*~Can't Stop Reading~* discussion
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Les Misérables
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Les Miserables
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Interesting, detailed but I can't quite see the point as yet. Any thoughts?"
Maybe it is a portrayal of those who choose t..."
I think that's closer to the mark. As I said I have heard of and know of people like that who basically live their lives dedicated to religious works. Its those people who tend to believe that they are no good and therefore strive to work to be better and help others. Deep down I suspect the Bishop saw himself as an inferior being and so covered it up with trying to be as selfless as possible.
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It has taken me longer to read it than I expected, but I also foolishly started a number of books at the same time. I'm on the last stretch now (less than 200 pages), and now I can't seem to put it down.
Kyle wrote: "So, we're approaching the last stretch in our reading of Les Miserables, and I was just wondering: how has everyone's progress been? As we all know, it's quite a beast of a book, and I imagine ever..."I read this in December with the aim of completing it before new year. I had no plan but I managed to finish it in 3 weeks with steady reading.
After two weeks of pretty dedicated nighttime reading I'm just barely at 60%. I've enjoyed it so far. It was necessary that I stopped reading at 20% in to do some light research on the French Rev. and Waterloo so I could have a better understanding of the basics. I'm hoping to have finished it by end of month. I enjoyed reading about the Bishop. As a reader I think I needed that character to have someone to compare Jean Valjean to. Using the Bishop as a standard makes Jean seem more human as the story progresses. Jean Valjean himself uses the Bishop to measure his own actions against, so it makes sense to me why the character of the Bishop had to be so rigid.
The nuns didn't put me to sleep either and I thought the little jaunt about how they lived was quite interesting and necessary. I needed to see inside the Convent in order to have something to compare the galleys to.
Just rounding on 46% myself, I'm finding it long going but enjoying it at the same time. Marius and the boys are just staring to get together now, so I guess the pace will pickup pretty soon.
Ben wrote: "Just rounding on 46% myself, I'm finding it long going but enjoying it at the same time. Marius and the boys are just staring to get together now, so I guess the pace will pickup pretty soon."I am on 48% and still reading a chapter or two a day. Does not help when reading two other books on the side. I am the kind of person I have to understand everything written. A sickness I think. Oh well- Life of Pi and Bag of Bones are good in the meantime. Les Miserables is the kind of book I cannot read straight through. For me; it was not written that way. I bet at the time first published this book was not published all together but in sections.
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I believe it was published on a book to book basis, which is why you have the book divisions in the entire novel. I read something about the date in America when book 1 of Les Miserables was first published.
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Yeah, I think I started blazing through it around the halfway mark.
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My first thought on finally turning that last page was, "yay! I finally finished this monster of a book. awesome!"
My second thought was "Wow, that was actually an incredible story, and even with the diversions which require some dedication on the part of the reader (perhaps especially with them?), it was a masterful book."
My third thought was "Oh no. It's all over. I've run out of book, and now I miss it." /cry
I finally finished this one up last night, after what seems like countless hours of reading it night after night. It was entirely worth all of that time. The book had a beautiful way of breaking my heart. At the first mention of the doll, I couldn't help but sob so I found it fitting that in the end, it was the doll that had me sobbing all over again.
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Yeah, we seem to be a group with pretty posh, yet eclectic tastes in literature; I love it. :) Good luck with your classes!
One of the all time greats! It's one that has lingered in my mind for years.
We read an abridged version in high school French class. It was so sad I never wanted to read the whole story or see the play. Now my chorale is learning some of the music for our summer program, and I'm enjoying the songs.
Oh I think you should see the musical! I saw it in London some years ago (I think it's still going strong). I was glad to find I'd got a hanky or two tucked up my sleeve.
I read it years ago and absolutely adored it, although I found myself wondering how on earth they could have made a musical out of it. Turns out it was the same way they made a Disney film out of The Hunchback of Notre Dame :PI adore Victor Hugo, but I must admit that I wasn't impressed by the musical.
Please don't hate me...
Oh no, hate takes up too much energy which is conserved for the all consuming writing!All the best for your new release, Sophie.
I loved Les Mis but found there were vast sections which were interesting but advanced the story little. The Waterloo discourse for one. It's like Tolstoy and his huge battle scenes. Just feel they needed stronger editors.
Yes, if today's authors wandered around as VH did, few would get away with it. Imagine the reviews!I saw the film before I read the book and that helped.
I quite like some of what I call 'tangential wanderings' but they need to come back to the main pathway fairly soon or I forget what it was supposed to be about! I think if the wanderings include interesting characters, it helps to keep my interest.
Yes, I think if today's authors wandered around like VH, they'd get some pretty bad reviews. I quite enjoy what I call 'tangential wanderings' if the characters are interesting or amusing or get me thinking about something important.I think I could enjoy Les Mis because I first saw the film and the musical.
This is a commitment read for sure, but well worth it.
Yet, allow me to play the devil's advocate a little bit and ask the group t..."
Wow, I think you nailed it. There was just something bugging me about the Bishop in Les Mis, and I think what you just said is exactly tied to the problem I had with him.
Archdeacon Frollo is one of the most compelling characters I've ever come across in any literature, and I think he's the reason Notre Dame De Paris works so well as a novel. Even though the Bishop in Les Mis isn't really a main character, to me he just felt like a cardboard cutout caricature and I was secretly waiting for us to be done with him.