Les Miserables

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Summary: AN ABSOLUTELY AMAZING BOOK!!!!
Review: This is a story about human nature...about love and forgiveness. You won't even feel the time go by as you read it. All the characters are so REAL and anyone can identify with them. I recommend it to anyone. IT'S BRILLIANT!!!!!

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Summary: Nicely bound unabridged volume, English translation
Review: Hugo's magnificent novel, Les Miserables, is beyond compare when read in an unabridged version. This edition is reasonably priced and is of the original English translation. Enjoy!

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Summary: Les Miserables - moving, adventurous
Review: Les Miserables is superb. I read the book slowly over four months, and loved it. It is full of adventure, plot, and struggle. The 1,463 pages were well worth the time, and I plan to read it again when I have the time. The movie is also excellent.

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Summary: One of the best portayals of human nature in Literature
Review: Every character, every description, and every event in this spectacular story makes one proud to be a human. I realized the potential and zeal of the human spirit. The triumphs and suffering of the characters hit my heart unlike any fictional book I have ever known.

Although Hugo may be rather long-winded in his descriptions at times, such as the passages about the sewers, the battle of Waterloo, and convents, they are well worth reading, as he offers interesting metaphors and ideas along with these descriptions. I suggest reading the story, and then going back and reading the narratives for what they are worth.

It's a beautiful book. Anyone can identify with one, if not all of the complex and interesting characters. A must-have.

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Summary: Long but worth the read
Review: I have had the CD of the Original London Cast Musical of Les Miserable for about 10 years and have been a huge fan but nothing could prepare me for the book which although a long and hard read, is the most amazing book I have ever read. Everyone has something to learn from it and if you are looking for a reason to read it heres a reason: in the words of the great Victor Hugo himself : "As long as ignorance and misery remain on earth, books like this can never be useless."

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Summary: Brilliantly insightfull, Powerfully enthralling.
Review: Set in early to mid 1800's France, Les Miserables tell of the perils of man and of society. Hugo offers many insightfull eludes which add to the brilliance of the book. We learn through Les Miserables that man's limits are not of his own, but placed upon him by society. The story includes crime, justice (or society's interpretation of justice), love, tragedy, and the overwhelming beauty found in the ability of humanity. If you are looking for a gripping, powerfull, and insightfull book, look no further than Les Miserables.

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Summary: So great, it makes this cynic want to cry
Review: Some of my favorite books: Catch-22, 1984, Infinite Jest, Vonnegut's works, and ... this. That should say something. I'm a huge fan of contemporary, caustic satires and seldom do I enjoy anything sentimental. But this is a whole different ballgame.

Victor Hugo is possibly the greatest cockeyed optimist this world has ever known. His portraits of love and goodness in the heart of sin and evil are inspiring, heartbreaking, and definitely worth reading. I gladly read every word of this book, including the digressions, which were irrelevant to the plot but almost always added something to the themes.

Hugo brilliantly paints his characters, devoting pages of description to minor characters and letting major ones establish themselves through their actions. The result is that everyone is human, everyone counts, and no one is purely evil. The story is heartbreaking at times but at the end it is inspiring. The world needs more optimism like this.

I don't know ... I can't say enough about this book, and I fear I'm turning into a babbling idiot. It's poetic, wonderful, and it's the closest a work of art has ever come to making me cry.

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Summary: Undoubtedly the best romantic book in the world !!
Review: During this year, I worked for a theater company that played Los Miserables in Spanish (I am Argentinian), and since then, I fell in love with the story. Our play respected the original story by Victor Hugo, so there were no omissions and no inventions. Although I work as the person who handles and controls all the music and mics (it was a musical), I bought the book, I read it and I loved it. It is the best French romantic book in literature's history.

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Summary: This novel Les Miserables will sweep you off your feet.
Review: I purchased this novel from a local bookstore in Berkeley. I stumbled upon it while searching through endless book titles. This is the one folks. The story is about a man by the name of Jean Valjean. He has been incarcerated for most of his life. An ex-convict he was. He is now free and released into civilization. The publics reaction was very crude. They did not want him around in any civilized area. Left to wonder on his own he managed to meet a lady whom directed him towards a minister. The minister gave him shelter and fed him. Jean Valjean stole silverware from the minister and was caught. The minister allowed him to be free. Life becomes tougher..... Jean commits crimes of robbery to survive. The police are after him and he is on the run again. Jean runs into big fortune after years of being disguised. He manufactures bracelets and opened doors or employment for the people in the town. He becomes the mayor of the town. But soon his disguise was revealed. Someone found out he was the convict the police has been searching for for years. Jean is now on the run again. He finds work for a family and soon takes custody of a little girl by the name of Cosette. The two are on the run from the police and take shelter in all different places. Trying to escape his past he encounters it again. Once Cosette grew older she married a gentleman by the name of Marius. Jean saved Marius' life many years ago. But Marius never knew. Marius took away the only love Jean Valjean ever had, Cosette. Jean is very lonely and sad. Time had passed and Marius found out who Jean Valjean really was. He was the convict, disguised under a new name. His real name was Javert. Marius banned Cosette from ever seeing Jean again. Jean ages and is on the verge of dying. Then the doors start to open up. Marius finds out that Jean was the one who saved his life. Marius and Cosette rush to Jean's house. Jean is too ill. He is on the road of dying. But once Cosette walks into the room Jean is relieved and feels the sense of joy. He feels no pain. They conversate for a while and Jean becomes very ill and dies..... The story is very superb. All Jean Valjean really wanted to do was help people but no one acknowledged his effort. He only wanted to escape his past. In doing so he ran into many fortunes. He tried to help people by sharing his fortune. But the world is filled with too much ignorance to appreciate the good deeds.

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Summary: So REAL. It's such a moving story.
Review: When I first started reading this book I thought it would be boring. Then when Jean Valjean enters the story and you learn about him I began to belive that this story really happened. The characters were in the room with me. I knew the pain Fantine felt when Javert comes for Jean Valjean. I knew what Eponine felt when she died in Marius' arms. Hugo put in words what happens in real life. If you had been a poor person in the French Revolution you could just as well have been Marius. I cannot praise this book enough. It's only fault is being true. It really could have happened.