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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
adventurous
challenging
emotional
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-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
Ohhh wow. This book is definitely a classic for a reason. And honestly, I can't believe I read it. 1,463 pages seemed so daunting and intimidating to me, but this story in itself is so timeless, so beautifully written and witty and emotional. This should definitely receive more hype. In its most basic form, this is a story about complicated people. It's a struggle between right and wrong, and it's a book about injustice and love and goodness where you least expect it. It's massive in scope, covering many topics and many characters who are so complex, so real, and hold such a special place in my heart. I think this book is where the term "morally grey characters" came from, as Hugo is a master at them. The voice of this story was so unique as well. Usually in your everyday modern book, you see a story told from a character inside the narrative, or multiple. This feels as though it's told straight from Hugo's perspective, and it has so much heart. This book about has some very strong female characters, and some of the most lyrical, stunning writing I've ever read. Each scene, each character is painted carefully, meticulously and vividly. This book blew my expectations out of the water. And as a theater kid, I listened to the musical before reading the book; it was part of my childhood, though I didn't know the plot. And I do really love the musical, but the novel is so much better. In fact, many of the characters in the musical are vague outlines of those in the book. Eponine, for example. In the musical, her entire story is her unrequited love for Marius, but in the book she's a girl who has been through unbelievable hardship, a sad soul but a strong character. I have no words that could ever illustrate the beauty which is within these pages. Please, please read this book. It's not a fast read, but ohhh it's worth it.
Darker and more pedantic than the musical. Obviously a labor of love for Hugo - he certainly created something to be proud of. I have beef with the paternalism exhibited towards women and Hugo’s intense francocentrism but I’ll give him a bit of a pass cause it was 1862. I love Cosette and the book would have been better completely from her and Eponine’s perspectives.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
reflective
sad
slow-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:
Yes
emotional
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Complaints first: The Battle of Waterloo did not need 19 chapters of this book dedicated to it. It really didn’t. Similarly, there was no reason for me to learn so much about the Paris Sewer System, and yet. I sometimes struggle with reading classics, because I can’t get my brain to care about the style. There are so many tangents that didn’t need to happen, and I think if I were to reread this in the future, I would read a more abridged version. This time around I read the unabridged version because it’s my friend’s favorite book (shoutout Mel), but goddamn was my brain fried after 2.5 hours of Waterloo.
Now onto the good things! I loved a lot of the characters in this. Marius had me crying when Cosette’s dress gets blown up a little and this man hasn’t even spoken to her and he’s like “that was our first fight” like girl please. The ABC guys were fun and Enjolras and Grantaire were… definitely having something going on. I really liked this book and by the end, I was INVESTED. I was tearing up at work at Valjean’s death.
To😭love😭another😭person😭is😭to😭see😭the😭face😭of😭god😭
“The brutalities of progress are called revolutions. When they are over we realize this: that the human race has been roughly handled, but that it has advanced.”
——
“We live in a squalid society. Success: that is the message seeping, drop by drop, down from the overriding corruption.”
——
“In a word, they wanted Progress, that hallowed, good, and gentle thing, and they demanded it in a terrible fashion, with oaths on their lips and weapons in their hands. They were barbarous, yes; but barbarians in the cause of civilization.
They furiously proclaimed the right; they wanted to drive mankind into Paradise, even if it could only be done by terror. They looked like barbarians and were saviours. Wearing a mask of darkness, they clamored for light.
… For our part, if we had to choose between the barbarians of civilization and those civilized upholders of barbarism we would choose the former.”
——
“The clash of passion and ignorance is different from the shock of progress. Rise up by all means, but do so in order to grow. Show me which way you are going; true insurrection can only go forward.
… First come the sound and fury, before the rightful cause emerges.”
——
“We live in a squalid society. Success: that is the message seeping, drop by drop, down from the overriding corruption.”
——
“In a word, they wanted Progress, that hallowed, good, and gentle thing, and they demanded it in a terrible fashion, with oaths on their lips and weapons in their hands. They were barbarous, yes; but barbarians in the cause of civilization.
They furiously proclaimed the right; they wanted to drive mankind into Paradise, even if it could only be done by terror. They looked like barbarians and were saviours. Wearing a mask of darkness, they clamored for light.
… For our part, if we had to choose between the barbarians of civilization and those civilized upholders of barbarism we would choose the former.”
——
“The clash of passion and ignorance is different from the shock of progress. Rise up by all means, but do so in order to grow. Show me which way you are going; true insurrection can only go forward.
… First come the sound and fury, before the rightful cause emerges.”
dark
emotional
informative
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes