Audiobook Sample
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- Title: Count of Monte Cristo
- Author: Alexandre Dumas
- Narrator: David Case
- Length: 17:30:00
- Version: Abridged
- Release Date: 18/08/2008
- Publisher: Tantor Media
- Genre: Fiction & Literature, Historical Fiction, Action & Adventure, Classics
- ISBN13: 9.78E+12
The first time I heard David Case’s voice bring Edmond Dantès to life, I was navigating the serpentine streets of Marseille – the very city where our betrayed hero begins his journey. The salty Mediterranean air seemed to carry whispers of conspiracy as Case’s rich baritone painted Dumas’ masterpiece across my imagination. This is what great audiobook narration does: it transforms geography into memory, and literature into lived experience.
Dumas’ tale of betrayal, imprisonment, and meticulously planned revenge unfolds like a Provençal tapestry in this abridged edition. The story’s bones remain intact – the false accusation that sends young Edmond to Chateau d’If, his transformation under Abbé Faria’s tutelage, the glittering rebirth as the Count of Monte Cristo. What makes this audio version exceptional is how Case’s narration captures the story’s emotional topography. His voice darkens like a gathering storm during Edmond’s imprisonment, then takes on the silken menace of a stiletto sliding from its sheath as the Count executes his vengeance.
Listening to this production reminded me of nights spent with Oaxacan storytellers – how the best oral performances make silence as potent as words. Case understands this instinctively. His pause before “I will be Providence” carries more weight than pages of description. The abridgement, while noticeable to Dumas purists, creates a tighter narrative arc that works beautifully in audio format, particularly during Edmond’s prison years where the stripped-down prose amplifies the isolation.
What surprised me most was how contemporary the themes felt during my listening. Driving through the Atacama while hearing Edmond’s transformation mirrored my own travels – how foreign landscapes become crucibles for personal change. Dumas’ exploration of justice versus revenge, of education as liberation, resonates profoundly in our age of social media tribunals and self-reinvention. Case’s nuanced delivery highlights these timeless elements, particularly in the Count’s interactions with his former betrayers – each encounter a masterclass in vocal restraint and simmering fury.
The audio production shines in its treatment of supporting characters. Case differentiates each voice just enough – Mercedes’ melancholy, Villefort’s bureaucratic chill, Caderousse’s wheedling desperation – without descending into caricature. Special mention goes to his Abbé Faria, whose warmth and wisdom make Edmond’s loss palpable. The abridged format does sacrifice some subplots (Haydée’s story feels particularly truncated), but the core revenge narrative maintains all its devastating power.
Compared to other classic adventure audiobooks, this production stands out for its emotional intelligence. Where many narrators play Dumas’ work as pure swashbuckler, Case finds the psychological depth – the cost of obsession, the hollowness of vengeance. His performance makes you feel the weight of those fourteen lost years, then the heavier weight of what comes after. The final chapters, where the Count confronts the wreckage of his plans, achieve a Shakespearean gravity through Case’s understated delivery.
For listeners new to Dumas, this abridged version makes an excellent entry point. The 8-hour runtime (versus the full text’s 40+ hours) removes some period detail but keeps all the narrative drive. Those familiar with the novel will appreciate Case’s fresh interpretation – he finds new shades in even the most iconic scenes, like the prison escape or the Roman carnival. The audio quality itself is crisp throughout, with none of the muffling or volume inconsistencies that plague older recordings.
As someone who’s crossed deserts and mountains with audiobooks as companions, I judge them by how well they travel. This one passed my toughest test – a grueling Istanbul traffic jam where the Count’s schemes unfolded alongside honking horns and shouting vendors, yet still held me spellbound. That’s the magic of great storytelling: it can transform a taxi into the Chateau d’If, a crowded bazaar into 19th-century Paris. Dumas’ genius lies in making revenge feel both inevitable and tragic, and Case’s narration honors that complexity at every turn.
Until our next literary adventure, may your stories be rich and your journeys transformative.
Marcus Rivera
