Scan barcode
cerilouisereads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
inspiring
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death
Moderate: Abandonment, Child abuse, and Forced institutionalization
Minor: Religious bigotry
diverso's review against another edition
5.0
Extremamente descritivo e verborrágico, a ponto de deixar chato. Porém, excelente escrita, excelentes personagens etc. Em geral, muito bom. Excelente.
theelderbooks's review against another edition
4.0
Les Misérables is a classic. It's especially a classic for me considering I'm a French book publishing student. However, I had NEVER read a true classic before this year (I won't count the short versions of some classics I read for school many years ago). Les Misérables was as good as any Hugo book to start reading his work, so here I am.
I won't bother too much with the plot, since it's so well-known everywhere. Basically, we have several characters, each trying to do something with their new lives : Jean Valjean, who was just released from prison, Fantine, who lost her boyfriend and wealth and who ends up having to take care of an infant and leaving her with an evil family and some side characters who all are involved in these two characters' lives.
First off, I need to say that I read it faster than I thought I would, and it's probably due to the fact that I read it as an e-book, and didn't have the weight of it to slow me or daunt me. Also, I may or may not have skipped some pages when the descriptions were getting a little overboard and I felt it was unnecessary. If you don't like lenghty descriptions, STAY AWAY FROM THIS. There are sooooooo many slow parts in the book, where it's just descriptions of people, the scenery, and generally anything.
The timeline confused me a little bit, as the characters sometimes evolve without the narrator telling the reader, so I had to figure out what was happening when, which was a little annoying. That being said, I still enjoyed reading Les Misérables, as I found all the characters' stories to be quite interesting.
Jean Valjean is a grey character, and I really enjoyed seeing how he hesitates between being good and giving in to his criminal side. His moral here is also helped by Monseigneur Bienvenu (at least that's his name in the French version, sorry guys), and I loved that side of the story !
Fantine on the other side is just a little ball of sunshine, young, beautiiful, and dating a guy that can entirely provide for her... Until he leaves her, pregnant with Cosette, and Fantine spirals down, into poverty and having to leave her daughter with a terrible family. Honestly, I kind of disliked Fantine, because she's so damn stupid. I feel like she has no common sense at all, and it annoyed me sooooooo much. Sure, it's set in a whole different era, but still, I just wanted to shake the girl and tell her to get a grip.
I'll probably read the following books of Les Misérables, but not now. I feel like I need a break from classics for now, and just read more fun stuff !
I won't bother too much with the plot, since it's so well-known everywhere. Basically, we have several characters, each trying to do something with their new lives : Jean Valjean, who was just released from prison, Fantine, who lost her boyfriend and wealth and who ends up having to take care of an infant and leaving her with an evil family and some side characters who all are involved in these two characters' lives.
First off, I need to say that I read it faster than I thought I would, and it's probably due to the fact that I read it as an e-book, and didn't have the weight of it to slow me or daunt me. Also, I may or may not have skipped some pages when the descriptions were getting a little overboard and I felt it was unnecessary. If you don't like lenghty descriptions, STAY AWAY FROM THIS. There are sooooooo many slow parts in the book, where it's just descriptions of people, the scenery, and generally anything.
The timeline confused me a little bit, as the characters sometimes evolve without the narrator telling the reader, so I had to figure out what was happening when, which was a little annoying. That being said, I still enjoyed reading Les Misérables, as I found all the characters' stories to be quite interesting.
Jean Valjean is a grey character, and I really enjoyed seeing how he hesitates between being good and giving in to his criminal side. His moral here is also helped by Monseigneur Bienvenu (at least that's his name in the French version, sorry guys), and I loved that side of the story !
Fantine on the other side is just a little ball of sunshine, young, beautiiful, and dating a guy that can entirely provide for her... Until he leaves her, pregnant with Cosette, and Fantine spirals down, into poverty and having to leave her daughter with a terrible family. Honestly, I kind of disliked Fantine, because she's so damn stupid. I feel like she has no common sense at all, and it annoyed me sooooooo much. Sure, it's set in a whole different era, but still, I just wanted to shake the girl and tell her to get a grip.
I'll probably read the following books of Les Misérables, but not now. I feel like I need a break from classics for now, and just read more fun stuff !
obennett's review against another edition
challenging
reflective
slow-paced
- Diverse cast of characters? No
4.5
sudeshnabora's review against another edition
Stopping it midway. Cannot continue as it has so much of details about everything and it is making me so confused. Maybe will restart it some other day.
caidyn's review against another edition
DNF at page 134
I'm a bit disappointed by this. Honestly, this is the only Hugo book that I have a huge interest in reading. Sure, I'll give Les Mis a try, but I'm not into that story. But, this one? To this day, the Disney movie is the only movie that I can actually finish and get over the halfway through boring stuff. This book just didn't do it for me. It's a love letter to Notre Dame. I just felt my eyes glazing over as I read the multitude of descriptions. And the characters? Nothing to say about them, really. They were second fiddle to the church.
I'm a bit disappointed by this. Honestly, this is the only Hugo book that I have a huge interest in reading. Sure, I'll give Les Mis a try, but I'm not into that story. But, this one? To this day, the Disney movie is the only movie that I can actually finish and get over the halfway through boring stuff. This book just didn't do it for me. It's a love letter to Notre Dame. I just felt my eyes glazing over as I read the multitude of descriptions. And the characters? Nothing to say about them, really. They were second fiddle to the church.
More...