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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
If you like the stories about a man that gets over himself and proves to the world how he has changed and its almost a perfect man. You´ll love this book like i did, it has it all, suffering, love of all kinds, rise of the ppl... read IT!
adventurous
emotional
informative
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I love this book, especially how Victor Hugo explains the reasons behind each character's actions and gives every character a backstory. The characters are the favourite thing about the book . I start with hating javert and end up being lil emphatic about him . Fantine tragic death made me cry. We all hate Thenardier. Jean character was my favorite one and how can we forget our hero enjolars. I also love how he reflects on the characters' actions with real thought. The book made me cry and reflect on society, the meaning of love, and what it means to sacrifice. Yeah, the Waterloo and sewer chapters felt a bit unnecessary—like the details weren't really needed—but I still fuck with this book.
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I found I’m not a huge fan of the over dramatized emotions my partner stated are typical of the era this book was published in.
dark
emotional
funny
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I read this abridged version for a class in high school. I really enjoyed the story itself, but I thought this was a poor abridgment--lots of Hugo's long rants that aren't really significant to story development were left in while major things like character introductions were cut. It was confusing and difficult to feel emotionally attached to the story when the first time characters were introduced was when they were dying, and I had stop and think, Okay, who is that? The only way I got through it was from familiarity with the story through the musical and the Wikipedia page. It's been a long time since I read the book, though, so maybe I'm misremembering it. In any case, it's still a fantastic story and I really did enjoy reading it, although I plan on reading the full novel in the future.
4.5⭐️
It lost a half star just because of the sheer monstrosity that is the brick of the unabridged…and maybe also Waterloo. But I’m not sure if I would have been as captivated by it otherwise. My feelings are all over the place.
Unpopular opinion; but I liked the “Sewers” part. And I understood why all the other “parentheses” were in the book and why he added them. Except the monologue on slang. I think that took six months off my life. Ugh and the love letter
It lost a half star just because of the sheer monstrosity that is the brick of the unabridged…and maybe also Waterloo. But I’m not sure if I would have been as captivated by it otherwise. My feelings are all over the place.
Unpopular opinion; but I liked the “Sewers” part. And I understood why all the other “parentheses” were in the book and why he added them. Except the monologue on slang. I think that took six months off my life. Ugh and the love letter
emotional
hopeful
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
when i heard that the anime i was so invested in was actually a book, i couldn't believe it. i needed to buy that book so badly, and after combing through the country to find the english copy of it (i never liked the arabic translations) i finally found a copy; the copy was a vintage classics from the penguin random house. it has 1330 pages; 1194 of which are of the actual book, and even though i don't like unabridged versions, i read through that shit. and i enjoyed every second of it.
jean valjean is the OG grumpy man whose life changes because of a little girl. he's a man who wants to change. to grow. to be better.
jean valjean is the OG grumpy man whose life changes because of a little girl. he's a man who wants to change. to grow. to be better.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Death, Violence, War
I'm no literary scholar, and anyway in that respect I couldn't say anything new, so let me just leave a simple recommendation here.
The danger of the 'Classic' label is that it conjures up the smell of dust, memories of dozing in school and, frankly, boredom.
But the thing is, no matter how much time has passed this book is still relevant today. Not only that, but it's a really enjoyable read - you just need to know how to approach it. It shouldn't be read like a modern, plot-driven novel, but as Hugo's social agenda, built up around and illustrated by the personal stories of the characters.
Oh, the characters! These people, in any other book would be extras, unimportant and expendable - an ex-convict, a random cop, a worker forced into prostitution and her child, a handful of revolutionaries on their small, unimportant barricade - here they become grand, important and sublime. These little lives matter - that's the central point of the book.
(Also a thing generally overlooked - tragic and sad as it is, the book has a surprising amount of humour though, as it mostly presents itself in Hugo's sarcastic narration and puns - whether this comes through largely depends on the translation.)
The danger of the 'Classic' label is that it conjures up the smell of dust, memories of dozing in school and, frankly, boredom.
But the thing is, no matter how much time has passed this book is still relevant today. Not only that, but it's a really enjoyable read - you just need to know how to approach it. It shouldn't be read like a modern, plot-driven novel, but as Hugo's social agenda, built up around and illustrated by the personal stories of the characters.
Oh, the characters! These people, in any other book would be extras, unimportant and expendable - an ex-convict, a random cop, a worker forced into prostitution and her child, a handful of revolutionaries on their small, unimportant barricade - here they become grand, important and sublime. These little lives matter - that's the central point of the book.
(Also a thing generally overlooked - tragic and sad as it is, the book has a surprising amount of humour though, as it mostly presents itself in Hugo's sarcastic narration and puns - whether this comes through largely depends on the translation.)
I fell in love with the stage show when I was in middle school, and when I had a longish bus commute for my job last summer, I decided to read the unabridged version to pass the time during the ride. I'm so glad I did. What a beautiful piece of literature. What a tragic story. I spent the last 200 pages (which I luckily read at home) crying. The unabridged version is over 1400 pages long, so be warned. His tangents can go on for a hundred pages or more. They reveal a lot about Hugo's philosophy, but can take you out of the story for a while. But even with them, this ranks among the top five books I've ever read.
beautiful, but so so long.
i started this book a year ago, got stuck halfway after a month or so, ended up in a huge reading slump, pulled myself out of the reading slump with books for work and the last few unread books on my shelf, picked les mis up again, and finally finished it!!!
i remember very little about the first half. javert’s last appearance was by far the best section in the book. and the book ended well, tying the it all together finally. but gosh, the length. i am proud of myself for getting through it but it was excessive. some of hugo’s tangents were fun (like the one on the parisian sewers), but some i just couldn’t bring myself to care about. but i knew i was only going to read this book once, so i read each page.
i knew very little about the french revolution before reading this book, and while i learned that it seemed to be a lot longer and complicated than i imagined, this book taught me surprisingly little about the history of it given how many side tangents of parisian history that hugo went on. i’m lost in that regard.
also… marius and cosette annoyed me a bit :(. i wanted to love them but i really just don’t agree with hugo’s vision of love and relationship. what do you mean they fell in love without ever speaking to each other? what do you mean that their love for each other meant that they don’t need to talk about big things together? why is cosette’s role in this relationship just to be an image of purity and goodness?
i started this book a year ago, got stuck halfway after a month or so, ended up in a huge reading slump, pulled myself out of the reading slump with books for work and the last few unread books on my shelf, picked les mis up again, and finally finished it!!!
i remember very little about the first half. javert’s last appearance was by far the best section in the book. and the book ended well, tying the it all together finally. but gosh, the length. i am proud of myself for getting through it but it was excessive. some of hugo’s tangents were fun (like the one on the parisian sewers), but some i just couldn’t bring myself to care about. but i knew i was only going to read this book once, so i read each page.
i knew very little about the french revolution before reading this book, and while i learned that it seemed to be a lot longer and complicated than i imagined, this book taught me surprisingly little about the history of it given how many side tangents of parisian history that hugo went on. i’m lost in that regard.
also… marius and cosette annoyed me a bit :(. i wanted to love them but i really just don’t agree with hugo’s vision of love and relationship. what do you mean they fell in love without ever speaking to each other? what do you mean that their love for each other meant that they don’t need to talk about big things together? why is cosette’s role in this relationship just to be an image of purity and goodness?