From the Bookshelf of Should have read classics…

Les Misérables

Victor Hugo

Start date: December 1, 2012

Finish date: January 31, 2013

Discussion: Buddy Reads-Current

Why we're reading this: This is the group read for December and January. We will now change it to a buddy read for the remaining …more
[close] This is the group read for December and January. We will now change it to a buddy read for the remaining time.

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Buddy Reads-Current

Buddy Reads?
By Rena · 5 posts · 83 views

last updated May 14, 2012 06:53AM

Depths of Winter Russian Lit Buddy Read
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last updated Dec 27, 2011 02:24PM

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What Members Thought

Apr 19, 2011 Library Lady 📚 rated it liked it

Shelves: classics, banned-books, audiobooks

It's difficult for me to review a book of such magnitude, but I will try.
First of all, I love classics and I've read tons of them. I don't mind books where, well, not much happens. I don't mind reading books where I'm inside a characters head for most of the book, so I don't notice that not much happens. Some of my favorite books are accused of being boring by today's readers and today's standards.
That said, I will begin my review. This book does not fall into the category above. Plenty was happ It's difficult for me to review a book of such magnitude, but I will try.
First of all, I love classics and I've read tons of them. I don't mind books where, well, not much happens. I don't mind reading books where I'm inside a characters head for most of the book, so I don't notice that not much happens. Some of my favorite books are accused of being boring by today's readers and today's standards.
That said, I will begin my review. This book does not fall into the category above. Plenty was happening...every hundred pages or so. There was a great story here. I loved it. But there was also...the other stuff. Maybe I should have picked up the abridged edition, but it feels like cheating somehow. I want to read what the author wanted me to read, not what someone else thought was worthy of being read. But, I must say, I should have. Because I really, honestly, found myself lying back and thinking of England during some parts of this collosal book. I'm sorry, but the ins and outs of French jargon do not interest me enough to read about for...30 minutes. Or even 10. They just don't.
And that's how this book was, the whole way through. A wonderful, engaging, thought-provoking chapter with characters and a story and profound thoughts would drag me in. And then...a long, long, LONG discussion on the French Revolution. Or jargon. Or, pardon my French, shit (I'm being serious here, it happens). Maybe if those chapters had been incorporated into the story more, I wouldn't have spent so much time daydreaming and not bothering to go back and see what I missed. Because I didn't really care what I missed. My eyes glazed over and all thoughts vanished from my head except for the frustrated scream of my dying attention span with its last breath howling in death agony "WHEN WILL THIS TORTURE END!!!???"
Okay, I'm being a little dramatic here, if it wasn't obvious. I did enjoy this book, and I think I would have absolutely adored and cherished the story if I could have just read about the characters and all their hardships, heartbreaks and triumphs. But as it was, I will stick with the 3-star rating I gave it, and think of all the wonderful hours of daydreaming I did while listening to this book. ...more

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Jan 24, 2013 Pat Gerber-Relf rated it it was amazing · review of another edition

There has been some discussion about this topic, mostly in connection with the film. I have not seen the film, know the show, or anything. I would like to but one thing I knew. Before I watch the film the book will be read. I gave up the idea of reading original French, my French is not good enough to follow Victor Hugo, but I have now read the book, nearly a thousand pages according to my son (I read it on my iPad). I do not know how much has been changed and twisted in the story by making a fi ...more

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