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Re: Hmm. Camilla Send a noteboard - 27/01/2010 04:59:12 PM
I liked Luigi Vampa, mostly because I am a sucker for he idea of the literate bandit. And possibly also because he is just hinted at. Too many of the characters in this book are painted with strokes that are too broad, which means the minor characters become the more interesting.

I also liked Noirtier. He was an actual character, I felt, not just a melodramatic plot tool. His son might have reached the same height with just a few more touches of shadowing. He had great potential in the beginning (at a time when he was really the only character who interested me), but became less nuanced towards the end.

I was not a great fan of Valentine (but for some reason I do not mind young Morrel as much).

I liked all three of them, though I only liked Noirtier through what he actually did in the novel


You mean his cunning escapes and Jacobin fervour and calm cool in the face of the knowledge that the police were looking for him? Or the kindly grandfather bit? I loved his politics and how he dealt with it.

The other two I liked as they felt like they could have been interesting lead characters in a Dumas novel (as good the earlier days of Noirtier). In Morrel's case it was purely about personality - young men who are handy with a sword, full of youthful energy, sense of duty and a disregard for selfpreservation is something Dumas does well.


True. But I would have liked him to have more shades of grey. As it is he is really Raoul from Vicomte de Bragelonne: a noble, heroic, good side character rather than one with the interest of a lead. I am worried that if he were to carry a book alone we would get The Last Cavalier.

I was also fascinated by the daughter of Danglars. That was a fairly unequivocal reference to lesbianism, and I can't believe I did not catch it the last time I read it. I was surprised at how stated it was in a book of this nature. Is the moral that a girl can only be independent if she renounce men altogether? Or the reverse, that if she desires such independence, she must be a lesbian? I am intrigued.

Yes, I missed that when I read it the first time. I took it to be more the latter - if she wasn't a lesbian, she would have let herself be married of in the family interest and made the best of it.

There is another thing that has been bugging me about the characters, and I cannot decide whether it is a stroke of genius or just off. They all change so much between the first and second periods. It is not only the count who completely changes personality -- they all do (except Mercedes and Villefort). Danglars perhaps least of the baddies, but Fernand? It is quite astonishing.

I found it a bit off. Danglars and Fernand felt to me like they had just risen to quickly to be possible.


True. I never had a problem with that when it came to Danglars, precisely because he had been established as a schemer with ambitions already in the beginning. I can see him getting rich by stabbing people in the back along the way. Fernand is a bigger problem for me. He never seemed to have the know-how or ambition. There is of course the possibility that betraying Dantés gave him the idea to petray Ali Pasha when he was in a position to do so, and that that set him up with the money &c., but I find it less natural.

A word on the women, finally. Mercedes, Valentine, Madame de Villefort, Mlle Danglars, Madame Danglars, Haidee. I was suprised at the breadth, I confess. Some are obvious angels (Valentine, primarily), some obvious monsters (Madame de Villefort) -- in fact, it is interesting that it is in Villefort's house that we get the clichéd extremes of Woman.

I do think it was a shame the Valentine part wasn't written differently, so that there could have been doubts when the doctor implictated her.


That would have been good. Do you mean doubt on the reader's part?

Mercedes is interesting in that she did not wait or kill herself (the two options really open to her as a melodramatic heroine), but actually married Fernand (reneging on all the vows she made initially). She breaks out of the pattern and becomes one of the betrayers. This is of course why she cannot be awarded love in the end (which makes the end dissonant, in a way I did not like but found intriguing -- because the reason why I did not like it was that it did not fall into the expectations the genre and the earlier eulogising of Mercedes had created in me).

I thought it was interesting, Mercedes marrying Fernand felt like she was acting in a more modern way but the end showed her being punished for it.


Yes. I suspect this book is a ripe field for a feminist analysis.

And Haidee. She has an interesting back story, but no colour herself, if that makes any sense. I am always a bit disappointed in her.

Her lack of depth is a shame but it does make her an interesting symbol in the story as well. She is there to start with purely as a tool and that is her only purpose, so Dantes doesn't need her to have depth, but ends there as part of the move on from revenge.


I agree. Her function in the plot is reflected in the Count's use of her in the beginning (again, the plot as theme bit intrigues me). But the change from slave to love object strikes me as too sudden.
*MySmiley*
structured procrastinator
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The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas - Book Club now open! - 25/01/2010 10:54:37 PM 2513 Views
Le plot. - 25/01/2010 10:55:26 PM 1292 Views
Plot: demarcation, plan, complot... - 26/01/2010 11:48:19 PM 1441 Views
Les characters. - 25/01/2010 10:56:23 PM 1376 Views
The good, the bad and the ugly. - 26/01/2010 10:54:38 AM 1402 Views
Hmm. - 27/01/2010 03:58:31 PM 1321 Views
Re: Hmm. - 27/01/2010 04:59:12 PM 1386 Views
Re: Hmm. - 28/01/2010 01:40:34 PM 1339 Views
Re: Hmm. - 01/02/2010 12:49:06 PM 1532 Views
Why does the book have enduring appeal? - 25/01/2010 10:57:37 PM 1366 Views
Or rather, does this book share any traits in common with pornography? - 25/01/2010 11:14:01 PM 1469 Views
I think the revenge plot is actually fairly weak. - 26/01/2010 03:43:04 AM 1402 Views
Re: I think the revenge plot is actually fairly weak. - 26/01/2010 11:12:19 AM 1448 Views
In that case, the "release" is quite unsatisfying. - 27/01/2010 01:42:28 PM 1553 Views
Which is precisely part of what makes the book interesting - 27/01/2010 02:06:58 PM 1442 Views
Oh, and your point on revenge - that's just reading too much into the text. - 27/01/2010 02:16:05 PM 1272 Views
There is no such thing - 27/01/2010 02:18:46 PM 1322 Views
I fundamentally disagree with your post-modern take on the novel. - 27/01/2010 02:25:25 PM 1376 Views
It isn't a postmodern take on it - 27/01/2010 02:41:32 PM 1346 Views
Re: Which is precisely part of what makes the book interesting - 27/01/2010 03:40:36 PM 1331 Views
Maybe it's of the same importance as the Lost Symbol. - 27/01/2010 03:44:55 PM 1391 Views
If I ddin't know better, I might think you a trifle petulant - 27/01/2010 04:19:57 PM 1454 Views
I'm never petulant - 27/01/2010 04:55:56 PM 1316 Views
Re: Which is precisely part of what makes the book interesting - 27/01/2010 04:47:37 PM 1444 Views
I think one important question to ask is... - 26/01/2010 12:00:17 AM 1426 Views
I have read the abridged version a couple of times. I am reading the unabridged version this time. - 26/01/2010 03:25:50 AM 1368 Views
the potentially removable part... - 26/01/2010 11:24:16 AM 1437 Views
I have read both - 27/01/2010 01:37:00 AM 1460 Views
The abridged versus the unabridged - 28/01/2010 06:32:22 AM 1364 Views
Re: Why does the book have enduring appeal? - 27/01/2010 01:16:47 AM 1504 Views
Re: Why does the book have enduring appeal? - 30/01/2010 09:12:22 AM 1379 Views
Re: I got here too late, so I offer Umberto Eco's thoughts on the matter: - 22/02/2010 06:59:13 PM 1567 Views
I'm watching right back, Big Brother. *NM* - 25/01/2010 11:44:30 PM 689 Views
*NM* - 25/01/2010 11:45:27 PM 677 Views
The book was very childish. - 26/01/2010 03:05:01 AM 1483 Views
Granted, The Master and Margarita is also very much a fantasy book. *NM* - 26/01/2010 03:07:45 AM 708 Views
No, it really isn't. - 26/01/2010 03:10:08 AM 1448 Views
You know, this is a problem. - 26/01/2010 03:43:14 AM 1422 Views
There's really nothing I can say to this that Greg didn't just say above. - 26/01/2010 06:32:02 AM 1482 Views
People tend to forget one thing about Tolkien - 26/01/2010 01:36:06 PM 1402 Views
Re: No, it really isn't. - 26/01/2010 10:57:19 AM 1352 Views
I'll admit the only Lem I've read is Solaris... - 26/01/2010 01:52:02 PM 1434 Views
Read His Master's Voice - 26/01/2010 04:52:31 PM 1348 Views
You make some rather odd claims here, Tom - 27/01/2010 12:43:41 AM 1453 Views
You place undue importance on academic degrees. - 27/01/2010 01:19:40 AM 1427 Views
You misread totally what I said, I see... - 27/01/2010 01:52:59 AM 1324 Views
My claims are far from odd. In fact, they're quite common. - 27/01/2010 01:57:41 AM 1394 Views
In some circles; in others, they're rather antiquated nowadays - 27/01/2010 02:21:03 AM 1343 Views
If you were trying to write literature, wouldn't the label sting for you? - 27/01/2010 01:25:14 PM 1398 Views
I think it's easier to think of stories fitting into genre(s) than to think the same of authors - 27/01/2010 02:40:29 PM 1454 Views
Allow me to clarify: I'm talking about authors' reactions to their books being so labelled. - 27/01/2010 03:08:47 PM 1499 Views
But yet their reactions vary widely - 27/01/2010 11:33:25 PM 1380 Views
My fundamental premise is that genre has the most utility when applied to derivative fiction. - 28/01/2010 09:39:17 PM 1344 Views
And yet that term is mostly used as a non-loaded term that doesn't attempt to ascribe quality levels - 29/01/2010 02:49:20 AM 1280 Views
I like my definition of science fiction better than the one you quoted. - 29/01/2010 05:16:36 AM 1342 Views
I think estrangement is a key element, though - 30/01/2010 11:00:19 PM 1308 Views
I don't think estrangement is a necessary element. - 30/01/2010 11:47:07 PM 1512 Views
I mean it as a literary effect, that of creating a distance between text and reader - 31/01/2010 12:03:34 AM 1330 Views
Even if that's the meaning, I still disagree. - 03/02/2010 12:49:58 AM 1315 Views
Depends on how you view SF, I suppose - 03/02/2010 04:20:56 AM 1187 Views
I thought that was what we were mulling over - 03/02/2010 04:38:35 AM 1317 Views
True - 03/02/2010 05:11:19 AM 1252 Views
Nice tie-in! - 03/02/2010 01:55:33 PM 1290 Views
- 05/02/2010 06:06:23 AM 1372 Views
The approve of this message. - 26/01/2010 03:34:49 AM 1403 Views
I'm not through it quite yet, but I do have a question - 26/01/2010 12:24:14 PM 1334 Views
Wait...you VOTED for this book? - 26/01/2010 01:41:00 PM 1381 Views
I honestly can't remember. - 26/01/2010 01:55:39 PM 1347 Views
Doctor Zhivago is one of the best novels ever written. - 26/01/2010 02:12:35 PM 1360 Views
Right, so now we all know that if we'd just listen to me more often, the world would be better. - 26/01/2010 02:20:56 PM 1354 Views
The problem was that the suggestions were generally not that good. - 26/01/2010 02:32:50 PM 1406 Views
Possession is not "purely a romance novel". - 26/01/2010 02:57:17 PM 1532 Views
Which basically proves my entire point. - 26/01/2010 03:00:20 PM 1394 Views
Which is purely a romance novel? - 26/01/2010 02:59:38 PM 1407 Views
Fair enough, it might be a bit tricky to discuss. *NM* - 26/01/2010 03:04:58 PM 690 Views
In your opinion - 26/01/2010 03:07:12 PM 1413 Views
Exactly why I avoid suggesting modern books - 26/01/2010 03:10:09 PM 1401 Views
You really are ignornant of what A.S. Byatt writes, aren't you? - 27/01/2010 12:51:00 AM 1381 Views
Oh, I fucking hate epistolary novels. Thank you for warning me. - 27/01/2010 02:00:34 AM 1284 Views
Ha! - 27/01/2010 02:22:00 AM 1352 Views
Perhaps I would like it. I still hate epistolary novels. - 27/01/2010 01:26:43 PM 1374 Views
Indeed. *NM* - 26/01/2010 02:01:22 PM 626 Views
It's funny because I think it's a question of taste level. - 26/01/2010 02:32:08 PM 1434 Views
Curious George is a tale of many layers, as told by Werner Herzog - 26/01/2010 02:34:27 PM 1488 Views
I don't care if this validates your opinion of me. - 29/01/2010 11:06:18 PM 1278 Views
On what basis? - 26/01/2010 02:51:40 PM 1439 Views
It's a children's book. Get over it. Democracy failed. - 26/01/2010 02:55:03 PM 1433 Views
Usually does, when those who know better keep silent. - 26/01/2010 02:57:54 PM 1325 Views
I didn't keep silent, though. - 26/01/2010 04:46:48 PM 1428 Views
You're ignoring what we've been discussing. - 27/01/2010 11:11:44 AM 1376 Views
Regarding comfort zones - 26/01/2010 05:08:50 PM 1448 Views
Camilla, let's be honest here... - 26/01/2010 05:40:08 PM 1477 Views
Re: Camilla, let's be honest here... - 26/01/2010 09:10:47 PM 1429 Views
If that's your goal, Camilla, you failed. - 27/01/2010 01:35:52 PM 1495 Views
Possibly - 27/01/2010 01:38:39 PM 1348 Views
I have not been ranting and raving. I've been highly critical of the book, with much justification. - 27/01/2010 01:45:05 PM 1369 Views
Re: I've been highly critical of the book, with much justification. - 27/01/2010 01:53:28 PM 1355 Views
I was wondering how long it would take for you to blame me and Greg. - 27/01/2010 02:26:12 PM 1484 Views
Don't you get it? We bring this place down. - 27/01/2010 02:42:32 PM 1328 Views
Re: I was wondering how long it would take for you to blame me and Greg. - 27/01/2010 02:43:11 PM 1350 Views
While that was not the intent, that is an added bonus. - 27/01/2010 02:48:47 PM 1345 Views
why is it a bonus? - 27/01/2010 02:52:58 PM 1306 Views
I said see above. You should have before the thought police, Rebekah, started to delete. - 27/01/2010 02:59:07 PM 1590 Views
I did - 27/01/2010 04:40:25 PM 1383 Views
Re: Regarding comfort zones - 27/01/2010 11:57:03 AM 1410 Views
Re: Regarding comfort zones - 27/01/2010 11:59:31 AM 1363 Views
Halfway - 27/01/2010 12:07:14 PM 1345 Views
Re: Halfway - 27/01/2010 12:09:02 PM 1377 Views
Re: The book was very childish. - 30/01/2010 09:56:29 PM 1378 Views
I read it in French - 30/01/2010 10:54:34 PM 1258 Views
So. I really liked it. - 26/01/2010 08:57:02 AM 1491 Views
Yes, fearless leader, this is where I stand. - 26/01/2010 11:04:23 PM 1347 Views
Re: Yes, fearless leader, this is where I stand. - 26/01/2010 11:49:03 PM 1401 Views
We were talking about this last night. - 27/01/2010 11:14:21 AM 1478 Views
Re: We were talking about this last night. - 27/01/2010 11:37:04 AM 1479 Views
If you do that, I'm posting on the deeper meaning of Dan Brown. - 27/01/2010 01:46:35 PM 1450 Views
Feel free to. - 27/01/2010 01:51:23 PM 1419 Views
Your post-modern take on the novel is shit, shit, shit. - 27/01/2010 02:28:56 PM 1379 Views
Re: Your post-modern take on the novel is shit, shit, shit. - 27/01/2010 02:45:41 PM 1413 Views
I'm not setting up a straw man. I'm challenging your touchy-feely approach. - 27/01/2010 03:15:00 PM 1300 Views
My touchy-feely approach? - 27/01/2010 05:09:04 PM 1318 Views
Yes...using passing references in the text to justify a deeper analysis. - 27/01/2010 05:16:10 PM 1358 Views
Doesn't touchy-feely mean that it is steeped in or based on emotion? - 27/01/2010 06:40:31 PM 1332 Views
I think between the two of you I agree more with Tom here. - 27/01/2010 07:01:08 PM 1305 Views
You summed up my reasons for using "touchy-feely" quite well. - 27/01/2010 07:27:45 PM 1335 Views
Glad to hear it. - 27/01/2010 07:39:20 PM 1219 Views
Re: I think between the two of you I agree more with Tom here. - 27/01/2010 08:29:32 PM 1392 Views
See my reply to Tom for clarification, then. - 27/01/2010 08:57:18 PM 1442 Views
Re: See my reply to Tom for clarification, then. - 27/01/2010 09:09:47 PM 1347 Views
Well, so what will it be? - 27/01/2010 09:14:53 PM 1304 Views
Er. Whose position are you arguing - mine or yours? - 27/01/2010 10:33:01 PM 1239 Views
Do it. I'd read that. - 27/01/2010 01:55:23 PM 1472 Views
Re: Do it. I'd read that. - 27/01/2010 02:10:04 PM 1374 Views
Right then. - 27/01/2010 02:15:04 PM 1339 Views
All righty, that's enough of that. For Tom, Greg, and... no, pretty much just you two. - 27/01/2010 04:33:00 PM 1400 Views
And ANOTHER THING - 27/01/2010 05:05:17 PM 1262 Views
Not everyone has finished reading it yet *NM* - 27/01/2010 05:12:10 PM 739 Views
Okay, so you'll get one or two stragglers in a week to a month. It changes nothing. - 27/01/2010 05:17:51 PM 1430 Views
Re: Okay, so you'll get one or two stragglers in a week to a month. It changes nothing. - 27/01/2010 06:41:11 PM 1377 Views
We are discussing this book. We're discussing its faults. - 27/01/2010 07:30:49 PM 1307 Views
In the interest of discussing Dumas' intentions... - 27/01/2010 08:03:24 PM 1481 Views
It was mildly interesting. - 27/01/2010 09:04:03 PM 1434 Views
I think you're misreading that... - 27/01/2010 10:18:11 PM 1454 Views
Re: We are discussing this book. We're discussing its faults. - 27/01/2010 08:30:19 PM 1435 Views
The text doesn't warrant "close attention" any more than Dan Brown's works do. - 27/01/2010 09:10:45 PM 1315 Views
fine. *NM* - 27/01/2010 09:12:44 PM 673 Views
Also, do you think a good book would have generated this level of discussion? Of course not. - 27/01/2010 05:21:45 PM 1346 Views
What discussion? - 27/01/2010 06:42:32 PM 1372 Views
I said that we couldn't discuss the book on its own terms. - 27/01/2010 07:35:32 PM 1454 Views
Which I still think we can. - 27/01/2010 08:35:35 PM 1340 Views
Perhaps you shouldn't be breaking things down at all. - 27/01/2010 09:06:59 PM 1437 Views
Re: Perhaps you shouldn't be breaking things down at all. - 27/01/2010 09:12:22 PM 1394 Views
You have yet to show any utility for breaking things down. - 27/01/2010 09:19:29 PM 1462 Views
I haven't tried to show any "utility" for it. - 01/02/2010 01:06:35 PM 1304 Views
I apologize if I'm part of the reason you feel ganged up on. - 27/01/2010 10:40:36 PM 1363 Views
Re: I apologize if I'm part of the reason you feel ganged up on. - 01/02/2010 12:56:03 PM 1283 Views
Deary me. - 27/01/2010 05:19:58 PM 1562 Views
By "respect" do you mean that you want me to drop my debates? - 27/01/2010 05:24:03 PM 1310 Views
Not at all. - 27/01/2010 05:35:34 PM 1476 Views
Okay, I'm cool with that. - 27/01/2010 05:44:54 PM 1465 Views
Thank you. - 27/01/2010 05:48:05 PM 1882 Views
Please ban me, then. - 27/01/2010 06:44:55 PM 1310 Views
Nods - 18/02/2010 05:06:44 PM 1796 Views
Oh man, I love this thread. *NM* - 28/01/2010 01:17:58 AM 657 Views
On the nature of the "Book Club" - 28/01/2010 09:23:23 PM 1232 Views
Any chance of seeing some shorter suggestions? - 28/01/2010 10:20:59 PM 1446 Views
Yes, shorter would be good. - 28/01/2010 10:23:28 PM 1296 Views
Oh i'm not complaining - 28/01/2010 10:33:48 PM 1312 Views
Sure sounded like it. - 28/01/2010 10:38:27 PM 1363 Views
No for reals, shorter is good. - 29/01/2010 01:08:26 AM 1338 Views
Absolutely. - 29/01/2010 03:33:15 AM 1280 Views
Agreed - 29/01/2010 11:26:34 AM 1357 Views
Well, you should have known better! - 29/01/2010 01:29:40 AM 1342 Views
I do. - 29/01/2010 08:31:30 PM 1317 Views
Thought you did - 29/01/2010 08:38:39 PM 1312 Views
- 29/01/2010 08:51:42 PM 1333 Views
All I can say is The Master and Margarita better be one by March. WE WAS ROBBED. *NM* - 29/01/2010 02:31:48 AM 637 Views
That is the other one that I am considering. *NM* - 29/01/2010 03:32:02 AM 659 Views
I'll re-read Zhivago or Master if either is chosen - 29/01/2010 05:26:02 AM 1287 Views
Talk to me Ghavrel. - 30/01/2010 12:09:24 AM 1241 Views
Well, I haven't finished it yet. - 30/01/2010 02:21:08 AM 1302 Views
Re: On the nature of the "Book Club" - 29/01/2010 12:33:03 PM 1272 Views
I didn't read it for the Book Club - 29/01/2010 12:40:22 AM 1306 Views
Well I'm late to the party - 29/01/2010 06:21:18 AM 1277 Views
No, you're early - 01/02/2010 01:26:10 PM 1186 Views
I still have yet to see that discussion, Camilla. *NM* - 03/02/2010 12:46:24 AM 697 Views
A few comments - 04/02/2010 06:39:18 AM 1620 Views
If I kept you from participating, that's your fault. - 04/02/2010 01:01:46 PM 1268 Views
An interesting quote from the book - does it jibe with your experience? - 29/01/2010 11:23:54 PM 1357 Views
Sure. - 01/02/2010 03:23:59 PM 1315 Views

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