Victor Hugo

Les Miserables

“The guilty one is not he who commits the sin, but he who causes the darkness.” “So long as ignorance and poverty exist on earth, books of the nature of Les Misérables cannot fail to be of use,” says Victor Hugo in the preface of his famous novel. Certainly, Les Misérables is French history recounted through the personal stories of its main characters. The tale offers philosophical insight on the good deeds that can happen even amidst ignorance and poverty. This handsome leather-bound volume is a beautiful addition to any classic literature library with specially designed endpapers, gilded edges, and a ribbon bookmark so you will never lose your place.

Les Misérables

Sanne

—in other words, and with a still wider significance, so long as ignorance and poverty exist on earth, books of the nature of Les Misérables cannot fail to be of use.

A brilliant modern translation by Christine Donougher of Victor Hugo's thrilling masterpiece, with an introduction by Robert Tombs. This is the best translation of the novel available in English, as recommended by David Bellos in The Novel of the Century. Victor Hugo's tale of injustice, heroism and love follows the fortunes of Jean Valjean, an escaped convict determined to put his criminal past behind him. But his attempts to become a respected member of the community are constantly put under threat: by his own conscience, and by the relentless investigations of the dogged policeman Javert. It is not simply for himself that Valjean must stay free, however, for he has sworn to protect the baby daughter of Fantine, driven to prostitution by poverty. 'A magnificent achievement. It reads easily, sometimes racily, and Hugo's narrative power is never let down ... An almost flawless translation, which brings the full flavour of one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century to new readers in the twenty-first' - William Doyle, Times Literary Supplement 'The year's most interesting publication from Penguin Classics was [...] a new translation by Christine Donougher of the novel we all know as Les Misérables. You may think that 1,300 pages is a huge investment of time when the story is so familiar, but no adaptation can convey the addictive pleasure afforded by Victor Hugo's narrative voice: by turns chatty, crotchety, buoyant and savagely ironical, it's made to seem so contemporary and fresh in Donougher's rendering that the book has all the resonance of the most topical state-of-the-nation novel' - Telegraph 'Christine Donougher's seamless and very modern translation of Les Misérables has an astonishing effect in that it reminds readers that Hugo was going further than any Dickensian lament about social conditions [...]The Wretched touches the soul' - Herald Scotland

Penguin Classics

"Can human nature be so entirely transformed inside and out? Can man, created by God, be made wicked by man? Can a soul be so completely changed by its destiny, and turn evil when its fate is evil? [...] Is there not in every human soul a primitive spark, a divine element, incorruptible in this world and immortal in the next, which can be developed by goodness, kindled, lit up, and made to radiate, and which evil can never entirely extinguish?"
--
Hugo's Les Mis probably needs no introduction by now, there aren't many people who haven't heard of this world-renowned classic. And with good reason. There is a reason that classics are so-called.
This touching story of poverty, nobility, and courage has a grim humor where fate toys with possibilities and emotions, and makes the reader (as well as the unforgettable cast of characters) question who they are. there are rolling depths of darkness, punctuated by precious little light, and then vice versa, contrasting the good with the bad, sincerity with maliciousness, ignorance with innocence.
Of course, a real review of Les Mis cannot be completed without a mention of unrelenting and infamous tangents Hugo likes to go off (a step-by-step action retelling of the Waterloo battle followed by a detailed explanation of the Paris sewer system, anyone???). Although the pace of the story is really negatively affected by these passionate sermons on behalf of the author, it is nonetheless a gripping and moving story. Looking at it in 2020, it is impossible not to smile bitterly at the inspiring optimism of Enjolras at the barricades, knowing how big an impact their actions made for the future generations despite the little progress we achieved today in terms of ending poverty and desperation.
A final word: (view spoiler)[All bow before Marius, the absolute KING of making the wrong decision at EVERY single turning point. Well, he is consistent till the end, if nothing else.  (hide spoiler)]

John Nettles

Laura Mauler

Let me start by saying I couldn't finish this book. There were definitely great parts, when the action was pumping and I couldn't turn the pages fast enough, but mostly it was BORING. I got about halfway through, but found myself dreading any free time because it meant that I should be reading it.

emma

The nineteenth-century Frenchman's epic work which depicts the life of Jean Valjean, a reformed convict who has dedicated his life to helping others

Wilde

Before reading this I had never cried at a book. I thought all of that was a bit silly, that some people just got overexcited. But this book takes your heart out, stomps on it then throws it back at you. Better than the stage and film versions (and they were superb), this book is one of the finest pieces of literature I've ever had the pleasure of reading.

Dimitris Papastergiou

Yeah yeah.. it's a classic.. and yeah it's great... yes I agree. Story is great. Whatever happens with Jean Valjean and everything around him is a real page-turner for sure.

And what a page-turner it is.. and for something that's been written in 1862, the story can really hold its own against the time. (besides some cringe-worthy shit which is understandable because of the 1800s).

And yes, I liked it.

 But it's not getting more stars, simply because of all the damn fillers in it. If I wanted to learn about the damn French revolution I would have opened a damn history book or wikipedia. If I wanted to learn about a character that has nothing to do with the plot I can learn about that said character in a damn paragraph and/or if you will, in a damn page and NOT for 10s of pages about someone that's not even a secondary character yo! In which has nothing to do with our chars or changes the plot in no way whatsoever.

Anyway, I've had my problems with it, though I doubt that I wouldn't have any problems since it's 1500 pages, but overall I'm glad I read it, (and I can watch the film too, finally) although I wish I could read some unabridged version of the book that goes around 600 pages or so, but stupid me never goes for unabridged the first time around a book.

Stacy King

In graphic novel format, tells the story of Jean Valjean, an ex-convict who, trying to forget his past and live an honest life, risks his freedom to take care of a motherless young girl during a period of political unrest in Paris.

Les Miserables Softcover

Manga Classics

Nessa Luna

Nikita 

Everyone, at least once in his lifetime, comes across a book that seems to embody every principle he lives by, every sentiment he cherishes, and every hope he holds dear to his heart; I guess I've found that book for me. I would even dare to say that Les Misérables is I, at times joyful, at others woeful, and infinitely idealistic and romantic. 

Hugo wrote a book on every facet of our lives. Whether it be private or public, poverty or affluence, youth or old age, nothing eludes the author's piercing gaze. For such a wide range of topics, he employs a variety of genres throughout the narrative. That is why it seems impossible to attribute Les Miserables to any particular genre. The book begins as regular classic fiction, then it mimics a historical treatise, after some time it turns into a social study, next comes a piece of genuine philosophy, and so on till the end.

 Edification is the only word that can characterize Les Misérables. Victor Hugo gingerly wrapped the wisdom attained over the course of his life in a vibrant tale of love and poignant injustice to present it as a gift to posterity, to guide us through life's tribulations as tempestuous winds of fate throw us off our course. What is superior, the law or morality? What qualities must a person possess so as to be rightfully called a citizen? What is penury, and how to live through it? What is love, and what does it mean to love? All these questions and many more Hugo vastly covered in his chef-d'oeuvre.

 I find no words to describe the plethora of feelings and emotions I had when reading chapters about Marius and Cosette. At some moments, I even had goosebumps (no kidding). "A Heart beneath a Stone", where Marius declares his love through a letter, is simply a masterpiece. Nowhere else are the ravings of a soul tormented by unattainable love portrayed more genuinely than in this chapter. Indeed, "to die of love is to live by love." These chapters are so visceral for those who at least once felt "the universe reduced to a single being, a single being expanding to encompass God."

	Hugo is simply unsurpassed when it comes to wielding readers' interest and attention. Reading Les Misérables, I couldn't satiate my desire to read further and further. There are cliffhangers almost at the end of each chapter. But I assure you that they are not made of thin air. Quite the opposite, every section of the book is as complete as it could possibly be. What really produces that effect is the interplay of story elements. It might be astonishing, but such a voluminous book works according to the rule of Chekhov's rifle. You can literally find firearms to which I am referring in the text. Hugo wrote nothing just for the sake of it. Be attentive and thoughtful, and the book will award you in the end. Personally, never have I ever annotated any book as I annotated Les Miserables. 

 As I detest those without political views, I was particularly pleased with the extent to which Hugo was involved in politics—no surprise given that he was a member of the National Assembly. He leaves the impression that he was familiar with every political movement and every politician of his time, even the most obscure ones. In that sense, Victor Hugo reminds me of Dante Alighieri. In his political career, Hugo implemented the principles of life that he propagated in his writings, which even led to his exile. Even before the mighty of this world, he, with unwavering audacity, spoke against despotism, social injustice, censorship, disenfranchisement, and slavery. That being said, I aspire to be at least one iota like him someday. 

 I couldn't recommend reading this book enough. 

"Thank heavens, nations are great regardless of the grim fortunes of war. Neither England, nor Germany, nor France is defined by the scabbard. During a period when Waterloo is no more than a clatter of sabres, over and beyond Blücher Germany has Goethe; over and beyond Wellington England has Byron. ... Civilized peoples, especially in our own times, neither rise nor fall by the good or bad fortune of a leader. Their specific weight within the human race results from something more than a conflict. Their honour, thank God, their dignity, their understanding, their genius, are not numbers that those gamblers the heroes and conquerors can throw into the lottery of battle. Often a battle lost is progress gained. Less glory, more freedom. The drum falls silent, reason speaks."

PS: 
As I am trying to improve my writing in English, I would greatly appreciate it if you could send me feedback on this review.

this book is amazing, i absolutely love the story. i bawled like a baby at once specific part of the book (i won’t say which). if you like classic, historical based books, then i 100% recommend this one

Izzy 

Abridged

Nelson Zagalo

Lido em 2 volumes

https://virtual-illusion.blogspot.pt/...

Amelie

jess

I'm a pretty huge fan of Les Miserables, so I was pretty excited when I was approved for this on NetGalley! Now, I don't read manga often, so I don't know the conventions, but on a whole I really enjoyed this and thought it was a decent adaptation. Obviously, there's no way to really put a 500,000 word novel into a 300 page adaptation, even if a picture is worth a thousand words, but the themes and tone were kept well intact. 

It did look like that it was guided by the musical movie in a lot of places for the major beats in the story, though it was certainly elaborated on with many moments from the book - such as Chapmanthieu, and Valjean's second stint in prison and his subsequent escape, and other moments which I'd forgotten about: such as being smuggled out of the convent in a coffin. A lot of the Marius plotlines were condensed from the book but much closer than the musical adaptation. I also appreciate the scene where Cosette cries while Marius puts his head against a tree, and Enjolras and Grantaire's death also close to the Brick's (though for those who are not as familiar with the story, this might have been confusing due to Grantaire appearing once before this happens). Another thing I liked is that there were a couple digressions on history, which ... yeah, if you've read Les Mis, you'll know about Victor Hugo and his digressions. So I thought it was apt for retaining the spirit of the original novel as well as giving the readers some really good background information. 

I liked the art as well, and I think it generally fit with the book descriptions of the characters. I noticed that Marius actually has dark hair like he does in the original novel, and I loved how Enjolras was drawn. He's described as feminine and angelic-looking in the book, and this manga really hit the mark with Enjolras's depiction. The Thenardiers do not escape caricaturish drawings in this, which is pretty consistent through all animated depictions of them. And this is being nitpicky as a fan of the original novel, but Cosette is drawn as blonde, while in the novel she's a brunette - but honestly, she's portrayed as blonde in a lot of adaptations.

Les Miserables is such a complex book that it's difficult to adapt, but for anyone who's familiar with the musical, this is definitely a nice expansion and introduction to the book.

Tracie McMurray

Jean Valjean is the most complete character I have encountered. This book was an epic struggle at times, but Victor Hugo masterfully built the story and characters into a complete resolution. It was beautiful. I am glad I read the unabridged. These characters will be remembered. Amazing!!

Norman Denny

After nineteen years in prison, Jean Valjean has difficulty adjusting to the outside world, which scorns and shuns him

Celeste Richardson

Actual rating: 4.5 stars, rounded up. It might've been verbose, but it was worth the trudge.

Sometimes books that are considered classics are just old. How they earned their classical status is honestly a mystery. But sometimes you come across a novel that truly deserves its place in the classical canon. Italo Calvino once said that “a classic is a book that has never finished saying what it has to say,” and I think that is the best definition any book could hope to match. Hugo’s magnum opus, Les Misérables, is definitely such a book. It’s a book that still has so much to say, though readers have to work for it.
 “Those who do not weep, do not see.” 
TS and I started this book on January 1st, intending to read one of its 365 chapters every day of 2019. Instead, we ended up finishing the massive book more than two months early. While ten months is a really long time to spend with one book, this one proved itself to be well worth the time invested. I don’t know that either of us would have gotten so much out of it had we not read it together and discussed what we were reading often. But we did have each other, which made the book all the more rewarding. (You can read my wonderful book twin's great review of the book here.)
“To love another person is to see the face of God.” 
If you’ve never seen a physical copy of Les Misérables, it’s a beast. My copy is nearly 1,400 pages including end notes, and a whopping 1,197 without them. Coming in at an insane 530,000 words, it’s longer than Brandon Sanderson’s Oathbringer, which clocks in at a measly 454,440 in comparison. As far as I can tell, it’s the biggest book I’ve ever read. It was also first published in 1862, and was originally penned in French. So to review, this monster is more than 150 years old, a work in translation, and is absolutely enormous. Understandably, this was a journey we embarked upon with some trepidation.
“Not being heard is no reason for silence.” 
While I do believe that the story could’ve been edited down, even the entire sections about a particular bishop’s life and chapters upon chapters relating the history of Parisian sewers ended up feeling important by the end of the novel. Just when the story would begin to feel like a slog, Hugo would produce something so beautiful it made my heart ache. The pace was slow and plodding but also steady in a way I didn’t fully realize until the final pages. Steady in the same way that Jean Valjean was steady.
“You ask me what forces me to speak? a strange thing; my conscience.” 
The story of Jean Valjean is one the most powerful I’ve ever experienced. His growth from escaped convict to living saint is unparalleled. Getting to witness the path of his life, the obstacles he faced and overcame and the love that he didn’t realize he was capable of feeling, moved me countless times over the months I spent with him. This is more than a story of revolution; it’s a story of redemption and forgiveness. It’s about how God shows Himself in the darkest times through the unlikeliest of people. It’s about how the smallest act of kindness can ripple outward and change countless lives. It’s about the difference between what’s right and what’s lawful, what’s legal and what’s just. Above all, Les Misérables shouts from its pages that no one is past salvation, and that every single one of us is offered a second chance when we least deserve it. No one is so wretched that they can’t be forgiven.
“Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.” 
There are other perspective characters in this story, one of whom (Fantine) was even more wretched than Jean Valjean. The aforementioned bishop, Fantine, Javert, Cosette, Marius and his grandfather, and the scattered Thénardiers all made for a wonderfully varied cast. But in my opinion, they are all supporting characters. The true star of this novel is Valjean, though I’m sure he would much prefer we allowed him to fade into the background.
“It is nothing to die. It is frightful not to live.” 
So much has been written about Les Misérables in the 150 plus years of its publication, and I have nothing new or original to add. All I can say is that I grew while reading it, and that Hugo’s masterwork is one that will stick with me for the rest of my life. And it absolutely deserves a place on my classics bookshelf with other favorites like Jane Eyre and Frankenstein. It’s a book I can see myself rereading, despite its heft. More than anything, it’s a book that gives me hope.

A beautiful classic set in the turbulent times of post napoleonic france. A book about a man struggling with his conscience and a man falling in love all while france brinks on revolution.

A must read for anyone seeking to understand themselves and life better.

Anubhav Singh

A beautiful classic set in the turbulent times of post napoleonic france. A book about a man struggling with his conscience and a man falling in love all while france brinks on revolution.

A must read for anyone seeking to understand themselves and life better.

Cams Campbell

So I finally finished Les Miserables. It took me five months to listen to the whole thing, a 60-hour audio book. There were several points where I nearly gave up, and one where I actually announced on Facebook that I had given up. But I went back to it and I'm ever so glad that I did. 

Let me start by saying that this is a fantastic book. There were times when I was slogging through some of the digressions that I wondered just how this could possibly have been considered a classic. But now I know. 

At first, I sensed a similarity with Crime & Punishment, which just happens to have been published in the same decade as Les Miserables, as indeed was War & Peace, which I have also read. The part where Jean Valjean, as Monsieur Madeleine, is fighting with his conscience about going to rescue the man who has been arrested as Jean Valjean and then his journey there, fraught with difficulty. 

It's been interesting to read some of the reviews on Goodreads after finishing the book. They are almost all five stars and there are a few instances where readers have read the abridged version and then gone back to read the unabridged and enjoyed it ever so much more. As I was listening to it, there were many occasions when I wished I had downloaded the abridged version instead. I mean come on, pages and pages of description about the Paris sewers? The whole Waterloo bit? I honestly struggled through these parts. I wonder if it would have been easier to read than to listen to. 

Anyway, I listened to the last 8 hours or so in a couple of days, at first because I just wanted it finished and out of the way, but then because it was just so good that I didn't want to stop. I had guessed how the novel would end, but that didn't spoil the ending at all. It was so well written that I was left with a feeling of elation that has lasted through to the following day as I write this. 

Suffice it to say that I am very glad that I persevered with this and got to the end. I actually would quite like to read it again right now as I'm sure I would enjoy it a lot more second time around.

Five stars.

Alice Belle

I simply love les miserables. I have seen the movie, the series and the live musical. Now I finally got the chance to read this amazing book. 👏 yay!

Somya Verma

Imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread, Jean Valjean is finally released and struggles to build a new life, but the relentless police Inspector Javert is determined to put him back in jail, forcing Jean to go into hiding.

Cosette's fate

Melanie Richards

A beautiful story, but much of its power is robbed by Hugo's tendency to ramble (apparently, his generation of writers was paid by the word). For once, I'd recommend reading the abridged version. I mean, Hugo spent a few pages reflecting on POOP.

What would push this up to a 5 (besides major editing of inessential passages) is less of Marius. I was interested to see greater development of this character, as he's sort of just there in the musical version. The original Marius is still a wet noodle, and Hugo spends an inordinate amount of time fixating on the ever-so-chaste puppy love between Marius and Cosette. However much time the author spent on romance, though, the story really is about Valjean, and this romance is essential to his redemption.

Christine Donougher

Trying to forget his past and live an honest life, escaped convict Jean Valjean risks his freedom to take care of a motherless young girl during a period of political unrest in Paris.

Vivian

Les Misérables is not short of rambling sentences that sprawled into meaningless paragraphs, but all of this can be forgiven for the undeniably compelling storyline and the solemn redemption reaped at the end. Oh, Jean Valjean!

andie

q mala mi etapa d theatre kid (aun no la he dejado)

Kelsi Proulx

I am so proud of myself for finishing this one! I was tempted to give it a lower rating because I got a bit bogged down with the constant rambling historical lectures about Paris. However, I really enjoyed the main story. The characters were amazing, I felt like I knew their ins and outs and the reasons behind all of their decisions, even the ones I didn't like. Hugo does a fantastic job of writing their lives and wrapping up all of the loose ends neatly. 

This was one of my lifetime challenge books, one of those books I felt I had to read so it feels great to cross it off my list. I feel that I will have a much easier time with other classics from this point forward because this was a bit of a beast all told!

A brilliant new translation by Christine Donougher of Victor Hugo's thrilling masterpiece, with an introduction by Robert Tombs. Les Misérables (literally, 'The Wretched') is the basis for both the longest running musical on the West End and the highly-acclaimed film starring Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway. Victor Hugo's tale of injustice, heroism and love follows the fortunes of Jean Valjean, an escaped convict determined to put his criminal past behind him. But his attempts to become a respected member of the community are constantly put under threat: by his own conscience, and by the relentless investigations of the dogged policeman Javert. It is not simply for himself that Valjean must stay free, however, for he has sworn to protect the baby daughter of Fantine, driven to prostitution by poverty. 'A magnificent achievement. It reads easily, sometimes racily, and Hugo's narrative power is never let down ... An almost flawless translation, which brings the full flavour of one of the greatest novels of the nineteenth century to new readers in the twenty-first' - William Doyle, Times Literary Supplement 'The year's most interesting publication from Penguin Classics was [...] a new translation by Christine Donougher of the novel we all know as Les Misérables. You may think that 1,300 pages is a huge investment of time when the story is so familiar, but no adaptation can convey the addictive pleasure afforded by Victor Hugo's narrative voice: by turns chatty, crotchety, buoyant and savagely ironical, it's made to seem so contemporary and fresh in Donougher's rendering that the book has all the resonance of the most topical state-of-the-nation novel' - Telegraph 'Christine Donougher's seamless and very modern translation of Les Misérables has an astonishing effect in that it reminds readers that Hugo was going further than any Dickensian lament about social conditions [...]The Wretched touches the soul' - Herald Scotland

Katharina Hoffmann

When I first held this book in my hands, I thought of it as my own personal mountain. A mountain that promised a long and hard climb, tedious and nerve-wracking, though not without joy, for I knew I would love the climb/ story.

I was proven wrong. This book may look like a mountain but it didn’t feel like I was climbing one while reading it. Instead it felt more like a very long (long doesn’t equal bad), at times tiring, walk over a seemingly endless spring meadow.

Les Miserables is a story about a convicted ex-felon named Jean Valjean who, after being released from prison, tries to steal from a priest and who, instead of experiencing anger and hate for his deeds, is rewarded with forgiveness and kindness. Valjean then turns his life around and devotes it to helping others and to one person specifically: God.

Hugo managed to write a story so detailed, so compelling, so cruel and full of hate and love that I had to remind myself again and again that it wasn’t real. That it was just a ‘story’. It is a well-known fact that the author drew from his own experiences and from current events happening whilst he was penning the book: the battle of Waterloo, the sewage system underneath Paris, the zeitgeist and hopes and dreams of his age.

And the beauty of Hugo’s writing is how everything makes sense. There is a reason why he describes the battle of Waterloo in so much detail with sentences spanning more than five lines and at least a dozen or more commas. There is a reason why Hugo recounts a detailed history of the “city beneath the city”, the sewers – Paris’s dirty secret. Often I would not understand the reason behind these lengthy, detailed descriptions when I was ploughing my way through them, but they always made sense in hindsight.

While I rarely find myself represented in books or sympathising with its characters, I found that with Les Miserables, I felt myself talked about – something that is perhaps even more important and more astounding. Hugo comments on society, on the many vices and failures of men and women. He wrote the book in French, but he ultimately talks one language: ‘human’. He talks to us. He talks to the readers by opening their eyes to the behaviour of mankind.
One of the most important relationships in this book is the relationship between Jean Valjean and God and it is explored in all its aspects. I can happily say that even though I am not a religious person there are many quotes and passages that resonated with me. Because what I found in this book was truth – or rather: truths.

If you made it to the end of this review: vive la france (but please don’t start a revolution).

Les Miserables

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