Reviews

The Last Day of a Condemned Man by Victor Hugo

chuyu_love's review

4.0

pretty good book, nice message.

acid28's review

4.0

It's a good book, Hugo portrays the psychological state of the convict very well. Despite some people, this book hasn't really changed my opinion on the death penalty but it was important for the time it was written, of course. 
It really upset me when the prisoner's daughter didn't recognise him :(

jesuisgourde's review

4.0

While reading Les Miserables for the third time, I've decided to finally start working my way through all of Hugo's works that have been translated into English. This was my first on this endeavor. This short story is fantastic. It has some of the most poetically grim and intense imagery, which oddly made me wish I had the ability to draw so I could get some of those amazing visuals onto paper. It's also interesting to read this knowing he was 27 when he wrote it, and I can see a number of themes and points he expanded on when writing Les Miserables about thirty years later. Hugo's favorite thing to do is name drop, so I did get a little bit slowed down when reading because I was looking up the people or events he was referencing, but it's a quick and easy read if you're not like me and don't feel like you have to know every little detail about every historical person or moment Hugo talks about.

celeswalker's review against another edition

challenging emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

4.5

rihcochet's review

2.0

i always forget to update books i read for school but what's up with french classics and the death penalty

cicciapallaa's review against another edition

4.0

4.5

Ascoltato come audiolibro con la musica di sottofondo, consiglio vivamente. Capolavoro.

herewegoagain's review against another edition

emotional sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

superraven666's review against another edition

4.0

Rip Victor Hugo you would have loved Robert Badinter

yasminmin's review

reflective

3.5

teatoto's review against another edition

4.0

Ho sentito l’agonia, l’ansia, il ticchettio delle lancette dell’orologio che avvicinavano sempre più il criminale alla ghigliottina, ho avuto il batticuore ad un certo punto. Molto bravo Hugo a impressionare il lettore, a creare l’atmosfera giusta. Tuttavia è un libro molto corto, che non entra troppo nel dettaglio della vita del personaggio, per questo penso di avere empatizzato poco con lui.