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Summary: Read Hugo's words. Not mine.
Review: I found this book to be simply unparalleled so rather than write a review, I will share a quote from Les Miserables that I found especially poignant: 'To have continually at your side a woman, a girl, a sister, a charming being, who is there because you have need of her, and because she cannot do without you, to know you are indispensable to her who is necessary to you, to be able at all times to measure her affection by the amount of her company that she gives you, and to say to yourself: she consecrates to me all her time, because I possess her whole heart; to see the thought instead of the face; to be sure of the fidelity of one being in the eclipse of the world; to imagine the rustling of her dress the rustling wings; to hear her moving to and fro, going out , coming in, talking, singing, and to think that you are the centre of those steps, of those words, of that song; to manifest at every moment of your personal attraction; to feel yourself powerful by so much the more as you are the more infirm; to become in darkness, and by reason of darkness, the star around which this angel gravitates; few happy lots can equal that.'
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Summary: The Best Book!
Review: I am now fifteen I was fourteen when I first saw the musical on PBS and absoulutly loved it. My parents bought the musical for me for Christmas. My brother and I both loved it, and we have memorized nearly all the words. I then became intrested in the novel which I knew was like a million pages long, but I love to read and I loved the musical, so I decided to go for it. I thought it would take me months to read, but it was so intriguing that I finished it in one week (and yes is was the unabriged version). The last night I just read all night long until I finished it. It is sometimes hard to remember that the characters are not real people. I love every character, even Javert. I love the chapters in which Hugo takes us inside the minds of Jean Valjean and Javert. I am afraid I disagree with a earlier review which states that the death of Enjolras and Grantaire was the most moving part of the book although it was extremely moving, the death of Jean Valjean was the most moving, I mean it makes you cry for thirty pages, what can be more moving? In my personal opinion this is the greatest book ever written, but I have never read "War and Peace" which I hear some people think is the best. FYI: Leo Tolstoy said that Les Miserables was one of the greatest, if not the greatest novel ever written, but that was before he wrote "War and Peace".I noticed that alot a people feel this book is extremely long and I have to admit that some parts weren't entirely necessary, but I still would recommend reading the unabridged version, you just can't get the full depth of the story unless you read the full version. To sum it all up read the book and go see the musical they are both exellent.
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Summary: Les Miserables book summary
Review: This book, MaxNotes for Les Miserables is a great alternative to the cliffs notes. The cliffs notes are too much about the symbolism and what charachters think, whereas this book gives you more information about the plot. MaxNotes as a series are pretty good, and this book is no exception. I have read the actual book, and both the MaxNotes and the cliffs notes and this book stays truer to the book than cliff's. I definately reccomend this book if this book is required reading for you or you just don't understand some of the concepts that are portrayed in Victor Hugo's novel Les Miserables.
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Summary: Les Miserables Max Notes
Review: This book is a great replacement for reading the 500+ page book les miserables. I think that this is better than the cliff's notes because it gives more charachter details and gives one a better understanding of the book.
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Summary: Engaging Story
Review: Briefly, Victor Hugo triumphed in creating meaningful characters in a romantic setting and exhibiting an ability to understand relationships and emotions. He reminds us of what it is to be human and to suffer and forgive and overcome. I couldn't help fall in love with all the characters, for all their flaws and virtues, because they are real. And I'm not much of a weeper, but the chapter that introduced Marius broke my heart. A person would have to be inhuman to feel nothing for this book. My only complaint is that Hugo meanders endlessly and often about minute details--the gold brocade of the bishop's draperies, etc. (We get the picture, Vic.)
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Summary: Epic
Review: Truly an epic in every sense of the word, Les Miserables is one of the greatest works of literature. I dont think I have ever seen such depth in the characters of any work than in Les Miserables. The only weakness of the novel is its sheer length which is due to the author being overly descriptive and sometimes losing focus and writing about other matters. (The Battle of Waterloo, History of the Parisian Sewer System and Life in a Convent) If you can get past the overly long segments in Les Miserable you will find that Hugo's tale of life, misery, suffering, and redemption is the greatest story ever told. Worth being read again and again.
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Summary: A Profound Journey
Review: From his excessive monologues about Napolean and the battle of Waterloo, to the up close and personal identites of the characters, Hugo's work Les Miserable lives on immortal. France faces a new era, the question of revolution hangs in the air. Amidst the chaos, an ex-con struggles with society, with his past, and with his God in a neverending quest for peace. With the help of a noble, good Bishop, and a cause worth fighting for that comes with the name Coset, Jean Valjean sets out to perform the hardest trick of all, redemption. An ultimate classic, an emotional rollercoaster, and most importantly, a realistic (historically and periodically) adventure into the human mind, soul, and body. Never before I have seen a wide cast of terrific characters, and never before has character developed as profusely as Hugo's Javert. This book is a legend and it lives on to this day, as it always should. A reminder that not every amazing adventure, not every heavenly conquest, is fantasy.
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Summary: I would not have it one word shorter!
Review: Yes, it is a very long novel, but every word counts. This is not the sort of book to read if you just want to know what happens next - it is a lovely, long, engrossing read. For example, the author lingers on the kind M. Bienvenu for chapters and chapters ... but by the end of it, there is no man so good, so kind, so well-regarded. We have the EXPERIENCE of a life of good (actually, think of it, it is probably too short!) not just "he was a good man" in two paragraphs. I am actually reading the novel to someone, and we have just finished Bienvenu's section, and enjoyed it very much. A very involved plot, many of the characters who would be familiar to the musical-going audience. It could be that the almost simplistic symbolism of the characters (ie. Beinvenu=compasionately good, Javert=inflexibly moral, Valjean=redeemed, Fantain=innocence lost, Cossette=love triumphant) is what makes such a complex story easily rendered on the stage.
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Summary: Shame on you
Review: Let me start off by saying that I loved this book. It was recommended by a friend, and has changed the way I read. However, I must respond to some of the other reviews. Many people have persisted in pointing out the obvious fact that the book is very long. Of course it is very long. A writer cannot be asked to demonstrate the struggle between good and evil or the redemptive qualities of love in a few pages. Hugo has given us characters we can care about, but he has made us work for them. This creates a problem for readers who are used to the sitcom, the pulp bestseller and the instant gratification theory of the times we live in. Books like this one ask the reader to do the work, and it is hard. But this is why literate people choose to be so. Les Miserables' defining characteristic is not and should not be its length. it is just a facet of the novel. What we as readers should be focusing on are the meanings and lessons in it. If you cannot see past its size, it is not the book for you, and that is a shame.
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Summary: Wonderful
Review: In my humble opinion, perhaps the best book ever written. Definitely Hugo's best work. Utterly marvelous, I absolutely adore this book. The most moving part is the death of Enjolras and Grantaire. Gives a glimpse of what the Revolution was about and was really like. I highly recommend it.
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