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A review by adelevarley
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
3.0
I think that it’s very on-brand for me to review Les Mis almost 8 months after I finished it, especially because it took me longer than the length of a presidential term to read. (For reference I started in middle school and finished a month before I graduated high school.) That’s arguably too long to read a book! I wanted to give Les Mis 5 stars so badly (mainly because it was my baby for a good chunk of my life and I saw the musical twice) but I just couldn’t do it. The parts of Les Mis that are driven by the plot are AMAZING. The barricade chapters, Jean Valjean’s continuous fighting with the Thénardiers, Fantine’s story, and Marius’ infatuation with Cosette were all enthralling, and while I was reading these scenes I could not put the book down.
However (and this is a big however), the vast majority of the book was not as interesting. The paragraphs of philosophy, detailed descriptions of Napoleonic battles, and the chapters dedicated to the Parisian sewer system are things you would expect to find in a history textbook, not a novel. I think that the actual plot makes up 25% of this book and the rest is well written word vomit. And it is well written and informative I admit, but also sometimes unnecessary and confusing. For example, Hugo mentions random French and Greek philosophers every other paragraph with the expectation that the reader knows who these people are. (I rarely did.) Also, these aforementioned paragraphs take up half a page and are so dense that sometimes I would fall asleep while reading them. I admire Hugo’s ability to draw out a story to an almost unbearable extent (he was paid by the word after all), but let’s be honest. Reading some parts of this book felt like swimming through a lake of fire. I think making it through this brick of a book builds character and I do not regret a second of it, but if I decide to reread it I will buy the abridged version instead.
A lot of times I rate books 3 stars because I don’t have a lot of feelings about them or because they are easily forgettable. Les Mis is not void of emotion, and it is definitely not forgettable. I completely understand why this book is a classic. It’s a powerful story that I will continue to think about for the rest of my life. I just can’t overlook the fact that there was a reason that it took me about a quarter of my life to finish.
Closing statement: how did someone read Les Mis and think oh yeah we could make a musical out of this? And then have it be GOOD?
3 / 5 stars
---
I FINISHED!!!!
AFTER FOUR YEARS IT IS FINALLY OVER!!!!
THIS IS SPIRITUAL EUPHORIA!!!!
REVIEW TO COME!!!
However (and this is a big however), the vast majority of the book was not as interesting. The paragraphs of philosophy, detailed descriptions of Napoleonic battles, and the chapters dedicated to the Parisian sewer system are things you would expect to find in a history textbook, not a novel. I think that the actual plot makes up 25% of this book and the rest is well written word vomit. And it is well written and informative I admit, but also sometimes unnecessary and confusing. For example, Hugo mentions random French and Greek philosophers every other paragraph with the expectation that the reader knows who these people are. (I rarely did.) Also, these aforementioned paragraphs take up half a page and are so dense that sometimes I would fall asleep while reading them. I admire Hugo’s ability to draw out a story to an almost unbearable extent (he was paid by the word after all), but let’s be honest. Reading some parts of this book felt like swimming through a lake of fire. I think making it through this brick of a book builds character and I do not regret a second of it, but if I decide to reread it I will buy the abridged version instead.
A lot of times I rate books 3 stars because I don’t have a lot of feelings about them or because they are easily forgettable. Les Mis is not void of emotion, and it is definitely not forgettable. I completely understand why this book is a classic. It’s a powerful story that I will continue to think about for the rest of my life. I just can’t overlook the fact that there was a reason that it took me about a quarter of my life to finish.
Closing statement: how did someone read Les Mis and think oh yeah we could make a musical out of this? And then have it be GOOD?
3 / 5 stars
---
I FINISHED!!!!
AFTER FOUR YEARS IT IS FINALLY OVER!!!!
THIS IS SPIRITUAL EUPHORIA!!!!
REVIEW TO COME!!!