I am one of those people who never got around to reading the book until after I had seen the new movie. When I finished the book-which I had been glued to and finished in two days- I felt like burning my DVD of the Count of Monte Cristo. The movie screen writers must have been mentaly impaired to massacre the book as they did! <br> I loved the way the book was always moving, it was never dull for a second. Many people seem to think that the book was too long and too complex with the many characters, but I thought that made it all the better. When it was over I was dissapointed, not by the story, but by the fact that I was finished reading it. I have to admit being a little dissapointed that Mercedes and Edmond don't end up together, and that Edmond and his friends end up seperated, but really I was not expecting the book to end the way it did (again Hollywood's fault!) and so I was actually pleasantly surprised to be surprised. I don't think the book could have been any better than exactly as it is. The bottom line is that it is an exellent book, and I will no doubt read it several more times before tiring of it.