Take a photo of a barcode or cover
4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
funny
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
“So long as there shall exist, by reason of law and custom, a social condemnation which, in the face of civilisation, artificially creates hells on earth, and complicates a destiny that is divine, with human fatality; so long as the three problems of the age - the degradation of man by poverty, the ruin of woman by starvation, and the dwarfing of childhood by physical and spiritual night - are not yet solved; as long as, in certain regions, social asphyxia shall be possible; in other words...so long as ignorance and misery remain on earth, books like this cannot be useless."
-Victor Hugo, 1862
-Victor Hugo, 1862
challenging
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
emotional
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I cannot believe I waited so long to read this. It was amazing! I can absolutely see why it was turned into a musical. The drama! The language! The characters! Oh my!
Victor Hugo was a gifted writer with a flair for language. I think it may have something to do with the French to English translation as well. I think French is just a more beautiful language than English. I found myself reveling in some of the passages and really enjoyed reading them slowly to get the rhythm. Like I said, the book is obviously perfect for a musical.
I rooted for Jean Val Jean until the end and was terribly sad at the end. I’m glad he finds redemption. I just wish he didn’t have to die. Also, I wonder about people’s distaste for convicts. It must’ve been worse back in the 1800s. As soon as someone found out Jean Val Jean was a convict, they immediately hated him and thought he was scum (this was a guy who stole a loaf of bread because he and his family were starving). I mean it’s like he had some horrible contagious disease the way people acted. Give the guy a break! He’s a freaking hero!
The only thing I didn’t like were the long asides on the Battle of Waterloo and the sewers, etc. I skimmed them enough to get the idea and to understand why Hugo felt they were necessary. Also, some of the philosophical and social justice diatribes were hard to understand without some knowledge of French politics and history. I did find this book timely as hell, particularly in terms of wealth disparity and the way the poor are continually treated as if their poverty is their fault. Like poor Jean ValJean.
Overall, I absolutely loved this one. I will hopefully never let a chonky book intimidate me again.
Victor Hugo was a gifted writer with a flair for language. I think it may have something to do with the French to English translation as well. I think French is just a more beautiful language than English. I found myself reveling in some of the passages and really enjoyed reading them slowly to get the rhythm. Like I said, the book is obviously perfect for a musical.
I rooted for Jean Val Jean until the end and was terribly sad at the end. I’m glad he finds redemption. I just wish he didn’t have to die. Also, I wonder about people’s distaste for convicts. It must’ve been worse back in the 1800s. As soon as someone found out Jean Val Jean was a convict, they immediately hated him and thought he was scum (this was a guy who stole a loaf of bread because he and his family were starving). I mean it’s like he had some horrible contagious disease the way people acted. Give the guy a break! He’s a freaking hero!
The only thing I didn’t like were the long asides on the Battle of Waterloo and the sewers, etc. I skimmed them enough to get the idea and to understand why Hugo felt they were necessary. Also, some of the philosophical and social justice diatribes were hard to understand without some knowledge of French politics and history. I did find this book timely as hell, particularly in terms of wealth disparity and the way the poor are continually treated as if their poverty is their fault. Like poor Jean ValJean.
Overall, I absolutely loved this one. I will hopefully never let a chonky book intimidate me again.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
inspiring
reflective
relaxing
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes