Oh my goodness. Three months later, after picking up the book in a charity shop knowing nothing about it, I have conquered the longest book I have ever attempted, and now nothing seems daunting anymore. It may have breached over 1000 pages, but each of those pages were so beautifully crafted, held so much plot and told a story that I think will stay with me in a way only a few books ever have. Dumas’ Count of Monte Cristo had everything. Scenes of action, heart-wrenching emotion, adventure, romance and thriller came together to create the ultimate slow burn revenge story. I was tracking my thoughts every 10 chapters or so, and by the half way point was admittedly struggling when the character perspective changed, meriting how much I had enjoyed the first third of the novel, but when everything came together it was utterly genius, completely unexpected and so so worth it. Further, that “end of book” feeling I had when I closed this one on the final page had an overwhelming effect given how much of a journey I had been on with Edmond Dantes over the last 3 months. The ending was perfect to the final line, this encapsulating everything that The Count of Monte Cristo was about, all the emotions of its 1000 pages cumulating in the final scene and having a profound effect on oneself. It easily makes my top 5 books I’ve ever read, likely I’d place it at number three. Though daunting, it is 1000% worth giving Dumas a go!