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Les Misérables

by Victor Hugo, Julie Rose (Translator), Adam Gopnik (Introduction), James Madden (Annotator)

4.04 of 5 stars 4.04 · rating details · 318,319 ratings · 7,894 reviews

In this major new rendition by the acclaimed translator Julie Rose, Victor Hugo’s tour de force, Les Misérables, is revealed in its full unabridged glory. A favorite of readers for nearly 150 years, and the basis for one of the most beloved stage musicals ever, this stirring tale of crime, punishment, justice, and redemption pulses with life and energy. Hugo sweeps readers...more

Paperback, 1329 pages

Published July 14th 2009 by Modern Library (first published 1862)

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Apr 10, 2012 نور محمود rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

قالت لي..صديقتّي

البؤساء نحن لسنا منهم...لكنهم جديرون بالقراءة..

بالتمعن!
بالابحار..
بإمكاننا إن نصنع من ذلك البؤس..

إبتسامة...
لاتنسى!

لاننا نريد...
:)

80 likes · like · see review

Jan 01, 2013 Steve aka Sckenda rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Those wanting to become a better human being

Shelves: favorites-classics, 19th-century, great-books, french, fathers-and-daughters, grandparents, politics, revolution, catholic, faith, movie, television, musical

“Les Miserables” has sustained me with hope many times since I first read it in 1982. It is the story of a middle-aged man who vowed to reform himself and become an honest man. Hugo demonstrates the power of literature to ennoble us through the suffering of characters who exemplify deep truths that cannot be taught by sermons or lectures. By falling in love with these characters, we are coaxed out of the apathy and dogmatism that harden our hearts to the less fortunate. Jean Valjean, Bishop Myri...more

161 likes · like · see review

Dec 28, 2012 Jonathan rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone!

Shelves: classic-literature, personal-favourites, 1001-books-to-read-before-you-die, classic-challenge, historical, books-with-films

"We can only suppose that its new life as a musical - and what an appropriate fate for that most operatic novelist - will help to bring Les Misérables to the attention of a new generation of readers, reminding them perhaps that the abuses Hugo catalogues are still alive elsewhere, awaiting their own chroniclers in the brave new world of the twenty first century." - Peter Washington, Introduction

While I have a personal propensity towards giving my love easily to many various novels, there are few...more

61 likes · like · see review

Mar 13, 2012 Hussam yusuf rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

من اروع واقسي ما قرأت ... هل يوجد في الحياه اشخاص كشخصيه جان فالجان ؟! هل في هذه الحياه من هم بهذا النبل ؟ رجل يسجن لمده 19 عاما من اجل رغيف خبز سرقه لابناء شقيقته السبعه وبالرغم من هذا يتحول حنقه وغضبه علي المجتمع القاسي والجاحد الي نبل وكرم وحب وعطاء لكل محتاج وتسامح مع كل جاشع ونصاب ويكون كل همه في الحياه اسعاد كل من يقابله ومقابل هذا لايريد جزاءا ولا شكورا!! هل في هذه الدنيا من يفعل كل هذا مقابل لاشئ !! اكاد اجزم بأن مثل هذه الشخصيات غير موجوده الا في الكتب والروايات ولو امثال هؤلاء موجودن ف...more

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Jan 30, 2008 Idle Hippo rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: classic, book-to-movies, all-time-favorit

One of the "biggest" book I've ever read, and I remembered Mick Foley's "warning" about a big book.

"A big book is like a serious relationship; it requires a commitment. Not only that, but there's no guarantee that you will enjoy it, or that it will have a happy ending. Kind of like going out with a girl, having to spend time every day with her - with absolutely no guarantee of nailing her in the end. No thanks."

Haha... Well, I took my chances reading this big book. I made my commitment, I spent...more

211 likes · like · see review

Jan 24, 2013 Kim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: french-language, audiobook, all-time-favourites

I put off tackling this novel for more years than I can remember. This was mostly because I wanted to read it in French and the length of the book daunted me somewhat. That, and the fact that every time I was in the local foreign language bookstore they didn’t seem to have all of the volumes. The fact that I was relying on a local bookstore rather than the Internet to obtain a book in French indicates how many years it’s been since I gave reading the novel any serious thought.

The last two month...more
I put off tackling this novel for more years than I can remember. This was mostly because I wanted to read it in French and the length of the book daunted me somewhat. That, and the fact that every time I was in the local foreign language bookstore they didn’t seem to have all of the volumes. The fact that I was relying on a local bookstore rather than the Internet to obtain a book in French indicates how many years it’s been since I gave reading the novel any serious thought.

The last two months have been a Les Misérables immersion experience as I listened to the audiobook downloaded for free from this site. The narrator, who goes by the name of “Pomme”, is superb. Although she doesn’t use different accents or create obviously different voices for the characters, she renders emotions quite beautifully and is a pleasure to listen to.

I can now understand why so many people consider Les Misérables to be the great French novel and, for that matter, one of the greatest novels of all time. The plot is well known to anyone who has seen the musical. However, the novel is so much more than the story of Jean Valjean’s redemption, than his pursuit by the determined Inspector Javert, than the love story of Marius and Cosette, than the world of the villainous Thénardiers. Rather, it is the recreation of the world of Victor Hugo’s youth, with vivid and detailed descriptions of Paris in the 1820s and 1830s, with digressions on topics as varied as the Battle of Waterloo, the manufacture of jet jewellery, French politics, the difference between a riot and a revolution and the Parisian sewerage system. For some readers, Hugo’s essays on these and other topics get in the way of the story. For me, they are the story. Or at least they make the story so much more than the elements of the plot which form the basis for the stage adaptation.

This is a vast, sprawling, hugely digressive, powerful, sentimental monster of a novel. It is by no means flawless. Hugo suffers from the failing of so many male writers of the 19th century, that is, an unhealthy preoccupation with the virginity and purity of nice young women. This means that he makes the adult Cosette not only dull in her perfection, but stupid as well. She is infinitely less interesting than the brave Eponine, the frightening Madame Thénardier or the tragic Fantine. However, Cosette’s blandness is easy enough to deal with in a novel otherwise populated with such wonderful characters. Of them, Jean Valjean and Inspector Javert are of course the standouts. Hugo creates intensely detailed psychological portraits of these two fascinating men, who have such different philosophies of life.

I sorely regret not reading the novel sooner, because the number of times I will be able to re-read it is so much more limited than it would have been otherwise. Listening to the novel over the past few weeks has been a fabulous literary experience. I appreciate that not all readers will appreciate its length, its language or its digressive nature, but for total immersion in a different world there can be nothing more satisfying.

For anyone interested in the geographical locations described in the novel and planning a trip to France, a blogger has written a great account of travelling through France while reading the novel. He has also created a fabulous interactive map which shows the locations of various events in the novel. The blog can be found here and the map can be found here.
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Jan 30, 2013 Steve aka Sckenda rated it 3 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: People Reading Aloud to Children

Shelves: read-aloud-to-my-kids

I read this abridged story out loud to my two girls when they were preteens. I chose this version for the read-aloud project because it is an abridged version of Les Miserables, which focuses on the Jean Valjean narrative at the expense of many other wonderful characters and subplots. The editors narrow a 1200 page book down to 350 pages. The other drawback to this version is that it is an old translation with no copyright, chosen by the publisher to avoid paying royalties.

If you want only the...more

22 likes · like · see review

Sep 02, 2011 Reem rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

-

للتوّ انتهيت من قراءة هذه الرواية ، مضى زمن بعيد عن آخر مره قرأت فيها رواية .
اتذكر أن الروايات غالبيتها تطغى على قارئها بطابع ، أعتقد طابع الحزن دائمًا و دائمًا ما تجعل مزاجي سيء من شدّة تأثري بالأحداث .
هنا ستجد في ( البؤساء ) مضمون خلاف العنوان ، رواية مليئة بالتشويق و التفاؤل و المجاهدة من أجل العيش بسعادة ، هذه الرواية ليست من النوع الذي يسرد الاحداث حتى ينتهي من مُهمته في انتاج كتاب ! هو يسردها ويأخذ بك لزمن القصة ١٣١٥ مثلًا و تعيش كل لحظة مع كل كلمة في الرواية.
لن أخفي عليكم أنني في الفصول...more

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Oct 26, 2012 Emily May rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, 1001-read, 2012, fave-classics

Les Miserables can be translated from the French into "The Miserable Ones", "The Wretched", "The Poor Ones", "The Wretched Poor" or "The Victims". So, as you will have concluded, this is not a happy book, it is the very opposite of fluffy happiness, it is a story about the lowest and darkest parts of French society in the first half of the nineteenth century. Hugo takes the reader on a 1200+ page journey around France and into the lives of criminals, prostitutes, those wasting away under the str...more

94 likes · like · see review

Jan 19, 2011 Melisa Mariani rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, koleksiku-ind, favorites, contemplating-inspiring-philosophy, historical-fiction, 1001-books, the-classics-club, bukuku-lagi-dipinjam

Les Misérables (1862) adalah salah satu dari dua karya paling terkenal dari Victor Hugo (1802-1885). Karya satunya adalah The Hunchback of Notre-Dame yang diselesaikannya pada 1831.

Tokoh utama Les Misérables adalah Jean Valjean, seorang mantan narapidana yang telah mengalami 19 tahun hukuman yang berawal dari pencurian sepotong roti. Hidup keras di kapal kerja paksa telah mengubahnya menjadi orang yang jiwanya dipenuhi kegelapan dan kebencian.
Ia mengecap kebebasannya pada Oktober 1815 dan di k...more

15 likes · like · see review

Apr 01, 2013 Kirstine rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

I don't believe I've ever been this ambivalent about a book. I don't remember having ever read anything that I loved and hate the way I do this.

Okay, it got four stars, so maybe there are more loveable than loathsome parts, but still, thinking about it tugs my heart in both directions.

When it's good it's excellent, and completely deserves 5 stars - more even. The descriptions of the moral complexities a man is faced with are spectacular and Jean Valjean's internal struggles are always a wonder...more
I don't believe I've ever been this ambivalent about a book. I don't remember having ever read anything that I loved and hate the way I do this.

Okay, it got four stars, so maybe there are more loveable than loathsome parts, but still, thinking about it tugs my heart in both directions.

When it's good it's excellent, and completely deserves 5 stars - more even. The descriptions of the moral complexities a man is faced with are spectacular and Jean Valjean's internal struggles are always a wonder to witness. Hugo really nails large parts of the human condition in much of the book; the compassion, the cruelty, the greed, the forgiveness, the love. He presents us with some memorable characters, who each possess qualities and flaws that we're all familiar with. Enjolras and Grantaire are great examples of this, of two men who, in their contrast, fulfill each other somehow, and both together and apart help describe a part of human life. It's brilliant, I loved it. I want to go into detail with all the major characters, and some of the minor, but I'll refrain. I'll have nothing new to say anyway. But the characters are the best part about this book, no doubt.

Unfortunately, when this book turns bad, it turns goddamned awful. Before that, however, let me address the length and version of the book I read.
I read a forth of this unabridged before I gave up and got an abridged version. I both regret and don't regret this decision (there it is again, the fucking ambivalence). The unabridged version simply had too much ridiculous filler chapters in it. Yes, the battle of Waterloo is interesting, no I don't want 6 effing chapters of it. That's not what the book is about. However, the abridged version meant you lost some of the details and character descriptions and I regret not getting that. There was one hilarious moment in this particular edition, after Marius sent Cosette his love letter, it shows us one and a half page of his lovesick rambling, and then goes something like "The letter goes on like this for another 4 pages". 4 PAGES! YOU HAVE NEVER EVEN SPOKEN TO HER YOU CREEP! (in actuality the letter is described as being 15 pages, but maybe he just has terrible hand writing?)

Which cleverly brings me back to what is so awful about this book. The love story.
Holy. Shit. No. Get it away from me. I know how you all love to say Edward and Bella have an abusive relationship and Edward is a shady stalker, but guys? He has fucking nothing on Marius. A year he follows Cosette around. A YEAR. He sends her a 15 page long love letter, without having spoken a word to her. How did he get her address? He asked someone to track her down.
But, you know, okay. Fine. People like what they like and times were different back then. I could have forgiven it somewhat if that was it, but it isn't.

Before her marriage and before her ridiculous infatuation with Marius, Cosette actually seemed to have real character, she could stand on her own, but then Marius enters and she slowly evaporates. She lets her entire soul and being be overtaken by Marius. It's worst after their marriage. She turns into a pretty, shallow shadow of her husband. It is absolutely despicable. I wanted to throw the fucking book through a window, I was so mad. That, ladies and gentlemen, is not a healthy relationship and it irked the hell out of me. Unforgivable, Hugo, I don't care how much you thought you couldn't write women, that's no excuse for not even trying.

And for this reason I also feel a wonderful kinship with Enjolras as he sings to Marius in the musical: "Who cares about your lonely soul?". Because indeed, who does care? Not me. Marius is a pawn in this book and probably one of the least interesting characters.

In contrast, I love the story of Jean Valjean - it is breathtaking and immensely moving -, and I love the story of the barricades and the revolution. I just also absolutely despise the story of Marius and Cosette. The great thing is that my anger toward that one part hasn't tainted my love of the other part. It simply makes it difficult for me to love the book as a whole.

This got very long, I apologize. I urge you all to read it. It has some amazing philosophy in it - another part I regret about reading it abridged; a lot of Hugo's own musings were gone. I'd love to have someone collect and organize of his thoughts on various things as they are presented throughout this book and make into a separate book. That'd be very interesting. (less)

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Sep 01, 2009 Tim rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorite

This is one of my all-time favorite books. I love the richness of the story, the grandness and generosity of the sentiments, and the deep human insight. I find this old translation to be just lovely. I can open it to many a page and just read, like poetry, for the beauty of the language. But it is most worthwhile for the depth of humanity that Hugo shows. It's a crime to miss this book - you are among the miserable of the earth in a very different sense if you don't take the time to read it.

Anot...more

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Nov 09, 2012 Aubrey rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition Recommends it for: Human Beings

Shelves: 5-star, 1001-06-12, translated, 1000-guardian, heartbreak, books-are-the-best-invention, reviewed, french, ever-on, inkings

Let's say that I could choose a single book with the guarantee that every man, woman, and child would read it. I would not choose my top three favorites, nor would I choose the one whose remnants are permanently inked upon me. I would choose this one. You argue, the length! The time period! The cultural barriers! It's just another long expounding by some old dead white guy whose type has suffocated literature for centuries! Women will be frustrated with poor representation, people who aren't whi...more

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Nov 28, 2009 Sandy Tjan rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics, doorstoppers, 2009, bbc-big-reads, french-lit, victorian-lit

"Conscience is the highest justice”.

It is surely an understatement to call Les Miserables a sprawling epic. In fact, it is perhaps the loosest, baggiest monster of all those great 19th century novels. This monster contains everything: morality play, melodrama, political tracts, religious polemic and urban history. Hugo’s great bag of a novel is big enough to contain all those and more. He has a healthy ego, and is perpetually eager to pontificate on subjects as diverse as the battle of Waterloo,...more "Conscience is the highest justice”.

It is surely an understatement to call Les Miserables a sprawling epic. In fact, it is perhaps the loosest, baggiest monster of all those great 19th century novels. This monster contains everything: morality play, melodrama, political tracts, religious polemic and urban history. Hugo’s great bag of a novel is big enough to contain all those and more. He has a healthy ego, and is perpetually eager to pontificate on subjects as diverse as the battle of Waterloo, monastic history, the jet jewelry industry, the development of the argot and the sewer system of Paris. The effect is like having a retired professor camping out in your living room, always ready with an impromptu lecture or two. These mini-lectures, which are almost encyclopedic in their details, give a fascinating picture of the different aspects of French life at that time. But every time Hugo gets up on the soapbox to talk politics, he bores me to tears. These political lectures are delivered in a polemical, disjointed style which nuances are hard to grasps unless you are intimately familiar with French history of the period. And these digressions tend to occur in the middle of the exciting parts of the main story. What happens at the barricade? Is he killed? Wait; let’s wax poetic about flowers for a few pages first. Jean Valjean escapes through the sewer! Wait --- you’ve got to read this dissertation on the sewer system of Paris first. You get the idea. Yet, somehow, it doesn’t matter, as these digressions (except for the abovementioned political op-eds) are often as absorbing as the main narrative.

And what is the main narrative? At its heart, Les Miserables is a moving parable of mercy and redemption, a meditation on justice and conscience that makes us reflect on our own lives. Hugo’s France, with its crumbling tenements, abandoned street children and revolutions may be history to the Western world, but it is still alive and well in parts of the developing world. The barricades still have resonance today. Yes, Hugo could be sentimental and verbose, didactic and pedantic. He is not averse to use improbable coincidences (or divine providence, as another fellow reader had kindly pointed out) to tie up his storylines. He could have used a good editor with a big red pen. But again, it doesn’t matter in the big picture, as we are swept away in the stories of Jean Valjean, Bishop Myriel, Gavroche, Marius, Cosette and Eponine. Their stories, despite the melodrama and Romantic trappings, are the eternal story of man’s struggle against himself and society to live a good life, to be kind and forgiving to his fellows, to sacrifice one’s life selflessly for the good of others. Conscience is the highest justice, indeed.

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Apr 17, 2009 Palsay rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: drama, translated-fiction

Pertama-tama, tidak ada orang yang benar-benar jahat. Camkan itu.

Pelajaran pertama yang aku ambil dari buku ini adalah saat seorang pastur memperlakukan seorang mantan narapidana -yang telah berkeliaran mencari tempat singgah untuk bermalam namun tiada yang sudi menampungnya- memberinya makan dengan pelayanan yang layak, menawarkan tempat tidur yang nyaman dan bahkan, merelakan peralatan makan peraknya -harta satu2nya sang pastur- dibawa pergi oleh sang mantan napi.

dalam filmnya, adegan ini sang...more Pertama-tama, tidak ada orang yang benar-benar jahat. Camkan itu.

Pelajaran pertama yang aku ambil dari buku ini adalah saat seorang pastur memperlakukan seorang mantan narapidana -yang telah berkeliaran mencari tempat singgah untuk bermalam namun tiada yang sudi menampungnya- memberinya makan dengan pelayanan yang layak, menawarkan tempat tidur yang nyaman dan bahkan, merelakan peralatan makan peraknya -harta satu2nya sang pastur- dibawa pergi oleh sang mantan napi.

dalam filmnya, adegan ini sangat menyentuhku. Namun saat membaca bukunya, aku lebih tersentuh lagi sampai hampir menitikkan air mata. Betapa sesuatu kebaikan yang sederhana dapat merubah sifat orang selamanya.

Mantan narapidana tersebut adalah tokoh kita, Jean Valjean. Terlahir dari keluarga petani miskin, Valjean mengalami kemiskinan khas kaum proletar yang bukan semata-mata miskin karena malas bekerja. Tetapi miskin karena keadaan/sistem yang tidak bersahabat. Sampai pada suatu hari, Jean Valjean harus mencuri sekerat roti untuk keponakan-keponakannya yang berakibat dirinya dijatuhi hukuman penjara selama 3 tahun. Ia beberapa kali mencoba kabur dari penjara namun gagal sehingga masa hukumannya bertambah sampai total 19 tahun. Hidup lama dilingkungan penjara, Jean Valjeanpun akhirnya menjadi seseorang yang dingin dan kaku. Hatinya keras, tanpa pernah mengenal cinta.

Singkat cerita Jean Valjean yang telah 'dikalahkan' oleh sang Pastur menjadi orang baik, sukses dan kaya raya. Ia bahkan didaulat warga setempatnya menjadi walikota. Namun masa lalu belum berhenti mengejarnya, dan ia masih diburu oleh seorang polisi ambisius yang sempat mencium jejaknya dalam suatu kasus pencurian yang tidak disengaja.

Cerita yang ditulis Victor Hugo ini mengambil latar belakang situasi politik Perancis yang masih belum menentu di era Napoleon Bonaparte. Bahkan Jean Valjeanpun dikisahkan ikut terlibat dalam suatu pemberontakan bersama dengan tokoh2 pemuda. Meski demikian, sebenarnya ini adalah kisah mengenai transformasi, dari yang buruk menjadi baik. dari penindasan kepada keadilan, dari kejahatan menjadi kebaikan, dari kekosongan kepada cinta.

pelajaran terakhir yang saya dapatkan dari buku ini:
in the end, it's all about the power of love...Love conquers all...*caelaaa*

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Sep 25, 2007 Miriam rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: myfavorites

This is without question one of the most beautifully written novels I've ever read. Jean Valjean is quite possibly the most complex and compelling character you will meet in a work of literature of this magnitude, and the lives and personalities of the secondary characters are interwoven into subplots that make it almost an easy thing to get through the 1400+ pages of this book. I read the novel after seeing -- and falling madly in love with -- the musical, and this is one of the rare cases in w...more This is without question one of the most beautifully written novels I've ever read. Jean Valjean is quite possibly the most complex and compelling character you will meet in a work of literature of this magnitude, and the lives and personalities of the secondary characters are interwoven into subplots that make it almost an easy thing to get through the 1400+ pages of this book. I read the novel after seeing -- and falling madly in love with -- the musical, and this is one of the rare cases in which familiarity with one helped me to appreciate the other more; naturally the musical had to cut out and/or alter significant portions of the novel's plot in order to fit a reasonable time frame, but even as I read the novel and discovered all the things that were left out of the musical, my respect for the artistic choices made for the latter were increased tenfold. Of course the characters were portrayed in significantly richer detail in the novel, Fantine and Marius in particular. The adult Cosette, however, is singularly droll in both the book and the musical, paling in comparison to the character of Eponine in both; Hugo seeks to set Cosette up as the perfect angelic virgin, and in doing so, he makes her both unrealistic and mind-numbingly boring -- this is my only complaint about the book, other than the ways in which Hugo sometimes deals with women in general, though you have to consider that he was, to some extent, a product of the times.

Hugo does shoot himself in the foot in one way; his plots are so absorbing that I found myself temporarily skipping over chapters-worth of exquisite prose to find out what happened next, as Hugo had a nasty little habit of setting up wonderfully tense scenes full of suspense and intrigue, only to present you with something like the history of the French sewer system on the next page. But his descriptions are every bit as rich and wonderful as his action plots; my favorite line from the novel is, "Every bird that flies has a shred of the infinite in its claw," which can be found in the middle of a breathtaking paragraph praising the complexities of the natural world, but I cannot for the life of me remember what that was supposed to relate to in terms of the actual storyline of the book.

This book is not to be missed. But if you have too short an attention span, then at the very least, see the musical, on Broadway or better if you can. There is, after all, a very good reason why they call it the greatest musical of all time.(less)

73 likes · like · see review

Oct 18, 2012 HalaH Amin rated it 4 of 5 stars · review of another edition

حسنا.. انقضى المجلد الأول بنتائج جيدة
..
هل نتكلم عن الترجمة؟ بالطبع لا فهي ممتازة
هل نتكلم عن طبعة الكتاب؟ أيضا فهي جيدة لولا كبر حجمها
نتكلم عن الكاتب أم الرواية ؟
عنهما سويا
...
لم أقرأ لفيكتور مسبقا وهذه بدايتي معه
الرواية في مجملها ولو أن هذا جزئها الأول جميلة
لها عدة مذاهب واتجاهات..
جوانب غرقت في التاريخ السياسي لفرنسا, وجوانب أخرى غرقت في الحالة الإقتصادية والسياسية لفرنسا في تلك الحقبة الزمنية من حكم لويس الرابع والخامس عشر وغارات بونابرت والحروب الألمانية..
وجوانب غرقت في تفاصيل الشخصيات ومذاهبهم...more

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Nov 21, 2011 Lissa rated it 2 of 5 stars · review of another edition

The following is completely one hundred percent true.

In 2005 I was in the chorus of a school production of the musical based on this book. It was an abridged production and we had at least 50 children aged 12-18 (except they changed it to 19 to allow some older principal actors, for example the guy playing Javert, who funnily enough turned 20 on the final night).

I had one line as one of the factory bitches who bullied Fantine. "If Fantine doesn't look out watch how she goes - she'll be out on th...more

16 likes · like · see review

Mar 01, 2009 Dottie rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classic, worth-rereading

One of the best books written. Everyone can learn and benefit from Jean Valjean's experiences and the way he chooses to handle them. I found it interesting that both Les Mis and The Phantom were popular musical plays at the same time. I love both plays; they have parallels that are interesting. Both main characters have been ill treated by fellow humans. Eric/Phantom on the one hand turns to bitterness, darkness and evil, while Jean allows his experiences to make him into a saint as he chooses t...more

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Mar 04, 2013 Apatt rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

Question on Reddit:

Q: What would be Victor Hugo's reaction be if he saw the musical/movie version of his book, Les Miserables?
A: "What sorcery is this?"

The book is full of profound quotable lines but I went with the above any way, it just tickled me when I read it. Phew! Took me a full month to read Les Mis and I can’t say I enjoyed every page but it ends up with a 5 stars rating any way. “What sorcery is this?” indeed! Les Mis is clearly back in vogue since the musical movie came out and earned...more Question on Reddit:

Q: What would be Victor Hugo's reaction be if he saw the musical/movie version of his book, Les Miserables?
A: "What sorcery is this?"

The book is full of profound quotable lines but I went with the above any way, it just tickled me when I read it. Phew! Took me a full month to read Les Mis and I can’t say I enjoyed every page but it ends up with a 5 stars rating any way. “What sorcery is this?” indeed! Les Mis is clearly back in vogue since the musical movie came out and earned well deserved accolades and Oscar noms.

I have been a fan of the stage musical for years since I saw it in London West End. I have considered reading the original source material but the formidable length of it has always been dissuasive, particularly as I have read very little historical fiction. The book is by no means an easy read, the writing is described by Orson Scott Card as "voluminous overwriting that is typical of 19th-century fiction" (link).

It starts slowly with the introduction of Monseigneur Bienvenu Myriel a minor character who plays a pivotal role in inspiring the protagonist Jean Valjean (SN# 20641) to forsake his thieving ways and become an honest, virtuous man (“bought his soul for God”). The life and times of the good bishop makes for a dull read but as soon as Jean Valjean shows up the narrative becomes very gripping and dramatic. This is not to say reading it is plain sailing from that point. When the narrative is focused on the characters the novel is extremely readable, riveting and even moving, but Victor Hugo often interrupts his narrative to go off on lengthy tangential expositions that will leave many readers snoozing with the book transforming into a pillow.

The book is just too damn good to give up on however, if you lack the patience to cope with lengthy chapters about the battle of waterloo, the history of the Paris sewers, the granddad super long winded speech etc. my advice is to skim like mad. Certainly the almost unreadable tangential parts that had me skimming like a thrown pebble on water. You have to be careful not to miss the points where the story resumes though.

When Victor Hugo is not rambling like an eccentric uncle his prose style (or the English translation of it) is beautiful, lyrical, often witty and gently humorous. Most of the characters are lovable or wonderfully despicable, Valjean, the unrequited Eponine, the overzealous Javert and the irredeemable Thenardier being my personal favorites. The other two central characters Marius and Cosette are more problematical. Marius comes across as a little dense to me and Cosette a little vapid, very different from the resourceful much abused little girl she was to begin with.

In spite of my complaints this really is one of the all-time best reads, and some ideas, characters, dialogues and scenes will stay with me for the rest of my days. This is why in spite of being partially unreadable I rate it at 5 stars (though 20641 stars would be more appropriate).(less)

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Oct 12, 2012 Ahmed Rachid rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

رواية رائعة... قصة مذهلة... و شخصيات أروع
تتشابك أقدار أبطال الرواية في النهاية بشكل رائع...
أحب هذا النوع من الروايات...
مع أن بدايتها مملة... إلّا أن نهايتها مذهلة...
إنها تستحق القراءة بلا ريب...

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Jan 16, 2011 Ben rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites, french-lit

If I were still in school, I would begin a lengthy analysis of this book with genuine excitement. As it is, I will simply dictate my general reactions so as not to rob readers of the sublime joy of reading this book.

Regarding the author: there are few who can effectively mix the beauty of poetry and the brilliance prose with one stroke of the pen. Victor Hugo is one of these geniuses. He conveys the authority of a man who has lived the various levers of life. He is the personification of Wisdom....more If I were still in school, I would begin a lengthy analysis of this book with genuine excitement. As it is, I will simply dictate my general reactions so as not to rob readers of the sublime joy of reading this book.

Regarding the author: there are few who can effectively mix the beauty of poetry and the brilliance prose with one stroke of the pen. Victor Hugo is one of these geniuses. He conveys the authority of a man who has lived the various levers of life. He is the personification of Wisdom. And he, the master, commands that wisdom, in all its manifestations of historical episodes, social philosophies and characterizations.

His artistry is unparalleled in word and literary construction. Sections which are seemingly tangential tie in with indispensable characters and events. Paris herself is a character and her history serves to supply depth to the efficacy of her civilization. By juxtaposing Jean Valjean, who weaves unnoticed into threads of other characters' lives, to Javert, Thenardier and Marius - and Cossette - one finds the flawless masterpiece of a life well-lived, the Hell of social order and the liberty of personal justice and conscience, the humane flourishing where men never reason to find it and fumble recklessly to control it. If only we were all bishops and all knew a Jean Valjean. If only we were all Jean Valjean and didn't need prison or a bishop to become so great!

Hugo described Les Miserables, within Les Miserables, as the MARCH from evil to good. Yet one must have a general grasp of what Hugo considers evil and what he considers good. From the story and its players, we know that neglecting the unfortunate is evil, the unconditional aid to those in need is good - the suppression of the people is evil, the insurrection of Right over the letter of institutional law is good - to live dutifully by conscience is good while stringently adhering to the fical sway of politics is evil. Yet the story is just that, a march. Les Miserables is not the next Communist Manifesto or Declaration of Independence. Les Miserables is a world of consequence and the struggle to realize the best of humanity.

This march sounds romantic and glorious, worthy of epic poetry and fantasy. Yet Hugo draws it as reasonable reality - something attainable and admirable. Inspiring. To wholly give oneself to the betterment of the unfortunate, even if at times they are the infamous masked over, to neglect only one's self within any social order, is the epitome of love and life. (less)

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Jul 06, 2012 Lauren Beck rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: best-books-ever, will-read-again, books-that-made-me-cry, currently-re-reading, character-curse

Les Misérables-round two:
I still find this book the best book on the planet. The plot is incredible, and the characters are so real and varrying in personalities. Because of this, Les Misèrables is filled with some of the nicest and cruelest charecters I have ever encountered in a book. Not only are the charecters well developed, but the book is one of the best uses of pathos in the history of liturature. At one part, the reader will be nearly as joyful as Cosette on her first real Christmas, th...more

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Oct 14, 2011 Mohamed Osman rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

البؤساءكلما أتي ذكر هذه الرواية أمامي أتذكر كلمات فيكتور هوجو عنها ،لقد أخذ 14 عاما ليكتب هذه الرواية لقد أراد أن يجعل أبطالها مخلدون في التاريخ مثل روميو وجولييت وغيرهم من الأعمال الكلاسيكية الخالدة ولقد نجح في هذا رغم إني أري إن هذه ليست أفضل أعماله لكنها الأكثر شهرة ،ربما تكون أحداث القصة متوقعة نوعا ما،لكن بالتأكيد هذه الرواية تمس القلب والأحاسيس الإنسانية وسيكون من الغريب أن لا يتساقط الدمع وأنت تقرأها

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Jun 25, 2011 مؤيد المزين rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

1
عندما تُشعلُ الآلام والأشجانُ صلواتها ، وقُدّاسها، "فيك" ، فهي لا تُبجّلُ سوى "القرابين " -تلك التي لاتعني إلا - "أنت"٠

2
مَن يشفيني مِن كتاب كهذا ؟

3
كلمة : بؤساء ، أصبحت محفوفة بمقصلة الوجع في قاموسي ، لم تعد كلمةً تتطايرُ "ترفاً "، إستحالت: إنحناءةُ دمْع

4
مو طبيعي، الزمن مُبعثّر في الرواية ، والبؤس شارتُه ٠٠

5
رواية داخل أوجاع من الروايات

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Sep 26, 2007 David rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

What fascinating stories! Poor Fantine suffered greatly because of the poor choices she had made in life. She brought misery upon herself, but she has our pity. Jean Valjean was not an innocent man in the wrong place at the wrong time, like I assumed before reading the book. On the contrary, he was a depraved imbecile. He was the scum of the Earth, yet he found redemption. Fantine is the warning, Valjean is the hope. In giving all that he had and everything that he was for the benefit of someone...more

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Apr 18, 2011 Petra X rated it 5 of 5 stars

Shelves: fiction

I loved this book. I was expecting something somewhere between Trollope's extraordinary writing and Zola's wonderful stories - and I got it! Great literature indeed, and what a character Jean Valjean is.

His story is almost biblical, one of redemption. One who travels the path from evil to good with scarcely a stumble but many an obstruction along the way. Hugo uses the book, much as Tolstoy liked to do, to expound his personal philosophy and also the condition of the peasants, les miserables.

(v ...more

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May 25, 2013 Mckenna rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: classics

This book was truly amazing. There is so much symbolism in it. I think that Javert represents everything that is wrong with religion. He claims to do good in the name of God. All he cares about is the rules and he feels it is his duty to dish out the punishment that is given by God. He sits up on his high horse and claims to be good and just, but he is just all talk.he is SO focused on the rules. He is so blinded by his precious law that he can't see there are people in need right in front of hi...more

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May 20, 2011 Jennifer D. rated it 5 of 5 stars Recommends it for: Everyone

Shelves: books-i-own, door-stopper, 2011-books, in-translation, effing-awesome

Umm, so...as with War and Peace, how the heck do you review a novel that is part of the fabric of Western society; a book that has been around so long and was written by an author so esteemed as to have a reputation that proceeds the reading? Yeah, I don't know either.

I will say that I assigned a one-star deduction (no, I am not the Russian judge, though I am definitely partial to Russian literature, but I digress) for two reasons: a) some of the commentary, while relevant to the plot, meandered...more

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Apr 06, 2013 Soma rated it 5 of 5 stars · review of another edition

Shelves: favorites

روايه اكثر من رائعه
بها من المعاني الانسانيه الكثير
التسامح لمن اساء .البذل ..العطاء
جان فالجان بطل القصه الذي سجن من أجل
رغيف عيش يطعم به اطفال لمده 19 عام
وعندما يخرج من السجن يقابل الأب ميريل
وبعد ان يستضيفه وينام عنده ليلته يسرقه جان
ويقبض عليه ولكن الاب ميريل ينفي انه سرق بل يقول انها أهداه الصحاف التي سرقها
ويعطيه معها شمعدان من الفضه يرحل بهم جان وقد تغيرت حياته..يصبح من الاثرياء
يفتح قلبه وبيته للفقراء .يدافع عنهم ..يسامح
قلبه لا يعرف الكره ولا الحقد حتي عندما تتيح الفرصه لينتقم ممن وشي ب...more

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