Les Miserables (Les Misérables)

What a journey! Truly a must read for all. It may take some time but, it is worth every second.

This is a masterpiece, the writing, the story and the reflections on human nature/folly and the workings of God. This is both a dark and glorious/uplifting book. It is the story of suffering and ultimate redemption/conquest. Be adequately warned, it is long long long and requires a commitment to get through some difficult sections. That said, it was worth the investment. Don’t hesitate, buy it, read it, the TV/Movie adaptations can not do it justice - READ IT - may change your life!

My granddaughter portrayed Eponine in Les Miserables in a musical produced by Cardinal Stage Company in Indiana this summer, so I was very interested in reading the original book. I have also viewed two movies of Les Miserables. The book is very well written, but does jump from one subject to the other -- with a lot of French history. I think of myself as an avid reader, but have only completed about three-fourths of the book -- it is long. I have enjoyed what I have read so far and realize the stage musical and the movies contain only a small part of the original book. It would help if I had a little knowledge of the French language in a few places. I will finish the book and would recommend it to anyone who has the time to devote to it. Victor Hugo was an amazing author.

i am 11 and am a big fan of the musical (and im bored) so i read this book in 10 days, here are some thoughts 1. the book and production are not the same thing, the stories are different and the details are infinitly better than that of the play 2. there are a bit too many details, i kind of skimmed some parts because i didnt need to know what the air tasted like when u were walking down the street 3. it is very origianal, with most of these new books, u can tell that they were heavily based off anohter book. i usually dont like classics but i liked the honest surprise i got when fantine fainted or javert jumped off the bridge. 4. finally, obiously it is very sad, the writing was so beautiful it made me feel how much the characters hurt (poor eponine)

Two things: 1) Read the Kindle version. It's far easier on the eyes and your hands. I even set up the color and font to be similar to the paperback (just slightly larger font) so it feels like I'm reading the paperback without any drawbacks. 2) Just dive into the story and don't be afraid to gloss over bits that are frustrating. I've been hesitant to read Les Mis due to its size, commitment, and archaic style. I shouldn't have been. The prose and depth of character carry things forward until the plot kickstarts. There are frustrating moments when Hugo goes into too much detail (like Waterloo), which I decided to gloss over until he finally moved onto a new topic. It has helped me from getting bogged down and getting distracted by something else. Get cozy and let Victor Hugo carry you away.

I won't attempt to comment on the greatness of Hugo's masterwork. What I do want to comment on is the formatting of this Kindle edition. Quite often Kindle editions are poorly formatted. Sometimes they lack italics, paragraph breaks, table of contents with links, and footnotes. This Kindle edition however perfectly reproduces everything contained in the paper version of the book. At this shockingly low price I cannot imagine a reason for anyone not wanting to buy this Kindle book. P.S. While I recommend reading the Fahnestock translation it's helpful to have the Rose translation also, for its explanatory footnotes. They explain much of the references to French history without which the non-French expert may feel lost.

Truly one of my favorite novels of all time. I purchase a new copy every few years and pass on the old one. The Signet Classic is the only complete version I have found. Some versions leave out whole sections. The Characters are all well developed and interact through events that cover most of human behavior. In short how to live correctly is possible. Reading will change your life.

I'm still not sure what prompted me to commit to the over 1400 pages of this amazing book at this point in my life, but I am so glad I did. It's a part of me now as it has never been before when it was required reading in college. It is well worth every minute devoted to its wonderful characters and moving storyline.