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4.16 AVERAGE
4.16 AVERAGE
Victor Hugo, uno de los escritores más emblemáticos de la literatura francesa, publicó su obra cumbre “Les misérables” en 1862 convirtiéndose en una de las obras más importantes del siglo XIX. La expectación era máxima y el éxito asegurado, tras siete meses de lectura y 1632 páginas leídas, solo puedo avanzaros que estamos ante uno de los libros más importantes de mi vida: una novela romántica, épica y realista que resulta difícil de leer por su extensión pero que merece todos los elogios que le han dedicado a lo largo de todos estos años.
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La historia nos presenta a Jean Valjean, un ex convicto condenado por robar un pan a permanecer veinte años en prisión, tras su salida vuelve a robar y solo encuentra consuelo en un obispo que le salva y le ofrece un hogar cosa que le lleva a tomar la decisión de reconvertirse en un hombre honesto. Pero este hecho lo convierte en reincidente y la policía lo perseguirá. A partir de entonces comenzará una historia llena de lamentaciones, de huidas, de falsas identidades, de persecuciones en la que entrarán en escena carismáticos personajes. Entre ellos una joven, Fantine, que luchará por darle un futuro a su hija Cosette.
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Los temas que trata, dada la larga extensión de la novela son numerosos pero sobre todo se centra en la miseria y la pobreza, el amor, la revolución, el romanticismo y la injusticia. Hay un gran debate entre el bien y el mal, lo ético, aparece la política, hay una clara defensa de los oprimidos y también tiene una parte fundamental en la trama la religión y el perdón. Seremos participes de muchísimos momentos históricos de la historia de Francia, de batallas intensas y de tragedias dolorosas. Hugo teje sin compasión una leyenda, algo que resulta imposible de volver a realizar, una obra sublime y reconfortante con un estilo pulcro, con una elección del vocabulario exquisita, logra la profundidad que requiere y que resulta accesible a todo tipo de lector.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
No os voy a engañar, desde que comencé a leer esta obra, me di cuenta que podríamos separarla en dos partes, una: la trama principal y la otra de contexto histórico y social. La primera de ellas es amena, trepidante y sumamente interesante, por otro lado, las partes en las que Hugo decide contarnos detalles extra son sumamente, en su gran mayoría, densas. Estos pasajes son extensos y tediosos, pero no por ello desmerecedores de alabanzas pues narrativamente hablando son impecables y poseedores de un trabajo de documentación extremadamente minucioso, pero irremediablemente te hacen desconectar de la lectura.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Para finalizar, solo me queda deciros que estamos ante una de las mejores novelas de la literatura universal, prodigiosamente escrita, con una trama original y unos personajes increíbles tales como Jean Valjean, Javert, Éponine y Fantine (mis favoritos, por su evolución y la implicación que tienen en la trama). Al terminar la lectura y hallarme ante tan magistral y emocionante final desaparecieron de mi mente los sentimientos negativos que tuve conforme leía con los pasajes documentativos que he mencionado anteriormente. El recorrido es duro pero merece enormemente la pena, es una historia sin igual, preciosa, amarga y sumamente completa. Os aconsejo no leerla con prisa, dejarla reposar entre capítulos y además, si la podéis disfrutar en su idioma original, ni lo dudéis, con las traducciones siempre se pierde magia en la narración.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
La historia nos presenta a Jean Valjean, un ex convicto condenado por robar un pan a permanecer veinte años en prisión, tras su salida vuelve a robar y solo encuentra consuelo en un obispo que le salva y le ofrece un hogar cosa que le lleva a tomar la decisión de reconvertirse en un hombre honesto. Pero este hecho lo convierte en reincidente y la policía lo perseguirá. A partir de entonces comenzará una historia llena de lamentaciones, de huidas, de falsas identidades, de persecuciones en la que entrarán en escena carismáticos personajes. Entre ellos una joven, Fantine, que luchará por darle un futuro a su hija Cosette.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Los temas que trata, dada la larga extensión de la novela son numerosos pero sobre todo se centra en la miseria y la pobreza, el amor, la revolución, el romanticismo y la injusticia. Hay un gran debate entre el bien y el mal, lo ético, aparece la política, hay una clara defensa de los oprimidos y también tiene una parte fundamental en la trama la religión y el perdón. Seremos participes de muchísimos momentos históricos de la historia de Francia, de batallas intensas y de tragedias dolorosas. Hugo teje sin compasión una leyenda, algo que resulta imposible de volver a realizar, una obra sublime y reconfortante con un estilo pulcro, con una elección del vocabulario exquisita, logra la profundidad que requiere y que resulta accesible a todo tipo de lector.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
No os voy a engañar, desde que comencé a leer esta obra, me di cuenta que podríamos separarla en dos partes, una: la trama principal y la otra de contexto histórico y social. La primera de ellas es amena, trepidante y sumamente interesante, por otro lado, las partes en las que Hugo decide contarnos detalles extra son sumamente, en su gran mayoría, densas. Estos pasajes son extensos y tediosos, pero no por ello desmerecedores de alabanzas pues narrativamente hablando son impecables y poseedores de un trabajo de documentación extremadamente minucioso, pero irremediablemente te hacen desconectar de la lectura.
⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀
Para finalizar, solo me queda deciros que estamos ante una de las mejores novelas de la literatura universal, prodigiosamente escrita, con una trama original y unos personajes increíbles tales como Jean Valjean, Javert, Éponine y Fantine (mis favoritos, por su evolución y la implicación que tienen en la trama). Al terminar la lectura y hallarme ante tan magistral y emocionante final desaparecieron de mi mente los sentimientos negativos que tuve conforme leía con los pasajes documentativos que he mencionado anteriormente. El recorrido es duro pero merece enormemente la pena, es una historia sin igual, preciosa, amarga y sumamente completa. Os aconsejo no leerla con prisa, dejarla reposar entre capítulos y además, si la podéis disfrutar en su idioma original, ni lo dudéis, con las traducciones siempre se pierde magia en la narración.
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
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:
Complicated
This has to be one of the most frustrating books I have read and the fact it's so long makes it even worse. I have at the top of my head three gripes with this book and it's entirety.
1) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE get an abridged version if you plan on reading this. Hugo does what is refer to as some people as "digressions" where he dedicates chapters of him just speaking to the reader or describing something. I don't have any qualms with fleshing out your story and making things more engaging with use of description, however Hugo takes this to an extreme. Most of these digressions DO NOT SERVE ANY PLOT RELEVANCE, some do but a good chunk of them don't. What makes it worse also is the fact that these digressions most of the time are at least 20 pages long and I remember one of them was 50 pages only for the last 4 chapters to matter. One of these digressions is about a covenant that can be argued as a cult, but I'm not going to do that now, but these 20+ pages about how the people in the covenant are practically self-harming themselves and living such an unorthodox life where they're bleeding members DOESN'T HAVE ANY BEARING ON THE PLOT. EVEN WHEN THE MAIN CHARACTERSLIVE IN THE COVENANT NONE OF WHAT HUGO WAS TALKING ABOUT IS BROUGHT UP AGAIN. Seriously Hugo could've used these moments to flesh out the characters, but no he uses it to get his point across in some aspects in such an heavy handed way or to just talk about how a barricade in a certain time was so innovative and the prettiest thing ever
2) Characters in this book are just so...bland most of the time. There are some highlights but they are few and far between. The heroine of the story deadass DOES NOT DO ANYTHING. She only is mentioned and while I was taking notes for the book I realize that she's not even a character she is mostly just there. If I had to write an essay on the main heroine and her as a character I would struggle because she doesn't even really speak till the last few parts of the story. My gripes with the heroine does extend to all women characters of the book as Hugo is definitely one of the authors who just can't write compelling woman, or at the very least in this book. Besides with the woman characters some characters are just neglected like The Friends of the ABC. Only one of these people matter and there's like 9 of them and Hugo spends pages upon pages describing them only for when they take the center stage in the story they legit lose their personality in order to be a carbon copy of the only one that matters, Enjolras. The criminal group that is supposed to serve as an underbelly for The Friends of the ABC don't do anything and are abruptly written off.
3) However there is one character I want to talk about and it is Marius who infuriates me for days on end. The more Marius appears the more I felt like Hugo isn't exactly honest with his characters or understand them and even though that is pretty crazy for me to say it is something I believe. Hugo tries to frame Marius as this heroic figure who is practically unable to do anything wrong. He's falls into poverty but it doesn't feel authentic because he has a safety net and when you spend many pages seeing characters go through the worse thing ever, seeing a guy who is stretching meat for three days because he refuses to accept money that his uncle is giving him does absolutely nothing for me when their are characters who had removed their own teethes to stay alive. On top of him masquerading as a poor person he's also a stalker as he stalks the main heroine and writes her the most incomprehensible love letters that Hugo writes as endearing and cute when it is at the very least creepy and outright dangerous. One more thing, Marius is to down bad for the main heroine that he often only thinks of her, evenwhen his closest friends die, and he can't even be bothered to pay any homage or respects to them . Marius time on end is willing to throw himself to death at any setback with his relationship with the heroine which even includes, fighting in a revolution (that he doesn't even believe in) just so he can die because there is a setback with his marriage. There's more I can say about Marius but I should leave it at that (don't get me started about him and Thenardier) and I do believe that as soon as Marius came into the story it was a downward spiral for what was a pretty good book in the first two parts which makes me a bit sad. A book that was commenting on the societal condition of the people in Paris devolved into a romance book and stopped commenting on the condition (and I wholly believe Flaubert did such a better job at this even referring to a different revolution).
(Also did I mention Marius and the heroine's relationship is just the worse thing ever and I can't believe that they end up together it's frustrating.)
1) PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE get an abridged version if you plan on reading this. Hugo does what is refer to as some people as "digressions" where he dedicates chapters of him just speaking to the reader or describing something. I don't have any qualms with fleshing out your story and making things more engaging with use of description, however Hugo takes this to an extreme. Most of these digressions DO NOT SERVE ANY PLOT RELEVANCE, some do but a good chunk of them don't. What makes it worse also is the fact that these digressions most of the time are at least 20 pages long and I remember one of them was 50 pages only for the last 4 chapters to matter. One of these digressions is about a covenant that can be argued as a cult, but I'm not going to do that now, but these 20+ pages about how the people in the covenant are practically self-harming themselves and living such an unorthodox life where they're bleeding members DOESN'T HAVE ANY BEARING ON THE PLOT. EVEN WHEN THE MAIN CHARACTERS
2) Characters in this book are just so...bland most of the time. There are some highlights but they are few and far between. The heroine of the story deadass DOES NOT DO ANYTHING. She only is mentioned and while I was taking notes for the book I realize that she's not even a character she is mostly just there. If I had to write an essay on the main heroine and her as a character I would struggle because she doesn't even really speak till the last few parts of the story. My gripes with the heroine does extend to all women characters of the book as Hugo is definitely one of the authors who just can't write compelling woman, or at the very least in this book. Besides with the woman characters some characters are just neglected like The Friends of the ABC. Only one of these people matter and there's like 9 of them and Hugo spends pages upon pages describing them only for when they take the center stage in the story they legit lose their personality in order to be a carbon copy of the only one that matters, Enjolras. The criminal group that is supposed to serve as an underbelly for The Friends of the ABC don't do anything and are abruptly written off.
3) However there is one character I want to talk about and it is Marius who infuriates me for days on end. The more Marius appears the more I felt like Hugo isn't exactly honest with his characters or understand them and even though that is pretty crazy for me to say it is something I believe. Hugo tries to frame Marius as this heroic figure who is practically unable to do anything wrong. He's falls into poverty but it doesn't feel authentic because he has a safety net and when you spend many pages seeing characters go through the worse thing ever, seeing a guy who is stretching meat for three days because he refuses to accept money that his uncle is giving him does absolutely nothing for me when their are characters who had removed their own teethes to stay alive. On top of him masquerading as a poor person he's also a stalker as he stalks the main heroine and writes her the most incomprehensible love letters that Hugo writes as endearing and cute when it is at the very least creepy and outright dangerous. One more thing, Marius is to down bad for the main heroine that he often only thinks of her, even
(Also did I mention Marius and the heroine's relationship is just the worse thing ever and I can't believe that they end up together it's frustrating.)
“It is nothing to die. It is frightful not to live.”
This book straight up sucked the life force out of me but in a Stockholm-syndromey kinda way where I liked it. I'm a WRECK. Would have been a 4.5 if Hugo didn't spend 40 pages talking about the sewer system at every available opportunity.
This book straight up sucked the life force out of me but in a Stockholm-syndromey kinda way where I liked it. I'm a WRECK. Would have been a 4.5 if Hugo didn't spend 40 pages talking about the sewer system at every available opportunity.
adventurous
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
dark
emotional
mysterious
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:
No
wow. That was totally worth the 1232 pages and 78 days it took to read. This is a beautiful book. I'm very attached to it bow. :)
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
tense
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:
Complicated
dark
informative
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
slow-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