The Count of Monte Cristo

I suppose I'll put my number one book at the moment, just to hold you guys over until I get the rest up.

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

Summary: (Courtesy of Wikipedia ^^) The Count of Monte Cristo (French: Le Comte de Monte-Cristo) is an adventure novel by Alexandre Dumas. It is often considered, along with The Three Musketeers, as Dumas' most popular work. It is also among the highest selling books of all time. The writing of the work was completed in 1844. Like many of his novels, it is expanded from the plot outlines suggested by his collaborating ghostwriter Auguste Maquet.[1]

The story takes place in France, Italy, islands in the Mediterranean and the Levant during the historical events of 1815–1838 (from just before the Hundred Days through the reign of Louis-Philippe of France). The historical setting is a fundamental element of the book. It is primarily concerned with themes of hope, justice, vengeance, mercy, forgiveness and death, and is told in the style of an adventure story.

Edmond Dantès, a handsome, promising young sailor, skillfully docks the three-masted French ship, the Pharaon, in Marseilles after its captain died en route home. As a reward, Dantès is promised a captainship, but before he can claim his new post and be married to his fiancée, Mercédès', a conspiracy of four jealous and unsavory men arrange for him to be seized and secretly imprisoned in solitary confinement in the infamous Chateau d'If, a prison from which no one has ever escaped.

Thoughts: I personally think that if you read any more into the summary, it would give a lot of it away. I hardly knew anything about the book when I first read it other than the fact that it's about revenge and such. If you want to read more about it http://www.cliffsnotes.com/WileyCDA/LitNote/The-Count-of-Monte-Cristo-About-the-Novel-A-Brief-Synopsis.id-66,pageNum-2.html
That's probably the best place to go.

Personal Review: So basically, I'm usually not much of a sucker for classics. I only read this book because of my mother who vehemently insisted that I read it. I got about 5 pages in, and already I was hooked. The way it's written, the depth of the characters, the intensity of the plot! This is by far the best book I have ever read! I honestly could not put it down. It's very long, yes, but even after the 1800 or so pages, I was left wanting more. All I can say is that The Count of Monte Cristo is simply amazing. I'm even planning on reading it again! Now me saying I want to re read a classic, that's something.