The Count of Monte Cristo is a FANTASTIC movie! Love it. Love the actors, love the setting, love the movie. I just so happen to love books too so, I went out and found me a copy of "The Count Of Monte Cristo" and delved right into it.
It was good, but I wasn't blown off my feet by it. Unlike the typical book-movie comparison, it didn't set up the scene much better and it felt like the same tempo as the movie. It was one of the rare times I was in favor of the movie over the book (unlike the horrendous Harry Potter films fiasco) but I wasn't quite ready to give up on the book completely so I did my usual wikipedia search, to find more info to get myself re-excited. Then I found the shocking truth.
I was not reading the TRUE version of The Count of Monte Cristo. And I am not referring to the fact that the original version is in french. No, I am talking about the fact that the true version is over 1000 pages long and the book I was holding in my hands was a mere 300 pages. WTF?
Turns out that the answer was sneakily hidden on the front cover.
I saw the translated but the whole 'abridged' missed my eagle eye. Maybe it's because I wasn't 100% clear on what abridged meant, really. The only book I have read, to the best of my knowledge, that had been abridged was "The Book of Mormon" and that's not a book that you usually associate with your beach reads or page turners or great literary works of fiction. Turns out that Mr. L. Bair 'lightened' the load of the book while he translated TCofMC...
All of a sudden it made sense why the book's pace felt a little rushed, and fast. It was missing 700 pages!! I felt a lil outraged, ripped-off, and slightly foolish for not catching on earlier. So, perhaps I should go and try to find the legit book in all its 1000-p.g. glory. But first I am gonna read "I am Number Four" so I can go watch the movie after. This book may not be a literary masterpiece but I know for sure that I am not missing 700 pages.
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