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Buddy Reads
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Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. (Em and K.D.) Start Date: Monday, April 16, 2012.
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Day 1 : IntroductionI read the intro this morning. So, this is about the French Revolution or maybe that as the backdrop (I don't know). But when this was published in 19th century (written by Victor Hugo in 1845 onwards), hit daw and many Parisians trooped to the bookstores to buy the book.
I saw that my copy was indeed an abridged edition. I think I saw the unabridged parang wala akong time to spend to that huge book. Anyway, it says in my copy that "this is an abridged edition and our intent is to make this work more accessible to Americans who might find the real edition overwhelming. This with the hope that someday they will read the real edition" or something to that effect.
So, let's do it that way. Read this first and see if it is really good then read the unabridged later.
Suggested Reading Plan
3 days per chapter
(There are 5 chapters each named after a character).
Em, okay lang kung di ka mabilis. I will try not to post many spoilers and when you are ready we can discuss. Mayroon lang kasi akong naka-line up na "Tenant of Windfell Hall" next week and "The Color Purple" the week after. Dami kong tanggap na labada hahahaha.
wow gusto ko ito kaso wala akong les miserables!!!!!!!! san makakabili ng cheap!!!!!!!!
John, again, classic ito so available siguro on line. Try Guttenberg hahahaha
Day 4 : Volume 1 : FantineSince 3 days per volume, I forced myself to finish Fantine this morning.
It is a very character-driven story. Fantine is a French woman who is in love with a man and ends up taking care of the man's daughter Cosette. Then Fantine was laid off from the factory owned by Valjean who is an ex-convict. Jobless, Fantine has to sell her hair, two front teeth and her body to take care of her ward. One time she gets caught by the police and she is put in jail. Fantene gets critically ill and asks for the prison warden Javert to bring Cosette to her but Javert refuses. Fantine dies.
There are many characters and events but to put the chapter into few words, that is the summary of how I understood what I read. It feels a long read even if I what I am reading is an abridged edition (900 pages). Much more if I am reading the unabridged (1,400 pages!)
It feels like a long read but it is very readable. I was a bit surprise kasi I thought that I would have a hard time reading the book.
Gusto kong character si Fantine. So dito siguro kinuha yong name ng shampoo na Pantene kasi mahaba ang hair ni Fantine at nabenta nga nya noong naghihirap na sya. Di ko lang alam anong ginawa sa ngipin. Pero habang nagbabasa ako ng 19th century Paris naiisip ko yong scene doon sa "Perfume" ni Patrick Suskind.
Nabasa ko rin sa Wiki that contrary to the popular belief (mine included), hindi backdrop nito ang French Revolution. Kasi raw, that revolution happened in the 18th century while the setting of this book is the 19th century. So, kahit nakulong si Valjean ng 5 years for stealing bread (remember Marie Antoinette's pronouncement about bread and cake?) magkaibang siglo sila hahahahaha.
I will read Volume II: Cosette starting tonight!!!
Em, saan ka na?
true! perfume is one of the best novels I have ever ever read.
Yan, dyan tayo magkakasundo. Edgy ang "Perfume" at nag-enjoy ako. Dito sa "Story of the Eye" ewan ko. Masyadong kadiri. Halfway na ako pero nahihirapan akong magbasa. Parang mas mahalay kaysa sa DeSade's "100 Days of Sodom."
K.D. wrote: "Yan, dyan tayo magkakasundo. Edgy ang "Perfume" at nag-enjoy ako. Dito sa "Story of the Eye" ewan ko. Masyadong kadiri. Halfway na ako pero nahihirapan akong magbasa. Parang mas mahalay kaysa sa De..."kuya in want to buy that di ko pa nattry... meron kang alam kung san makakuha?
Les Mis is an excellent novel. Ma-fe-feel mo talaga ang misery ng mga characters, especially Fantine. Napakasakit, kuya Eddie!!Btw...this is not really about the French revolution. It's about one of the many minor revolutions that was occuring in Paris at the time. Mahilig kasi ang mga French mag revolt talaga hahaha.
H: Tama! I just realized that while reading Vol. 1. Na-mention ko na sa itaas hahaha. H, di mo binabasa ang rants ko hahahaha.John, Perfume? Sa NBS alam ko meron yan. Sa BS minsan-minsan nakakakita ako. May copy ako pero di ko pinapahiram kasi di pa nabasa ng utol ko! Meron din akong "The Pigeon" na mas maganda kaysa sa "Perfume" hahaha.
K.D. wrote: "H: Tama! I just realized that while reading Vol. 1. Na-mention ko na sa itaas hahaha. H, di mo binabasa ang rants ko hahahaha."
Hahaha, ang haba eh! Pero, binasa ko na hehehe. Oo, kahit mahaba sya ang seemingly intimidating, it's very readable, and para sa akin, mabilis ko lang sya binasa...interesting din kasi eh, even though most might be turned off by the subject matter thinking it might be too heavy to deal with.
Meron din akong The Pigeon courtesy of Booksale.
Maikli na nga yan kumpara sa binasa ko hahahaha. Pag si Angus ang nag-rant, mas mahaba pa dyan hahaha. At least pareho tayo ng pananaw sa libro. Gusto ko sya. Hahahaha.
John, sa akin din, courtesy of BS.
Aling edition yung abridged copy mo, KD? Free kaya ito sa Kindle? Abridged din kaya yung copy dun? Hehe..
Yong unabridged 1,400 pages daw. Parang nakakita ako nito sa BS. Yong Oxford series na bumabaha ngayon sa BS.Dito yata sa abridged tinanggal na yong mga historical digressions na walang kinalaman sa main story/plot. Nagbasa ako ng Wiki at marami raw ganoon pati yong history ng isang revolt at kung anu-ano pa. Nabanggit din yan ni Kristel during F2F One, mahaba raw yon.
Hindi ako Kindle eh. Mass paperback. Yong picture nasa Currently-Reading folder ko. :)
Hindi talaga ako mahilig magbasa ng masyadong mahabang mga posts sa forums or blogs hahaha. Pero pag libro, ok lang :)
Trabaho kasi ng moderator magbasa para kapag may violation o dapat sitahin, sisitahin namin hahaha. Kasama na itong si John na nambubulabog hahaha!
Free siya sa Kindle, pero unabridged yata yung version. T_T Di ako mahilig sa ebooks dati, but I've finished five (free) classics na sa phone ko just for April. :D
pwede pang makijoin... I found this antique na comic book na published nung 1980's pa ata... Les Miserables in not more than 50 pages na comics =P
K.D. wrote: "Trabaho kasi ng moderator magbasa para kapag may violation o dapat sitahin, sisitahin namin hahaha. Kasama na itong si John na nambubulabog hahaha!"may ginawa na naman ba ako?? =P
ei guys... i found an antique illustrated comic telling the whole plot of Les Miserables in just twenty pages.. It is a National Classics Comics edition which was published by National Bookstore circa 1970..It is really good. I finished the whole thing in one sitting and I got all the major plots and stories about the Les Miserables.. Very accessible I will try to scan the whole comics and share it to those who are interested. Because of this, I am so interested to read the abridged Les Miserables.
Any editions you can suggest I buy?
Day 5: Volume 2: CosetteKakatuwa yang si Cosette. Pinabayaan ng ina na maltratuhin ng mga Thenardiers pero di pa rin naging malungkutin o negative ang pananaw sa mundo. Naala-ala ko lang si Pearl sa recently read kong The Scarlet Letter. Kawawa rin naman si Fantine kasi syempre mahal nya si Corsette at sinigurado nyang mabubuhay ang bata kahit na ba maging prostitute sya. Kaso sobra yong French laws noong panahong yon. Pag ikaw ay may anak born out of wedlock, masama ka ng babae na para kang criminal.
Parang lumitaw na yong 3 main characters kung saan pinangalan ang mga 4 parts ng libro at lutang na ang nature ng mga characters na ito: si Valjean yong ex-convict na nagtra-try magbagong buhay pero sinusundan pa rin ng kanyang nakaraan (personified by Javert); si Fantene ang mahirap na nagsisikap mabuhay kahit na maging prostitute pa. Kakalungkot lang dahil namatay at si Cosette na kahit mahirap at lumaki sa pagmamaltrato parang di pa rin nasasagian ng kasamaan. Parang lang ngang si Pearl na deadma lang.
Si Maurius na lang. Sino ba yang si Maurius.
Yon palang character na pinortray ni Lea Salonga sa Broadway adaptation nito ay di cutey-cutey role kagaya ng kay Cosette. Si Eponine sya! Maldita kay Cosette at kankuntsaba ng mga Thenadiers (dahil eldest sya sa girls sa family) sa mga kalokohan.
Si Marius ay ang kalaguyo ni COsette na crush din ni Eponine (kasi sya lang ang lalake sa Paris eh) hahaha. Masalimuot ang buhay ni Marius...very idealistic and naive.... pa-martyr hahahaha.Anyway, was that a hypothetical question? hahaha.
Mejo iba ang portrayal ni Eponine sa book and sa musical. Sa musical kasi parang tinutulungan nya si Marius para makalapit kay Cosette at sya yung may unrequited love kay Marius. Samantalang sa book, parang hindi naman ganon ka intense yung feelings ni Eponine para kay marius. Isa lang syang batang paslit na gagawin ang lahat para maka survive. Anyway..that's how I remember it....
Anong hindi intense, eh namatay si Eponine para kay Marius? Hypothetical nga yan. Nasa dulo na ako ng libro kaninang umaga. Nakalimutan ko lang mag-post kasi nag-PM sa akin si Em, umaatras na raw sya hahaha.
Eh...hindi naman ganon ka dramatic ang dating sa book. I mean, not like they made it seem sa musical...Ay, reading buddy discussion ba ito? hahaha. sorry! Kala ko discussion 'to ng book of the month. Hahahaha...
Di kasi nagbabasa eh :P
Reading buddy pero iniwan na ako ni Em hahahaha. Okay lang naman. Nagpaalam ng maayos ang bata. Di raw nya ma-enjoy kasi nagiging chore instead na leisurely reading.
Chore? talaga? That's what I initially thought about Les Mis before I read it. To my surprise, it was "light" (the pacing and narration, at least), interesting and an enjoyable read, albeit very...miserable hehe. Kala ko kasi ito yung book discussion for Les Mis, eh I remember that I voted for that book for the book of the month...
Oh well.. :P
Hindi. Les Miserables lost to 1984 noong January. hahaha. Isasali ko ulit ito next year. Itatapat ko sa "The Old Man and the Sea" hahahaha. Para manalo hahahaha.
Les Miserables pala parang extended as mas thorough na "Noli Me Tangere" ano? Sobrang naipakita rito ni Victor Hugo yong condition ng France during that time. Yong kay Rizal medyo malabo pa (ayon sa recollection ko). Dito, mapa-monarchy, mapa-sundalo, middle-class, mahirap, bata, atpb. nabigyan ng representation ni Victor Hugo. Very political at walang takot. Parang tame pa ang Noli kung tutuusin. Tsaka yong characters dito buo at multi-dimensional. Ikumpara mo si Sisa kay Fantene. Wala namang ginawa si Sisa kundi mabaliw. Si Fantene, nagpakahirap at pati buhok binenta para may makain sila ni Cosette. Si Maria Clara at si Cosette. Nakapag-transform ang character ni Cosette noong ma-inlove sya. Si Maria Clara, nagtago sa kumbento.Si Valjean at si Ibarra, parang multi-dimensional ang roles pero mas marked ang transformation ni Valjean dahil ex-convict, mahirap, then yumaman, din humirap ulit, tago-ng-tago, then namatay na maligaya. Si Ibarra, mayaman, then mahirap, then nagtago then lumabas na sa ibang katauhan sa "Fili". Then parang hindi na sya si Ibarra dahil nasa ibang setting na at kasama ng ibang set ng characters.
Good luck. This a really good read but a really lengthy one... Bored me at times but I love Cosette! hehe
Krizia Anna wrote: "Good luck. This a really good read but a really lengthy one... Bored me at times but I love Cosette! hehe"actually para rin siyang pinaghalong El Fili and Noli.. Na mas madrama huhuhuhuhu! kasi parehas silang multi-dimensional.
Kaso major differences. Ibarra is good then turned bad. Kabaliktaran naman c Jean Valjean. And Cosette is very much liberal compared to Maria Clara kasi she had to go on with lies and secrets just to be with his beloved. I also admire the ideas and beliefs of Cosette's love (cno nga ba yun) and how he put all his heart and soul in it. Tska one big difference is that the priest at the start of the story is very mabait while the friars in Rizal's books are not shown as servants of God exactly.
K.D. wrote: "Les Miserables pala parang extended as mas thorough na "Noli Me Tangere" ano? Sobrang naipakita rito ni Victor Hugo yong condition ng France during that time. Yong kay Rizal medyo malabo pa (ayon s..."i love it!
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