Les Miserables

Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece. Read it.
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Why do they do this? WHY?!?
Review: No one has a way with words quite like Victor Hugo. He has a completely unique way of setting up a situation and an exceptional knack for coming up with complex, yet enjoyable plots. Les Miserables, his most ambitious work, is arguably one of the greatest literary accomplishments ever and I truly loved it.

This, however, would be lost to any of the readers to this edition, b/c they are not truly reading Hugo's great work, they are reading a version that has been nipped and tucked to fit into the publishers' idea of a good book; that is, one short enough to keep today's average, short-attention-spanned readers from becoming bored. In reading this book, you are admitting to the publisher that you are too lazy and dumb to grasp real literature or appreciate beautiful use of language when you see it. If you want to read a great book, read the original, don't read this censored rubbish.

Rating:
Summary: The BEST book I have EVER read
Review: All I can say is, if you don't read this book, you haven't lived. Make sure you get the full version though to get the most out of it.

And yes, I know that Hugo goes off on tangents, spends far too long on the battle of Waterloo etc. But really, the rest of the book - the interwoven plots, the characters, their motivations -make up for these ten times over. The musical and movies CANNOT do justice to this masterpiece. Please, if you've seen them, make the effort to read the book - it will be well worth it.

This book made me think about human nature and the definition of a "good" person for a long, long time afterwards. It is one of the few books where I have cried at the end - not just because of the ending, but because I was so moved.

Anyone who gives this book less than 4 stars is a philistine. It will change your life.

Rating:
Summary: The Greatest Novel Ever!
Review: pLease ingnore the reviewer who sed to read the abridged version of Victor Hugo's masterpiece LES MISERABLES. As you com e to appreciate literature and all of its finest writers, you begin to realize that you are selling yourself short if you ever read the abridged version of anything. Abridged books should be banned as well as Cliff Notes. It is not what the author intended for you to read and that is what a true lover of books goes by. Now, with that out of the way, on with this marvelous book. There is no character in literature to compare to the noble and saint-like Jean Valjean. He is my hero and the man doesn't even exist. That is how powerful Hugo's prose is. Through this 1,400 plus page book, the reader is entranced with his story and with all of the other characters that his life touches: The street urchin Gavroche, the crafty Thenardiers, the Bishop who gives Valjean the silver candlesticks he stole, and the greatest tragic hero of literature ever, the amazing Police Inspector Javert. The plot, the story, and the amazing way the reader is given an inside view to not only these characters lives and the Student Rebellion that is the climax of the novel, but to the 100 page detail on the life of the Bishop, the history of the battle of Waterloo, and the Inside View of a nunnery of the strictist order in Paris, all of these make this book like no other that has ever been published. It is up ther with the dictionary, the Bible, the Koran, and Darwin's Origin of the species, as the most important books ever made. Read it and be moved to tears. It is simply the best

Rating:
Summary: A Sweeping Tale of Humanity
Review: Les Miserables begins in the same year as Dumas' Monte Cristo (1815) with the escape of Jean Vajean from prison, where he spent 20 years for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his family. After becoming the mayor of a French city under another name, Valjean meets a woman named Fantine and a police inspector named Javert. One's desperation will move his heart to pity while the other's relentless adherence to the letter of the law will cause him to live in perpetual hiding.

I read this book in high school and, to tell the truth, I can't really remember what I was thinking at the time I started it. After all, I don't think most high school students (myself included) would understand the full historical weight of such a work. If Monte Cristo is a historical lesson unto itself, Les Miserables is a veritable tome of 19th century French culture and politics. Weighing in at 1463 pages, Hugo's story will bore you sometimes but will also move you at least as much. This is the book wherein lies Hugo's famous account of the Battle of Waterloo (which, at about 60 pages, has apparently little to do with the actual storyline) in all of its detail, dark descriptions of Paris' sewers which were used by revolutionaries, and of course the vivid account of the city of Paris itself in all of its glory. Hugo names every street and shop and almost every other minor detail and character you could possibly imagine along the way. We follow the characters of Valjean, Fantine, Cosette (the daughter of Fantine), Javert, Thenardier, Marius and others for nearly 20 years. Aptly titling his work "The Miserable", Hugo takes us to the very bottom of Paris' underground world of poverty, prostitution, and suffering. Indeed, Les Miserables involves, like most novels, a struggle of sorts. But here everything seems more painful, more hopeless than your typical novel. The fictional characters, embedded in a stunningly detailed historical time and place, are unusually real and fallible. And in the end this is a story about justice, mainly for the weak and the opressed.

Now for some casual thoughts. The only other novel I've read that's similar to this one (at least in time and place) is Monte Cristo, so I often find myself comparing the two. Although they share a common historical backdrop, the two works are very different in feeling. Dumas' is a story of justice and revenge but it incorporates adventure and psychological thriller purely for entertainment. Monte Cristo is also a lighter read, more agile on its feet and quick to please; we get engaging and tense dialogue and characters who are slightly unbelievable in their wit or lack thereof. Les Miserables, however, is a heavy book (in more ways than one). Hugo takes all the time in the world to introduce us to each and every character and describe geographical, political, and historical events with a ferocious attention to detail. And while Monte Cristo is primarily about a single man and his fallible-ridden philosophy of vengeance, Les Miserables is about a whole society and its faults. Hugo's scope is thus incomparably more vast than your average novel.

After reading this book I felt like I'd been on an epic journey to other worlds and back, and at the end of it all I was...tired, very tired. But then again a lot of great literature is like that.

Rating:
Summary: ugh, ever hear of overdoing something?
Review: Don't read it, it's crap. It's 520 pages of mumbo-jumbo. If you can understand half of what is said I must say you belong at oxford teaching a literature class.

Rating:
Summary: Truly a great novel, but read the abridged version.
Review: 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 [e-mail]. But be nice.

Rating:
Summary: Les Mis should be required in schools
Review: I admit, I read a different edition. I'm in the middle of reading the Penguin Classics translation. I agree, you cannot fully appreciate this book if you read it abridged. I've always been enwrapped in the story, because of the musical, and being an avid reader I thought it was time to pick up the heavy book and begin. Nothing is more satisfying than reading such a big book. Hugo spends massive amounts of time making sure you know even the smallest of characters. Val Jean has become like a friend, and you begin to struggle with the characters, feel their heartaches. Filled with religious values, the reader doesn't feel oppressed. Even those who do not agree with the religion Hugo subscribed to can get wonderful ideas about virtues needed in life. Any religious background can find many meanings to this novel. Les Mis gives you a whole new look to life, new eyes and heart to live with. I'd have to say Hugo is the best author I've ever read, and I can't wait to finish up Les Mis, so I can start it again, or read The Hunchback of Notre Dame.

Rating:
Summary: A Book that makes you think
Review: Les Miserables is truly a fantastic book set in the Napoleon era in France. Ex-convict, Jean Valjean, goes through poverty, wealth, love, sadness, and happiness. He tried to forget his past and change himself for a new life while encountering a little girl, Cosette, who becomes like a daughter to him. This book relives the French setting of a person's life, whether it was a rich man or a poor man. It tells the story of many people's lives and how they all relate to every other character in the book. Les Miserables entangled me into the scenes through the sewers of Paris and the Battle of Waterloo because it sounded so real I felt as if I were there, running and fighting alongside of the men. This book also made me stop and think about what just happened because the people and events were all very conflicting. They match up at one point of the story. Victor Hugo really kept me into the book, except when some of the paragraphs went into so much detail it was tempting to just skip over it. But most of the time it was so exciting it made me want to skip the next few paragraphs to see what would happen. Though it took me awhile to read it, I couldn't stop reading and wondering what would happen next.

Rating:
Summary: Victor Hugo caresses Man
Review: Les Miserables holds Man in loving light; you can see Hugo's paternal smile through his words. Ayn Rand understated when she wrote that reading Les Miserables makes one "feel like they are in a cathedral."

Beware in reading this book: you will be literally unable(You will throw them away while suffering anaphylactic shock!)to read almost any book written in the 20th century. To read this book is to sentence yourself to a diet consisting only of Romanticism.