Take a photo of a barcode or cover
A review by gheneks
Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
5.0
I cannot believe I waited so long to read this. It was amazing! I can absolutely see why it was turned into a musical. The drama! The language! The characters! Oh my!
Victor Hugo was a gifted writer with a flair for language. I think it may have something to do with the French to English translation as well. I think French is just a more beautiful language than English. I found myself reveling in some of the passages and really enjoyed reading them slowly to get the rhythm. Like I said, the book is obviously perfect for a musical.
I rooted for Jean Val Jean until the end and was terribly sad at the end. I’m glad he finds redemption. I just wish he didn’t have to die. Also, I wonder about people’s distaste for convicts. It must’ve been worse back in the 1800s. As soon as someone found out Jean Val Jean was a convict, they immediately hated him and thought he was scum (this was a guy who stole a loaf of bread because he and his family were starving). I mean it’s like he had some horrible contagious disease the way people acted. Give the guy a break! He’s a freaking hero!
The only thing I didn’t like were the long asides on the Battle of Waterloo and the sewers, etc. I skimmed them enough to get the idea and to understand why Hugo felt they were necessary. Also, some of the philosophical and social justice diatribes were hard to understand without some knowledge of French politics and history. I did find this book timely as hell, particularly in terms of wealth disparity and the way the poor are continually treated as if their poverty is their fault. Like poor Jean ValJean.
Overall, I absolutely loved this one. I will hopefully never let a chonky book intimidate me again.
Victor Hugo was a gifted writer with a flair for language. I think it may have something to do with the French to English translation as well. I think French is just a more beautiful language than English. I found myself reveling in some of the passages and really enjoyed reading them slowly to get the rhythm. Like I said, the book is obviously perfect for a musical.
I rooted for Jean Val Jean until the end and was terribly sad at the end. I’m glad he finds redemption. I just wish he didn’t have to die. Also, I wonder about people’s distaste for convicts. It must’ve been worse back in the 1800s. As soon as someone found out Jean Val Jean was a convict, they immediately hated him and thought he was scum (this was a guy who stole a loaf of bread because he and his family were starving). I mean it’s like he had some horrible contagious disease the way people acted. Give the guy a break! He’s a freaking hero!
The only thing I didn’t like were the long asides on the Battle of Waterloo and the sewers, etc. I skimmed them enough to get the idea and to understand why Hugo felt they were necessary. Also, some of the philosophical and social justice diatribes were hard to understand without some knowledge of French politics and history. I did find this book timely as hell, particularly in terms of wealth disparity and the way the poor are continually treated as if their poverty is their fault. Like poor Jean ValJean.
Overall, I absolutely loved this one. I will hopefully never let a chonky book intimidate me again.