Les Misérables (Signet Classics) by Victor Hugo
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Book Reviews of Les Misérables (Signet Classics)
Book Review: Make Sure it's Unabridged!
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a relatively new Les Miserables fan. I saw the play in 2002 after reading a good third of the unabridged novel. For a while, I ignored my copy of Les Mis. I moved on to other obsessions, including Lord of the Rings and The Great Gatsby.
There was something compelling about Les Mis, however, that kept calling me back. A spark was relit when I picked up my old copy of Hugo's famous novel. As soon as I began to read, I felt the old reactions again-- an odd combination of euphoria and impatience. Because I am a student of psychology, I was very interested in the characters' motivations, the philosophy of the era, and the various moral questions raised by Hugo. However, Les Mis was somewhat burdensome to read for a poor 16-year-old like myself (mind you, this was 3 years ago!). The intricate details and rambling paragraphs did not appeal to my rather abstract and subjective way of thinking. Sadly, I put the book away after finishing 1200 pages.
Last week, I picked up Les Mis once more. There is something truly triumphant and universal about this book, no doubt, but-- it takes some effort to read. The mythological allusions, technical details, and strings of argot dialogue can be difficult to navigate.
If you have the patience and the desire to read this truly excellent novel, I highly recommend it. It is a fascinating look into the past-- and at ourselves. Hugo has a solid understanding of human nature, and Les Miserables is populated with tragic figures, heroes, and downright unsavory characters. His themes include love, sacrifice, and forgiveness. There is no ultimate happy ending, sadly, but Hugo is not cynical. He is a realist, but some optimism finds its way between the revolutions and the fierce moral battles. Good is venerated and evil is punished. Hugo believes that mankind can be truly good (Valjean, Enjolras, Cosette, Fantine), truly bad (Thenardiers), or somewhere in between (Javert, Eponine, Grantaire). However, not everyone is automatically classified as a villain or a hero. There are many compelling characters that are merely realistic, not entirely moral or amoral. These characters are motivated by personal beliefs, greed, and love. A multitude of different personalities and motivations make Hugo's France even more interesting to read about.
This book is complex and epic. It is written in an intricate, classical style, but it is not one to be missed.
5/5
Book Review: This book made me realize what I hadn't read.
Summary: 5 Stars
I am a fifth-grader,and am 1o years old. I read this book last summer, and it kept me spell-bound the eight days that I couldn't put it down. The plot kept me flipping each page frantically to go deeper into the lives of the characters. I found it particuarly fascinating to have the bits of French wound into the tale. The character of Eponine fascinated me particuarly. I could find myself in each of the charcters. Gavroche a child at heart, and I, still in school, a child at heart, and in spirit and mind. I admit that I first fell in love with the story hearing the music of the spectacular broadway musical, but the story soon captivated me as well. As I envisioned each of the characters in my head, I could not help feel sympathy for Eponine, and spite for Thenadier. The character of Marius seemed to be nearly gullible, but I can relate to that in real life, having a gullible family.
I find the characters to all be inspiring: Enroljas to be a leader who carried forth his dreams; Jean Valjean for not giving up hope at the dimmest times. Eponine for not withering away in Marius's ignorance toward her, and Marius for not giving up a distent hope to find Cosette again.
I overlooked the adult-themes, the length (unconsiderably long for a child of only 9) and the occassional stumbled upon vocabulary, to find the true meaning of the book. The intricate plot wove around me, as the reader, and I think that's what made it so interesting. The fact that I was caught up in the story, and not just a bystander like other books I've read.
At some times, I found the reading to be dense. It seemed dark and isolated from the fairy-tale books that we read in school. Yes, Les Miserables is far from being compared to Cinderella. Although the topic may have seemed dark, it grew light at times, like the light peaking out of the clouds after an April shower.
I mentioned before that the length was long, but I thought it all had good reason. Everything was in depth, and I felt as if I knew the characters more personally that in other novels. It seemed as if I had known the characters all my life, and that they were real people, not out of some French author's imagination.
Everything was woven together idelly to make a flawless composition, and long-lost masterpiece that I hope will never be forgotten. Ever.Book Review: Not the translation I read... but shouldn't matter
Summary: 5 Stars
There are classics. Then there are CLASSICS. Then... well, then there's Les Mis.Yes, it's 1200 pages long. Yes, it does get sidetracked giving painstakingly detailed information about things that barely relate to the story (if you don't know what a gamin is or the exact details of the battle of Waterloo... you will!). Yes, there are more characters than you can keep track of without taking notes.
But it's still possibly the greatest work of fiction ever written in any language or time period.
Victor Hugo takes the suffering of the masses and gives it a name and a face. He delves deep into troubled souls and brings them to light. All this is wrapped in a magnificent tale of redeption, justice, and mercy in the setting of France just as the dust of the revolution is settling. If it doesn't bring tears to your eyes, you have a heart of stone.
He takes his time developing characters, but they become so real, so human, that you would swear they're the guys next door. Seriously, there's a guy at my church who when I first met him, my first thought was "OMG... it's Enjolras!"
You may have seen movie versions, the play (which I'm dying to see), or read paraphrases. These simply don't do the whole work justice. It's impossible to fit such a convoluted story with its complex characters into a two-hour time frame.
For example, in the '98 film version, Marius was made the leader of the Friends of the ABC. He went to the barricade despite his love for Cosette because he believed in the revolution so strongly. However, that's really an oversimplification. He did have connections with the Friends of the ABC, but had no intention of going to the barricade (a sure death warrant). He loved Cosette too much for that. However, when a series of events made their marriage impossible and then the revolutionaries said they needed his help, he went with them out of sheer despair, basically committing suicide. There's a whole level of depth that you just can't experience any other way. (Even if someone were to make a 15-hour 'epic' film version, it couldn't capture the thoughts and emotions of the characters or all the backstory, so it still wouldn't be nearly as rich.)
Good versions capture the spirit of the story, but there is just no substitute for the real thing.
In short, if you haven't read it yet... do!
Book Review: I would give it past 5 stars if I could...
Summary: 5 Stars
At first, this book is extremely intimidating. You sit down with it and it's like you're carrying a brick in your lap. It's massive. You think to yourself "how on earth am I ever going to finish this??" And yet, before you know it, you're hooked.I read this book in preparation for a performance of the show. As Cosette, I hardly had anything to work with in terms of developing a character, so I hoped to find something in the actual book to help. Little did I realize just how useful it would be!
Victor Hugo's way of describing things can not be matched. His use of words is exquisite. Once you're hooked, you're /hooked/. All of the characters that he creates are so multi-dimensional! And to my extreme surprise, Cosette is such a main focus...in contrast to Eponine, who is barely given ten pages to herself. As a die-hard fan of the musical, I was extremely surprised by this! Cosette receives no credit and is constantly portrayed as a "fluffy" character, but in Hugo's novel there is such depth to her! We uncover so much emotion, and the full depth of her love for Marius. Page 937 (yes, I have the exact page number memorized, which shows how amazing it is) is by far my favorite scene. It is the initial meeting of Marius and Cosette, and I found myself reading those few pages over and over and over again. Unlike so many romances we read about and see in movies, the love between Marius & Cosette is true, pure, uplifting, and exhilarating! Then you see Eponine, and you wonder how Boubil & Schonberg created such a fabulous character in the musical from almost nothing in the book. If you are an Eponine fan and do not wish to be disappointed, perhaps you shouldn't read the novel...it sheds a completely different light on her that is very unexpected.
While some of the chapters were unnecessary (such as a detailed description of every event at Waterloo, an explanation of an entire language -- Argot, and a description of the sewer system in Paris), I feel that an abridged version simply could not measure up. You need to experience the novel in its entirety. It is not just about the characters, but about society. It is a wonderful way to learn about European history (much more interesting than a textbook), and you will find yourself mesmirized during all 1400-something pages...really.
Book Review: A masterpiece. Read it.
Summary: 5 Stars
For months I procrastinated in reading Les Miserables. I would pick it up only to put it right back down again, its sheer size, 1400+ pages, crushing my more literary instincts and enveloping me in a fear of "the book that never ends". I had seen the musical and the movie, so why read the book? I could use it as a doorstop. Finally, my insatiable curiosity got the better of me. I had to know the whole story, all the fine details that Hollywood and Broadway left out. Les Miserables as Hugo intended it to be. I was well rewarded for the effort. The book is ten times better than any reproduction on screen or stage. Hugo has woven so many threads into this story, so many characters of such vivid depth, they brought tears and laughter, fear and anger as I traveled back in time to 19th century Paris. It is the characters that make this story so beautiful, though the plot is gripping enough. Jean Valjean, an ex-convict and the central character in the story, is surrounded by myriad characters who, for better or worse, help shape his struggle for redemption. There is Fantine, the virtuous woman turned prostitute aided by Valjean in her final hours; Cosette, Fantine's daughter, the sole source of light in Valjean's life; Javert, the fanatical representative of the law who keeps Valjean on the run for 20 years; Marius, the idealistic youth who finds true love; and finally Thenardier, the sly innkeeper turned criminal whose grasping deviltry creates havoc for Valjean. Add to this a string of secondary characters who engage our hearts no less firmly than the others. I suppose I am a true romantic. I cried when Eponine, Thenardier's daughter and sometime accomplice, gave her life for unrequited love. I laughed as her brother, Gavroche, tripped through the streets of Paris like a miniature Gallic Robin Hood, simultaneously thieving and helping those in need and possessing an uncommon wit for an uneducated street urchin; then, cried again when he died along with the revolutionaries, Enjolras and his gang, whose fanaticism somehow did no damage to their appeal and made their inevitable demise heart-rending. I could go on and on, but there are too many extraordinary characters in this book so, in short, don't use the book as a doorstop. Read it. It is a masterpiece.