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Two Essays on The Count of Monte Cristo

I love The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas. I have read the unabridged version more than once, and my most recent reread was in 2023. At that time, I wrote a couple of brief essays which I posted on Tumblr, one of which was about a canonically queer character and the other discussed a character who is often left out of the various adaptations. I present for you these essays with expansion and alteration, because I keep returning to them as pieces of writing and because I don't want them to be limited to those original posts. I'd like to thank longtime Patron Case Aiken, who receives a monthly shoutout, as well as new patrons DivineJasper and Sasha Khan. (Quotes are from Robin Buss’ English translation of Alexandre Dumas’ work.) Link to Audio Version. ----- Canonical Queerness in The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas You’d need to change surprisingly little of The Count of Monte Cristo to confirm Eugénie Danglars as a trans man (or a masc-leaning nonbinary person...

Animorphs Book 30: The Reunion by K. A. Applegate

Marco has an opportunity to eliminate Vissers One and Three, but only if he can hold it together and keep the bright line. We see his inclination towards ruthlessness, but also the stark reality that he's just a kid with an impossible choice.

Marco's self-assessment is both honest and aspirational. He is right that he sees the "bright line" from A to B, but he holds on to the idea that it will stay that simple when the life of someone he loves is on the line. It's simultaneous a mature and honest assessment of his capabilities, and a hopelessly naive belief that starting down this path won't in itself make it harder to finish.

I don't mean to be cryptic, but this one is incredibly interesting, terribly sad... and full of spoilers for Marco's entire arc so far.

A boy (Marco) turns into a cockroach

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