Title: Les Miserables
Genre: Historical Fiction, Classic, Drama
Pages: 896
First Published: 1862
Where I Got It: My shelf (A gift from my favorite college professor)
"Few novels ever swept across the world with such overpowering impact as Les Misérables. Within 24 hours, the first Paris edition was sold out. IN other great cities of the world it was devoured with equal relish.
Sensational, dramatic, packed with rich excitement and filled with the sweep and violence of human passions, Les Misérables is not only superb adventure but a powerful social document. The story of how the convict Jean-Valjean struggled to escape his past and reaffirm his humanity, in a world brutalized by poverty and ignorance, became the gospel of the poor and the oppressed"
I'll admit it...the first few chapters made me want to rid of the book and just forget about it. Not wanting to give up, I decided to listen to the audiobook on my way back and forth from school and work. I soon got very interested! I didn't stop listening and then I started reading too.
This tale is about love, compassion for your fellow man, redemption, forgiveness, and every other wonderful quailty that should be embedded in everyone. The worlds not perfect and Victor Huggo shows that. However, through all those wonderful qualities you can make the world a better place. That's what Jean Valjean does.
Okay, Jean's name is dumb. I think Victor Huggo ran out of names by that point. Everytime I heard that name, I couldn't help but chuckle or roll my eyes. It's like being named Bob Bob (which is a real person). However, I did adore Jean, he was such a great and complex character. I love his transformation. I love how he was just a guy who tried to feed his family, who turned into a hardened criminal. And then he transformed to a very kind and gentle man.
Victor Hugo did a amazing job writing this book. I really want to rewatch the movie. I watched only the end a long time ago in my freshmen year of High School in my French I class. I was sick so I missed the beginning and middle of the movie. I didn't connect the dots until my mother told me there was a movie about this book.
'Les Miserables' was a very long and sometimes very dull book. It was good, but many points made me sleep. I believe that Victor could've cut some parts out. I don't mind long books, but they need to keep the readers interest.
I will have to grant this book 4 stars. I do recommend that you give this book a shot. It's a classic and really makes you think about humanity. ****
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