Some books are just too long. I love to read but even I have limits. I love comic books, thrillers, fantasy, and sci-fi. It’s the classics that I have problems with. And I’m not alone. I bet it’s hard to find a person nowadays that wants to sit down and read a 700+ page book set in 15th century France. I think I have found the solution…audiobooks, whether they come on Audible or through your library. And I just listened to the longest audiobook I have ever decided to tackle.
During the pandemic, I decided to listen to the French classic “The Count of Monte Cristo” by Alexander Dumas. The book depending on the version is more than 1,000 pages, split among 117 chapters. The audiobook from Audible is exactly 52 HOURS 42 MINUTES 31 SECONDS LONG. This is the unabridged version. There are much shorter versions, even a movie made in 1998 that has gotten meh reviews. Even its Wikipedia page is long.
I’ve heard the story of Edmund Dante peripherally, you probably know it too. It’s about a young man who is about to be married. Then he is falsely accused of a crime and wrongly imprisoned. Dante spends more than a decade in prison. While there he meets another prisoner but not just any prisoner. This is an Abby who is a teacher, poet and also has millions hidden on an island. This abbey becomes Edmund’s mentor, friend, and father figure. Edmund finally escapes in a daring attempt and that’s only the first 14 hours.
The story goes on and while the journey takes a while, the depth of description is worth it. By the time of Dante’s escape, I was totally engrossed. I was then fully invested in Edmund Dante’s search for revenge and justice.
It helps that Alexander Dumas is a genius of bringing you to 15-century Europe with intense, beautifully worded descriptions of Marseilles, Edmund’s prison, Monte Cristo, and finally Paris, where the tale of revenge really gets started.
Also, I can’t write enough about how much I love the narrator Bill Homewood. Even after listening for 52 hours I’m looking for other books he narrates. Homewood’s voice for Dantes is commanding and alluring while his accents for Dantes’ opponents come off immediately as swarmy and conniving. Even his accents for each side character are just different enough for the subtleties to come through.
I’m not going to ruin the story for you, you should listen to it or even read it yourself but I’ll let you know there’s nothing that’ll give you goosebumps like hearing “I am Edmund Dantes” after 45 hours of the journey. You went on the journey and now it’s paying off more than any movie can.
I talked to the people at Audible and they had some interesting tidbits. The average audiobook is about 10 hours long. Some of their most popular titles are biographies like the recent Michelle Obama book “Becoming”, which is read by the former First Lady. It might be Audible’s most popular book with a 4.9 rating and 156,740 reviews.
Searching through their catalog of classic novels, the longest audiobooks are “Les Miserables” at 62+ hours and “War and Peace” at 60+ hours. Audible also has a version of Sherlock Holmes read by Stephen Fry, which is also on my wishlist. I can’t think of a better narrator than Stephen Fry to bring Sherlock Holmes to life. That version is more than 62 hours long.
After finishing my 52 hour audio journey, I have some tips for anyone looking to jump into the world of classic literature via Audiobooks.
- Find a book that you’ve always wanted to read but are scared of: I find the longer the book the better. You have to realize literature is created in its time, meaning you might have to google some words and phrases. Don’t be afraid to use cliff notes or online reviews. I had to several times look up a graphic of relationships while reading “The Count of Monte Cristo”.
- Make sure the narrator doesn’t bore you: An engaging narrator is more important than anything. The narrator is what is going to keep you listening.
- Keep it going: It’s going to be a slough sometimes, especially with some classical literature. Work through it, the end is almost there.
- Find a time when to always listen: I set up times everyday to listen. Once I went back to work, I would listen in the car. Towards the end, I was looking forward to my commute.
- Breaks are fine: Take a break from the book. It’ll still be there later.
- Enjoy the Journey: Sometimes it’s not about the ending, this is all about taking the ride and falling into the world.
- Feel Accomplished: If you finish, savor that feeling.
Next up for me is Crime and Punishment, which is a paltry 22 hours long!
“There is neither happiness nor unhappiness in this world; there is only the comparison of one state with another. Only a man who has felt ultimate despair is capable of feeling ultimate bliss. It is necessary to have wished for death in order to know how good it is to live…..the sum of all human wisdom will be contained in these two words: Wait and Hope.”
Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo
Anthony R. Leong 
