Les Misérables (Signet Classics) by Victor Hugo
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Book Reviews of Les Misérables (Signet Classics)
Book Review: Les Miserables: The complete and unabridged version
Summary: 5 Stars
When you first take a glance at Les Miserables, you might be deterred by the daunting size and number of pages. But by the time you flip past the first page, the size doesn't seem to matter anymore. Once submerged in the complications and daily adventures of France's underworld, there is no turning back-the pages practically turn themselves. The story is based on the hero Jean Valjean. A convict, Valjean can make you feel his passions and sorrows without overdoing it. It is easy to identify with this character on an emotional level. As prisoner 24, 601, he finally gets released from prison. But in the 1800s in France, his release hardly means that he is free.
From the walls and endless struggle of imprisonment, Les Miserables follows Jean Valjean's journey through his inner and outer turmoil. Adventure and tension find him on every corner, and seem to enjoy ruining his life. During the strolls through Paris, Hugo paints the raw emotion and reality of the gutters of France in such a way that you can almost feel their presence as you turn the pages.
The different stories and characters all woven together (numerous, indeed, but one can hardly expect less from a novel of such large proportions) are all three-dimensional and believable. If you took a walk through the streets in any city today, it is certain that you could find a matching description in the novel for anyone on the sidewalk.
Hugo's descriptions throughout the book are lengthy and detailed-occasionally exhaustingly so. Every bit of France is crammed between the covers, as well as the author's criticisms and praises of French society. While there is excitement and adventure, chapters are equally laced with historical input, philosophy, and political viewpoints. There is an extensive portrayal of Napoleon's battle at Waterloo, and his impact on the families and supporters of the French government, as well as the rules of both religion and the caste system. This novel is a great read for anyone with even the slightest bit of knowledge of French history.
Throughout the book, Valjean experiences many universal epiphanies, and it makes you wonder how Hugo can go about teaching this character so much and still refrain from preaching at the reader.
There is a raw emotion about Les Miserables that brings forth a reality. A reality that says that life isn't easy for everyone, and life certainly is never perfect-which is something that we all know. But seeing the misery and suffering scrawled across the pages some alive in your mind is a powerful revelation for anyone.
Victor Hugo's Les Miserables is a book that will change your life in ways wither big or small. It is a book not just meant to be read, but to be understood and valued in its entirety.
Book Review: Truly a great novel, but read the abridged version.
Summary: 5 Stars
It's pretty common knowledge that this is one of the best novels ever written, and I totally agree. Hugo has a keen eye, a passion for the human situation. But what sets Hugo and Les Mis apart is his ability to manage so much so well. This novel is massive, and I'm not talking about the number of pages. It envelopes life, and death, heaven and earth, love and hate, good and evil, and all else under the sun. Les Miserables is truly epic, which is truly remarkable. The plot is absolutely compelling, from beginning to end. The story of Jean Valjean is a universal story, and his transformation should resonate with every spirit. The characters swirling around him are deeply poignant, passionate, and complete. Like Dickens (and few others), Hugo knows how to pull characters' plights together in a huge and complex world without pushing the envelope of believability. When Thenardier seeks to blackmail a rich man, you want it to be Valjean. And when Marius goes for the police to capture Thenardier, you know he will meet Javert. And as each character's thread spins out toward its end, the endings are complete and satisfying, perhaps inevitable. Funny how life is like that. Having said that, I would recommend an abridged version of the novel to any but a devoted French historian. Hugo is in love with France, and carries an encyclopedia in his brain. For this (fairly well-read) layman, many of his 30-70 page long tangents into such topics as the details of current events of 1817, battle strategy at Waterloo, the history of the Parisian sewer, and the street language of Paris, are all but indecipherable. I'm definitely not a fan of abridged editions of anything, but in this case, I have to make an exception. I hope that there is a good one out there that cuts none of the plot and description, but declares, "Death to the Tangent!" That would be beautiful.A sample of Hugo's writing:
"Algebra applies to the clouds; the radiance of the star benefits the rose; no thinker would dare to say that the perfume of the hawthorn is useless to the constellations. Who could ever calculate the path of a molecule? How do we know that the creations of worlds are not determined by falling grains of sand? Who can understand the reciprocal ebb and flow of the infinitely great an the infinitely small, the echoing of causes in the abyss of being and the avalanches of creation? A mite has value; the small is great, the great is small, all is balanced in necessity; frightening vision for the mind. There are marvelous relations between beings and things; in this inexhaustible whole, from sun to grub, there is no scorn; each needs the other." If you would like to discuss this book with me, e-mail me at williekrischke@hotmail.com. But be nice.
Book Review: A Definite Must Read
Summary: 5 Stars
Les Miserables is one of the greatest novels of all time. It doesn't just have an intriguing story-it has a dozen intriguing stories! That's one of the great things about Les Miz--it has something for everyone. It starts out with the reformation of the saintly convict Valjean and his moral battle with the fanatical policeman, Inspector Javert, but the books picks up many more characters along the way. First comes Fantine, a down-on-her-luck single mother, and her sweet young daughter Cosette, later adopted by Valjean. There's the godlike young revolutionary leader Enjolras, and his quirky band of followers, Les Amis de l'ABC. The villain (contrary to popular belief) is not Inspector Javert, but a greedy con artist named Thenardier. Two other main characters are Thenardier's children, (thankfully nothing like himself) the snarky, golden-hearted street urchin Gavroche, and the lovelorn waif Eponine. And my personal favorite, "Baron" Marius Pontmercy, Cosette's brave-but-confused young suitor/stalker.The novel is packed with everything a reader could ask for--suspense, drama, romance, action, and plenty of crazy twists and turns to keep you on your toes. In addition to being a moving work of fiction, it teaches a good lesson (well, several good lessons, actually). For example, Les Miz does a great job of showing how some "bad guys" are victims of society (Javert) and some are just natural scum-buckets (Thenardier). It also shows how people can get past the circumstances they were born into and become wonderful people (Gavroche). I could go on for hours, but you probably don't want that...
It teaches a lot of history as well. A lot of readers have complained about the long tangents, and I tend to agree on some points. I recommmend skipping "The Intestine of the Levithan" and just skimming the Waterloo section for first-time readers. However, there is a lot of info on nineteenth century France mixed right in with the plot. You get to learn about the severity of the justice system (Valjean), and how politics could divide families (Marius), and how tough life was for Gypsies (Javert). Not only that, but the Paris Uprising of 1832 was a real event, and most of the characters were based on real people. Valjean and Javert were both based on Inspector Vidocq, Marius was based on Victor Hugo himself, and Enjolras was based on the real leader of the uprising. Hugo really manages to bring the time alive for you.
In short, this is a great book all around. And I'm not just saying that because it's my Bible (hehe). The book isn't nearly as difficult to read as it looks. If you're like me, you'll get so into it that you won't even notice the length. I strongly recommend Les Miserables to every literate person out there.
Book Review: One Of The Greatest Books Ever Written-The COMPLETE Novel.
Summary: 5 Stars
Victor Hugo's classic "Les Miserables" is finally available in its original form as it appeared in 1862. The story is so familiar that I'll only give you a brief summary: Jean Valjean, an ex-convict tries to redeem himself while being hunted by the relentless bloodhound of a lawman, Inspector Javert. As he struggles to free himself from his dark past, Hugo throws us head on into the violent underworld of Paris, seething with the fire of imminent revolution. This novel is very good. It's intense, dramatic and romantic all in one. The story is vast in scope, taking us through the nefarious underworld that is Paris. The novel has a little more than 1,000 pages, which would probably make anyone who detests reading (as I did until I was five) throw the book down and look for something else to read. I have the abridged edition, so I'll review it here as well. That version keeps over 95% of the story intact, only cutting out the very long sections (the history of a Catholic monastery, the author's "eyewitness" account of the battle of Waterloo, which marked the end of Napoleon Bonaparte's reign as Emperor of France, the historical significance of the uprising of 1832, a linguistic examination of the secret languages of thieves and the darkest part of the sewers in which Jean Valjean-I won't spoil it; read it for yourself). Anyway, that edition cut out only those sections (there's a "Note On The Abridgement" in the book before the start of the novel, so correct me if I'm wrong), which is very good, for those who despise reading long books and just like the main idea of the story (Sir Laurence Olivier's classic 1948 film version of William Shakespeare's "Hamlet" is a perfect example of movies adapted from plays that have been shortened to a considerable length of 2/1/2 hours or so, that is, if you're searching for a short version of a play or book; that would be the one I would absolutely recommend). Some entire chapters and opening sections of chapters (which have brief summaries) have been cut, so as to make the novel more readable without having to read all of Victor Hugo's subplots and side remarks (the majority of which are intact). The list of books that have been cut are enclosed in brackets in pages 5-6. Aside from the original theatrical trailer (the preface), the additional material was supplied by Laurence Porter (the translator and editor) and Fine Creative Media, Inc. Read the unabridged translation first, then read the abridged one and decide which you like best. For me, both were very good, but I prefer the edition which has been slimmed down a little bit. Rated PG-13 for intense thematic elements, brief scenes of domestic conflict/abuse and some war violence.Book Review: Excellent yet slightly inaccessible book
Summary: 5 Stars
The famous Les Miserables comes in many forms, translations and editions. Mine was exactly 900 pages. I enjoyed the book very much except it's a text which you only start to appreciate about past the halfway point - so not for the impatient! Hugo's style is quite unusual for the moden reader due to his involvement in the literary movement of romanticism as well as his own ideosyncracies. For starters, today it is considered a rule of writing to "show and not tell". This is a rule Hugo breaks often. However, I personally don't find the rule to be that valid - a good telling is better than a poor showing and besides rules of literature are meant to be broken. Les Mis deals with such an epic number of characters, places and events that to show every event would take 9000 pages! Secondly, Hugo is fond of digressions, sometimes over 50 pages long, on tangents. As a result it seems that they are either ramblings irrelevant to the story or essays inserted into it. The essay-like part I don't mind but either of them are something you'll have to get used to.So overall, it's not an easy read and often you'll wonder if it's all just a useless exercise in grandiouseness. But then, the book will hit you and it will put everything you've read before into context and you'll realise how it all fits together in a sublime whole. Or at least that was my experience.
It's impossible to outline the plot of Les Mis in a review as it can only really be examined after reading it. It goes in directions never thought possible and takes off again and again. Basically it's about the life of Jean Valjean, an escaped convict who reforms himself but is still pursued by the law. He represents the great virtues Hugo was trying to get across and his persecution by the world (in hundreds of shapes and forms) is the tragedy of the novel. But the novel's title is translated as "The Wretches". As such, it's main other preoccupation is with the unfortunates of French society in the early 19th century. It is here that Hugo launches on his crusade against both society's oppression and human cruelty and on a reverse crusade promoting love and compassion.
There are many major characters but all can be exemplified by Cossette - a young orphaned girl mistreated by her adoptive family who are a bunch of criminals. But then, Jean takes her away and shows her life...
This is a wonderful book about the depths of suffering and redemption, both on a personal and social context. Despite its many faults, I found that as soon as I finished reading it it was very moving and made all the book's faults seem to exist for a specific/sublime purpose.