Les Miserables

Rating:
Summary: The word "masterpiece" does not do this book justice
Review: Perhaps the crowning achievement of all French literature, Les Miserables is truly one of the greatest novels of all-time. It is, to be sure, an immense tome -- a monolith, epic in scope, larger than life itself. Its Table of Contents lists not chapter, but BOOKS. Still, though the novel is only slightly less than 1,500 pages, it is worth every minute that it takes to read it.

Clearly, the book was written in a bygone era: the "Show, don't tell" rule was assuredly not in vogue at the time. Every time a new character is introduced, Hugo gives a mini-biography of them, these sometimes being 20-50 pages long. Ditto for every new scene that is introduced: Hugo spends many pages and many words painting extremely precise, very detailed pictures of the surrounding landscape. Not only do we know where the Bishop lives, we know how many chairs he has in his house, where they are located, and each item of cutlery that goes on his dining table. This is the first such account given in the book; many more follow later. These expository passages are what make the book unique. Several of them, such as the lengthy and famous book on the Battle of Waterloo, have little to do with the basic plot of the book itself, only tying in toward the end. Given the length of these sections, and the sometimes hardly-apparent connection to the rest of the book, they are sometimes laborious to read. With that said, the reader who makes it through them is richly rewarded: it makes the following pages that involve the people and/or locales just described that much more vivid and realistic. While reading through these sections, the reader need not worry: every one of them ties into the story, eventually -- and enriches it, at that -- no matter how loosely they seem to relate to the plot at the time. Also, Hugo periodically stops to make philosophical and ideological points on the matters being described. This is a technique that we rarely see in fiction, and one that may sound like a cumbersome idea that takes away from the story's realism, Hugo makes great use of it. It enlivens and enriches the subjects he is exploring, serving to set the book up on another level. Indeed, this book can hardly be called mere fiction: it encompasses philosophy, sociology, psychology, ethics, and just about everything thing else ever besides, while also managing to be a great drama, an engaging and emotional story, and a suspenseful masterpiece. Indeed, the heart of the book's greatness lies in the contrast between these long expository passages and the dramatic action, which is some of the most suspenseful ever found in literature. It is obvious that subsequent fiction has mined the treasure chest of Les Miserables to the extent that it is not hyperbolic to say that every writer, and every piece of fiction or drama of any kind, that has come since, owes a debt, often a huge one, to this book and to Hugo.

The other important part of this book is, of course, its characters. Hugo, even more than Charles Dickens, painted vibrant, lifelike, realistic characters that live and breathe, love and hate, and change as their surroundings and situations change -- and, indeed, they are full of contradictions and inconsistencies, just like real human beings. Hugo, who draws their portraits at length, draws them so well and so realistically that they almost seem real. It is hard to believe that the drama played out in this did not really happen and that the characters do not really exist; indeed, after the reader is done with the book, he or she has, no doubt, expended an emotional load. With these wonderful and believable characters and the dramatic story, Hugo guides the reader through the entire catalog of human emotions: love, hate, pity, sadness, melancholy, hope -- and everything else besides. Yes, the story is certainly melodramatic, and the reader's credulity is often stretched by its series of coincidences, but the story never fails to be engaging, vibrant, and, above all, absolutely masterful. Hugo tugs at our heartstrings. Tears flowed from my eyes at several different points while I was reading this book, particularly near the end. Few books have hit me with the totality of emotional impact that this masterful work of literature did. Quite simply put, if this book does not move you, you have no soul.

A good knowledge of French history is necessary in order to fully appreciate the book: events from the Revolution of 1789 onward are continually referred to, and the political and social contexts that underlie the dramatic events of the book are essential to understand. It often blurs the line between fiction and non-fiction by vividly describing actual events and then placing the books characters squarely in the middle of them. The book is rich and complex, and the plot twists and twists and becomes endlessly entangled. So many characters are introduced that it is often hard to keep track of them all. To me, it is incredible that a human mind could come up with all of this -- the huge cast of characters, the convoluted plot, the tangle of emotions and themes. Hugo, a major political presence in his day, used this book as a canvas for his criticism of the French social order and prison system. A humanitarian in the noblest sense of the word, he was appalled at the plight of those on society's fringe, and he used this book to shining a light on their condition, and, hopefully, to help them out a little. In so doing, he created a true masterpiece that went above and beyond his intentions. It is a huge, sprawling, epic work that encompasses so many themes and emotions that a thousand-word review can never even hope to do it justice. It is a true testament to the power of the human mind.

Rating:
Summary: Good book, i guess...
Review: Les Miserables is probably one the greatest books ever written. That may be why it has lasted since it was first published in 1862. It is an important work, as it has greatly influenced other writers who came after Victor Hugo. But I'm sure you all already know this. The story is familiar and loved, so I'm not going to give another synopsis like the reviews already in place. This translation of the book is currently one of the newest and most highly praised that I know of, and compared to my old translation, it is an easier read. Not that it has been "modernized," but the writing is much more fluid and thought out than just straight translation, and shows that the he reallly understood what he was translating.

Rating:
Summary: The Grandeur of the Human Spirit
Review: Reading some of the criticisms of this masterpiece gives rise to a certain measure of despair. With so much to honour in this novel, what do these critics focus on? Its length. Its digressions. Its departure from modern writing conventions. It's like disparaging the teachings of Jesus Christ because He was preachy, given to parables and wanting a fashion sense.

Les Miserables is not an easy read. Worthy literature rarely is. Hugo takes pains to paint complete pictures of time and place, sometimes going on for dozens of pages just to set a scene. This is because he wrote before the advent of cinema, a narrative medium that has trained us to think in terms of pictures. As modern readers, we are well versed in such visualization, but Hugo's readers were not. Most had never seen a battlefield; had no idea about the horrors of war. Contrast this to the modern reader who has already seen a hundred depictions of battle before the age of ten. Is it any wonder that Hugo felt the need for exhaustive descriptions of settings that we take for granted?

This is a novel with many stories. But the arc of one life ties them all together. Jean Valjean is the warp that binds otherwise disparate wefts. He is more than the heart of the novel; he is its soul. Hugo indulges in a writer's conceit, showing us a man's passage from barbarism to the attainment of grace: the soul of the story on a journey of the soul. What a marvellous self-referential device. This is but an instance of the intelligence that informs this work.

The many characters that populate this novel all contribute to Valjean's spiritual journey. From the Bishop, he learns virtue; from Fantine, pity; from Cossette, love; from the nuns, humility; from Marius, patience. Even his implacable nemesis Javert has something to offer. In matching wits with him, Valjean learns courage.

Another warning: this book is melodramatic. It was written in a more innocent age, before the advent of cynicism and disdain. It is foolish to judge Les Miserables by current standards, and the fact that it may look naive to our jaded eyes says more about the failings of our times than the failings of the author. But insofar as it is melodrama, it is good melodrama. The author's sincerity is never in doubt. He puts melodrama to noble purpose and doesn't yield to false sentiment.

Consider the following passage from the book. Fantine has died and her child, Cossette, has been forced into slavery as a drudge. On a dark night, in the dead of winter, this little girl is tasked to haul water from a well deep in the woods:

"She struggled with [the bucket] for a dozen paces, but it was too full and too heavy and she was forced to put it down again. After resting for another moment she resumed the struggle and this time got a little further before she again had to stop. Then she went on. She walked bent forward like an old woman, with the weight of the bucket dragging on her thin arms and the metal handle biting into her small chilled hands, pausing frequently to rest; and each time she put the bucket down a little of the water slopped down on to her bare legs. And this was happening to a child of eight in the woods at night, in winter, far from any human gaze. Only God was there to see, and perhaps her mother, alas, for there are things that rouse the dead in their graves."

"Her progress was very slow. Although she shortened her periods of rest and forced herself to go as far as possible after every pause she reckoned that it would take her over an hour to get back in this fashion to Montfermeil, and that Mme Thernardier would beat her when she arrived; and this was a further distress to be added to the terror of solitude and the night. She was nearly at the end of her strength, and still she had not got out of the wood. Coming to an old chestnut tree with which she was well acquainted, she made a last pause, longer than the previous ones, so that she might be properly rested, then bravely started again; but such was her despair that she could not prevent herself from crying aloud - 'Oh, God help me! Please, dear God!'

The passage is clearly manipulative in the way all melodrama is, yet I defy anyone with a working heart to read this and remain unmoved. But this passage does not exist simply to milk our tears. Hugo is condemning the failings of his society with passion and with shame. It is unconscionable that a child of eight should be sentenced to a life of indentured servitude because bourgeois morality first destroys the mother and then throws away the child. Such melodrama is purchased with the dearest currency.

This book is so all encompassing, so finely textured, that we sometimes lose sight of its magnificence. The only phrase that does it justice is "grandeur of spirit". This book, more than any other work of literature, epitomizes the grandeur of the human spirit. When Valjean dies, it is more than the death of a good and gentle man. Les Miserables occupies a place among the most vaunted tragedies because Valjean has penetrated to our innermost being. He represents all that is numinous about the human spirit, and his passing is the passing of greatness.

Rating:
Summary: A Life-Changing Book that is worth the effort
Review: I loved the musical of Les Miserables and immediately bought the book by Hugo. It sat on my shelf for about 3 years before I finally became motivated to read it.

I thoroughly enjoyed every minute of it. It is like no other book I have read, except maybe a Dickens novel. Hugo indulges in such in depth character development that I felt like I personally knew all the characters involved.

This is a story of grace, mercy, redemption, virture and vanity. Hugo leads the reader on a spiritual journey of self-discovery. The journey includes illustrations of the best of humanity and the worst. You see the image of how you want to live your life and also of those people you want to be nothing like and want to avoid at all costs.

The only downside to the book was the extensive cultural and geographical descriptions that Hugo provides, but though they are strenuous when reading them, they make the action that follows more understandable and meaningful.

This is an entertaining and moving story built on moving and meaningful plots and themes.

To me, while on the shelf, it was large and intimidating, but as soon as I started page one, I felt like I was coming home to a significant awakening.

I think every book lover should commit to reading this. I bought the paperback and the Modern Libray hardcover of the Wilbour translation and reviewed both, and I chose to read the more classic Wilbour translation which I thought captured the traditional language better. I think it is just a personal preference which version one likes--both tell the same story and are verbatim translations.

Rating:
Summary: Truly portrays the human condition
Review: This is a political novel written by Victor Hugo to show all the injustices in society and that change in society is needed. It is a book about miserable people who live in horrid living conditions because the government does not help them. People are injustly imprisoned and treated like animals. There are revolutions because the conditions are so bad. Many of the themes in this book apply to the world today, so everyone should read this book.

Rating:
Summary: I would give it past 5 stars if I could...
Review: 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.

Rating:
Summary: Les Miserables Review
Review: Les Miserables is a story that focuses on French society. Set in France after the revolution, Les Miserables is probably one of the best books to read if you have any interest in this period of history, Victor Hugo ( the author ), or if you are simply in need of a very good read. The story focuses on the life of Jean Valjean, a man who was convicted to 19 years of prison for stealing bread. As the story continues, the reader is introduced to other charaters in the story, their involvement with Jean Valjean, and where they stand in society and its problems.
Valjean's character evolves from a bitter man, to the major of M-sur-M, to the guardian of Fantine's child, Cosette. Although Valjean becomes a man of good, society does not seem to be able to change its opinions about ex-convicts. Ultimetly, Valjean dies a happy man, whose life should be an example to us all.

Rating:
Summary: A BOOK FOR THE SOUL
Review: What a literary masterpiece this is.Right from the start you are captivated.Captivated by image of Christ in the Archbishop of D_.
And then as is the work of the Love of God it plants its seed through the Archbishop into the person of Jean Valjean and there again is the image of Christ.The book says many things,and among them it exposes how man is trapped by the conventions of a society that judges man by his appearance and by his past,however irrational that judgment may be,this eventually becomes an inescapable vision that that man has of himself, lest he be saved by the providence of Gods Love which is what happens at the end. Never could the film industry convey the depth and beauty of this work.I have to say, i shed a tear on more than one occasion. READ IT!!

Rating:
Summary: One of the greatest books ever written
Review: I have been enraptured by this novel for a few weeks now, and I can safely say that it is definitely on the short list of the greatest books ever made. Now, I know, you might be tempted to write off reading the book (it's well in excess of a thousand pages) in favor of seeing the movie or watching the musical. However, having seen both, I can say that although both are great, they are based on the book, and as such, they must necessarily lack some of the material in the book. As an illuminating, cathartic, fascinating, poignant, and grand book in every sense of the word, one would be hard-pressed to do better than Les Miserables.

I know that books over a thousand pages daunt most people. The truth is, it mostly goes by quickly. There are a number of intersecting storylines, revolving around Jean Valjean, a good and honorable man brutally punished for a minor offense, and his arch-enemy Javert who sees him as less than human for stealing a loaf of bread and a gold coin. There are so many interesting personae in this tale: Marius, the melancholy romantic (and Hugo stand-in), Cosette, who develops an incredibly close connection with Valjean, the evil Thenardiers (some might not go that far, but I would), and more. There are so many characters here that the novel greatly resembles War and Peace, and the parallels are uncanny. More on that later.

As for the book itself, one couldn't ask for a better prose writer. Hugo's writing (even through translation) is clear and simple, yet can be eloquent as well. There is a profound quote or observation about every five pages, and his story unfolds at a perfect pace. The characters are often differing shades of gray rather than black and white: Valjean is a good man, and very sympathetic, but he can be selfish (as is evidenced when he is worried about Cosette falling in love with a man because he would be lonely). Javert is an unconscionable psychotic when it comes to tracking down Valjean, but he is not completely evil, as his quest is motivated for his search for justice. By this admission, he does have some integrity. All of the characters except Thenardier are very complicated and interesting, as well as tragic in their own specific ways. And in all of this, Hugo should be commended.

This book is similar to the quintessential Russian epic War and Peace by Tolstoy, of course. Both describe a dangerous and pivotal time in their respective countries, which are roughly situated at the same time in history. Both have the same honesty and penetrating insight, as well as scope and emotional impact. Both have the same flaws. Hugo (as well as Tolstoy) tends to digress from his story quite often in order to make some point about man or society, and both tend to tell long stories that have little to do with their plots. Hugo gives plenty of extraneous information, not to say that it is bad writing or uninteresting from the reader's point of view, but it is this meandering focus that hurts the novel (although some would contend that it enriches it). The fighting at Waterloo, while exciting and fascinating, amounts to over 60 pages, of which only a handful convey essential story information. There is another section covering the inner workings of a convent that goes on and on (and can just be skipped -- the actual content that takes place in the convent is less than the buildup). The stylistic convention of the time was to pause occasionally from the narrative to make an observation about humanity. Although this adds great philosophical merit to the work, sometimes we wish that Hugo would just get on with it, much like Tolstoy. It makes one wonder if they ever met. One could make the case, though, that the book's flaws make the story more appealing: it makes mistakes, just like its characters, and becomes more endearing because of them.

This is a book that is considered one of the greatest artistic triumphs in history for good reason. Read the book and understand.

Rating:
Summary: Cosette on Cassette.......Magnifique!
Review: This review refers to Audio Cassette edition of "Les Miserables", presented by Focus on the Family/Radio Theatre(Tyndale Entertainment)and Philip Glassborow....

A brillant cast led by Brian Blessed as Jean Valjean and the wonderful music composed and directed by Jared DiPasqual bring Victor Hugo's powerful tale of the human spirit to life in this stirring radio performance of "Les Miserables".

Enter the soul of Jean Valjean, an ex-convict,who suffers and sacrifces on his journey to redemption. Experience his love and devotion for his adopted daughter Cosette, who he protects at all costs. The French Revolution, the years of being stalked by Javert,the lawman obsessed with capturing him,and the intense young love of Cosette and Marius are all brought to life in this outstanding performance and will stir your imagination to it's fullest.

Brian Blessed gives a powerful performance. You will know him from his work in several of Kenneth Branagh's Shakespearean productions. He was The Ghost in "Hamlet", Seigneur Antonio in "Much Ado About Nothing" and also portrayed Lord Locksley in the Costner version of "Robin Hood". Geoffrey Palmer("The Madness of King George"/"As Time Goes By") turns in a superb performance of Javert.Also included in this marvelous cast is Tony Robinson,Leo McKern and Gina Beck as Cosette.

The tapes are beautifully packaged and the quality is top notch. The Dolby B Mastered sound is incredible. Every voice, every sound,from the rain, to the horses, to the sounds of the revolution, and the music will sweep you away to another time and place.There are 3 tapes(6 sides), each in their own case, running about 25 minutes per side.The beginning and end of each side nicely open or close a scene. The box cover opens up to 3 pages of information about the story and includes the entire cast and crew.

Follow the long road to forgiveness with Jean Valjean in this beautiful radio production performance of Victor Hugo's timeless tale.

Enjoy.....Laurie