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A review by theelderbooks
Les Misérables : Tome I by Victor Hugo
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 !