall always be what I am.  This is why I am telling you things that you have never heard, even from the mouths of kings, because kings need you and other men fear you."

Do you find this passage inspiring? Does something turn in your soul? Does it make you feel a sense of loneliness? Sadness? Strength?

the count of monte cristo

back at Starbucks taking advantage of the two hours of free internet.

here's some genius from Dumas:

pg. 523

the premise being, Bertuccio, one of Dantes many hires, prior to working for Dantes had committed a murder to avenge his brother.  On the night of the murder, he saw his victim burying his new born child. After Bertuccio killed this man, he dug up the child and took it home for his sister to raise.

as Bertuccio is relaying these events to Dantes aka The Count of Monte Cristo, the Count clarifies what the real crime was - that Bertuccio did not return the child to its mother. Here was Bertuccio's response:

"But to do that I should have had to make enquiries, attract attention and perhaps give myself away. I did not want to die: I was attached to life because of my sister-in-law, and because of that innate vanity which makes us want to remain whole and victorious after a vendetta; and, then, perhaps I was attached to life simply for the love of it."

The genius is how Dumas can get right to the heart of human motivation.

the count of monte cristo

page 521 of 1243.

Guaranteed to feel enriched upon reading this book! The way this story has developed is...can't find the right word - more than brilliant, more than extraordinary, more than impressive.  Don't you think authors exit from reality for a while as they produce such pieces of work?

Since Edmond Dantes escaped from prison, the life that he has created for himself is complicated - the choices he has made, the people he has befriended, the places he has gone.  It is so intertwined with pain and anger of senselessly losing his innocence, love, dreams, and future. His understanding of peoples motivations is superhuman through his deep understanding of philosophical explanations.  The path he has taken seems to be routed nonetheless in revenge and how this plays out is yet to be seen.  He has the means to everything he desires, yet he's ruined. This is my interpretation of him. He will never regain what was taken from him.

i'm back after a brief absence from my bookshelf

Here at Starbucks with two hours of free internet, it was time to reinstate my blogging time.

After a brief absence in "dealing with life", I am back on track and still aiming for my November goal - no more unread books I said, well I meant it!

Although that particular bookshelf no longer exists (I have moved homes), the unread books certainly do and they are now sitting in a drawer, yelling at me to be read. I hear you! 

So here're where I am at - to make me feel a little better about this brief departure from my goal, I would like to say that I have been reading but not enough.  I am fully engrossed in "The Count of Monte Cristo" (amazing) & still struggling with "How Religion Poisons Everything" (actually, I have to force myself to pick it up!).

To summarize, I am back, I am on track and stay tuned for my deliciously, engaging blogs.