Les Misérables (Signet Classics) by Victor Hugo
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Book Reviews of Les Misérables (Signet Classics)
Book Review: The single most defining, poignant work ever created.
Summary: 5 Stars
When I was eight years old I fingered through my cousin's high school version of Les Miserables. I caught glimpses of names that fascinated me: Fantine, Cosette, Eponine, Azelma, Thenardier, Marius, Jean Valjean. It has been three years since I flipped through that book, and I have just completed Les Miserables.
Les Miserables is very much like a Requiem. Its sweetness is from its sadness. Victor Hugo could have written this tragic tale only if he had been touched by a pain so profound he was changed for life, and the sad backstory of his life alone brings the pain in this book to life. At points in the story his words almost seem to burst with torrents of tears in ink, and it is amazing he can control his rhetoric and prose at these times.
This incredible novel defies words. Words cannot describe the incredibleness, the magnificence, and the quiet somberness that the tale captures. From the bustling streets of Paris to the weeds that conceal Jean Valjean's final resting place, the descriptions alone make Les Miserables so real I feel like I have been in Paris forever, even though I have never been to France. I first found Les Miserables in this version at a little bookstore, and promptly sat down and read through the wonderfully steady entrance of the book to Jean Valjean's wretched debut, all the while gripping the pages tightly without realizing it. By the time I was finished, the book looked like it had gone through the blender, but that did not tarnish the charm and the magic of the tale captured in ink and paper. Nowhere else have I been able to find such a magnificent work.
I never did see the musical, or hear it on CD or tape. I didn't need a play to bring life to a tale so life-like that if it weren't only ink and paper I would not be able to tell the difference between real and unreal. Whether or not you are just a teenager or an octogenarian, Les Miserables is for everyone. It is such a pure and unstained work of inner beauty that anyone can appreciate it. The evil and good expressed in this amazing tale defies words.
I know no French, and therefore I do not know what bourgeouis is and all those intriguing if not accurate bits in The Year 1817. I have found that you could have a vocabulary of a seven year old and still be deeply touched by Les Miserables.
After I read the book (and the quality of this version was incredible) I felt as if I had gone through a long journey. The book's most beautiful feature is that it does not dwell overly and completely on sad matters: there is always that little undertone, but brightness does shine. The reader feels little pain knowing that Jean Valjean has finally rested, and Fantine's life before the dramatic despair that follows the disappearance of Cosette from her life is wonderfully bright-but it makes the tortuous life of Fantine afterwards even more painful to read.
Les Miserables is something that you must read. Nowhere else will you find love, war, hate, despair and pain all put into one beautiful, magnificent packageBook Review: Les Mis Review
Summary: 5 Stars
"I condemn slavery, I banish poverty, I teach ignorance, I treat disease, I lighten the night, and I hate hatred. That is what I am, and that is why I have written Les Miserables." -Victor Hugo
Set against the rich backdrop of 19th century France, Victor Hugo's epic novel sprawls for an impressive 1,463 pages. The twisting and intricate plotline follows the remarkable life of Jean Valjean, a reformed convict, and the people surrounding it. The cast of characters includes a saintly bishop, a destitute worker-turned-prostitute, her innocent daughter, a greedy, dishonest innkeeper, the radical students of Paris, a cheeky street-urchin, his lovesick sister, and the rigidly zealous Inspector Javert, Valjean`s constant pursuer. Ultimately, it tells a story of love, hate, integrity, faith, and redemption. It also reveals the unsung heroism of the ordinary people of Hugo's day.
Hugo's prose is powerful, but occasionally too detailed in its descriptions for the average reader (this also somewhat depends on which translation you choose to read; I recommend the Norman MacAfee version). However, don't let that put you off. There is something so utterly glorious about this book and the achievement of the human spirit that it chronicles. The characters are vividly painted and completely believable; each one seems to represent a different facet of the human experience. Hugo also manages to capture the tiny behavioral nuances that make them truly convincing. This is illustrated in the following sample from the book where Valjean (under the alias of Monsieur Madeleine) is apprehended by the policeman Javert after revealing his identity and confirming Javert's longtime suspicions.
"Properly speaking, [Javert] did not enter. He remained standing in the half open doorway, his hat on his head, and his left hand in his overcoat, which was buttoned to his chin...
He remained there for nearly a minute unnoticed. Suddenly, Fantine raised her eyes, saw him, and made Monsieur Madeleine turn around.
As Madeleine's glance met that of Javert, Javert, without stirring, without moving, without coming closer, became terrifying. There is no human feeling that can ever be as appalling as joy.
It was the face of the devil who has just regained his victim..."
Although I would love to be able to say this is a book for everyone, the truth is, it isn't. Readers who find themselves confused by a complex and multifaceted plotline and bored by long narrative passages may find this book tedious and difficult. It also requires a long attention span, since it cannot be read in small doses. If you feel you fit the above description, my recommendation would be to rent and watch a Les Miserables film, which provides a shortened and abridged version of the story. From there, work your way up to seeing the musical version. Once you have a basic grasp of the storyline, the book is much easier to read, comprehend and enjoy. It is certainly one of the best books I have ever read.
Book Review: Complete Version of my favorite book
Summary: 5 Stars
I will confess that Les Miserables is my favorite book of all time. And this unabridged English translation is excellent. Les Miserables is Victor Hugo fully developed: his political, moral, and story telling faculties are at their zenith.
Please read this novel. It's a good one.
The hero in this story is a convict. The evildoer is society. A society that is quick to condemn, a convict who forgives and shows compassion. It is a story of redemption, of revolution, of love. This is a book that shows the hypocrisy of a society with no compassion, no heart.
Our hero, Jean Valjean is given many moral choices, some he fails, most he passes. He steals from the Bishop who forgives him. Valjean becomes a successful businessman, but faces an impossible moral dilemma. Read the book to find out how that comes out. Javert, the indomitable policeman is constantly on Jean Valjean's tail. Will he be caught? Continually Jean Valjean faces critical moral choices? What would you do if you were Jean Valjean?
Victor Hugo tells the story like, well like Victor Hugo. From the detailed description of the Battle of Waterloo, to Hugo's story of the Paris barricade, to the emotional roller coaster tale of Jean Valjean, the story is intense. And in a way a bit frightening. There are violent scenes, sappy scenes of agape love, and funny scenes. Not horse laugh funny, but amusing funny. There are bad guys like Thenardier and upright but short sighted guys like Javert. I have thought about Javert. Maybe you will to. Cosette is the lost child that Jean Valjean . . . well I don't want to ruin the story.
Victor Hugo has put some thought into what makes people tick. So you believe these characters are really facing these very human situations. Hugo's descriptions are meticulous and bring on the fictive dream, which is what fiction is all about. And while Hugo is very intense and wordy there is a lot of action.
There is no question that my perspective was challenged by this book. And it continues to challenge when one considers America's prison's. When children are still raised in horrible circumstances like Cosette.
If you do not like to be challenged, if you do not like uncomfortable thoughts, this book is not for you.
On the other hand if you are open to moral challenge, can stomach critiques of the status quo and critiques of authority this may be your book. You may cry, you might cheer, but you will surely think.
I have read this book several times. Please read the unabridged version, the abridged versions miss too much of the driving plot. Also there are versions that appear to be unabridged but are in fact heavily edited by the translator. Stay away from those. This Signet Classic version is complete and unabridged. It's a keeper.
Book Review: The Most Magnificent Misery
Summary: 5 Stars
To say that "Les Miserables" is the story of Jean Valjean, as is most often noted, does little justice to the whole work. While Valjean is the main character and one that the reader follows throughout the whole novel, there are other characters who are just as important. Yet "Les Miserables" is not a literary work that can be summed up by who the characters are and what happens to them. Victor Hugo, a master writer, weaves his tale together with his thoughts, philosophies, and at times, judgments on the way man treats man as well as how the world works in general.
Anyone familiar with "Les Miserables" knows that it is the story of Jean Valjean, a thief who spent almost two decades in prison, trying to follow the right path in life. He rescues the young, abused Cosette from the villanious Thenardiers at her mother's request, and raises her as his own. Never truly knowing love, he learns to love Cosette and sees her as his own daughter. All the while he is mercilessly hunted by the police inspector Javert, who follows the law to the letter and will stop at almost nothing to see the convict Jean Valjean back in prison. As Cosette grows up and Valjean seeks to spend his life in the background, she falls in love with the revolutionary idealist Marius; Jean Valjean risks losing her, the only person he has ever loved. All of these storylines weave and converge over the background of Paris on the brink of revolution, each character tautly combined with the others, even when they are unaware of these connections.
Other readers have stated that reading the abridged version of "Les Miserables" will suffice so that the reader does not read 'unnecessary' accounts of the battle of Waterloo, the Paris sewage system, etc... Yet it is these very longwinded transgressions from the story that add to the story. It offers readers the chance to step inside the Paris of Jean Valjean's time and it is here where Hugo expostulates his philosophies on man and life, allowing the readers to understand what shapes the character of his characters. Perhaps his most vivid picture of a character is found in Javert. Hugo offers the following story as a description for this ruthless inspector: that in every pack of wolves that is born, the mother kills one wolf in fear that it would grow up and kill its siblings - that is Javert in his pursuit of Jean Valjean.
Hugo's writing is rich in description and in "Les Miserables" the whole of Paris, including the seedy underworld of crime, is brought to life through the author's attention to detail. While any work that is nearly 1500 pages can be daunting, it is always a pleasant experience to step into the worlds that Hugo creates and sustains. "Les Miserables" can truly stand the test of time due to characters and situations that are not that far removed from anyone or anything today.
Book Review: The 19th Century's Most Important Book
Summary: 5 Stars
This book is so good, it's almost worth learning French just to read this one book in its original form.Imagine, if you will, the United States in the year 1862. Hundreds of thousands of men lining up, ready to kill each other. But when they retire to their tents, seeking an escape from the horrors of war, what are they reading? Uncle Tom's Cabin? Some other Great American Novel? No! They're all reading Les Miserables! North and South, officer and enlisted, anyone who knew how to read was reading this book.
If this book touched off such a firestorm in the US, you can only imagine what it did in Europe--or France. Of course, Louis Napoleon couldn't have liked it too much--but what could he do to Hugo? After all, he wrote this book in exile. And that's really what Les Miserables all about--Hugo's life, his thoughts, and his conception of the struggle of the oppressed against the oppressors, the redemption of those who do Wrong Things, and the inevitable weight of history and Providence on everything.
Hugo captures archetypes in very real characters, many of them based on real people. The saintly Bienvenu. The redeemed thief Valjean. Fantine, the mother who does everything--and I do mean everything--to provide for her child. Javert, the possessed, self-righteous, self-appointed agent of Divine Justice. The delightfully wicked Thenardiers. The sharp street urchin Gavroche--who will be borrowed later in several stories by Charles Dickens. The tragically idealistic Enjolras. The tormented and conflicted Marius. And, finally, Cosette, the focus of most of the book, and the key to Marius' survival.
All of these characters are vivid and timeless, yet linked to recognizable archetypes and also to events surrounding the restoration of the monarchy to France. In turn, these characters became new archetypes, and they are further recognizable in later literature. This book is therefore foundational to modern Western literature.
Many readers express annoyance with Hugo's infamous digressions throughout the story, but if you reread those "boring" details, you will see that they all have purpose. For example, the account of the Battle of Waterloo is merely there to set up the link between two characters. I think that's brilliant--though I reluctantly agree that he pulls this trick maybe a couple of times too many.
If you don't know enough history to fully understand where Hugo is going in his digressions, that's OK--get a good study aid (something better than Cliff's Notes) that explains the cultural context of each chapter. This will help you get through the "boring" parts, and I think you'll find that there's not really anything about this book that can be called boring.
Whatever you do, read the unabridged version. Abridgements of this great work are a Crime Against Nature and should be banned. (Just kidding.)