Many of you have probably felt the same towards this book. Buy a cheap copy of les miserables book by victor hugo. I first read les miserables in high school, back in 1992 or 1993, after discovering the musical. The convict jean valjean is released from a french prison after serving nineteen years for stealing a loaf of bread and for subsequent attempts to escape from prison.
Please make sure to subscribe if you arent already. It is set in france and spans the course of 17 years, starting in 1815 and ending in 1832. Thank goodness, too, because les miserables is a looong book. Perfect for acing essays, tests, and quizzes, as well as for writing lesson plans. Les miserables, victor hugo les miserables is a french historical novel by victor hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.
It was not only literary critics who contemplated hugos book. Les miserables 2012 i have read lots of theology, but for my money the two greatest spiritual works of the nineteenth century are les miserables and a tale of two cities. One day, an ex convict wanders into the bishops village and cant find any food or lodging because everyone turns him away. You may be interested to know that before les miserables was a movie based on an international smash pop opera it was a novel by victor hugo. Les miserables follows exconvict jean valjean as he struggles to become an honest man. My friend dawn, who writes at 5 minutes for books, has been obsessed with all things les miz for twenty years. Les miserables and musical eponine versus book eponine. Read les miserables volume i online, free books by victor.
Two thirds of the book doesnt advance the plot, but it is a description of french life with amazing attention to detail. At digne, he is repeatedly refused shelter for the night. Sep 16, 2016 les miserables is a truly emotional book that inspires you to look within yourself. When hes done with that, he gives a long discussion of paris as though the city were a sort of person with a specific personality. A lot of the introduced characters encounter other characters, so we get an increasingly complex net of relationships. Heres the teaser trailer, for those who might be interested and i should say for the sake of those very interested that this post will contain some spoilerish comments for those completely ignorant. The book cover just had the title les miserables on it. Im excited about the coming soon movie adaption of the musical play adaption of the book les miserables by victor hugo. Introducing one of the most famous characters in literature, jean valjeanthe noble peasant imprisoned for stealing a loaf of breadles miserables ranks among the greatest novels of all time. He is seventyfive years old and lives only with a sister baptistine, ten years younger than he, and an old servant, madame magloire, the same age as his sister. Penguin classics recently released a new deluxe edition translated by christine donougher with a beautiful. I expected the language to be flowery and challenging for a modern reader to digest, but that wasnt the case. Black, an assistant surgeon with the 49th illinois infantry, wrote on april 1, 1863, in camp all day reading lesmiserables by victor hugo.
Comments on les miserables movie message board log in signup. What to know before reading les miserables by victor hugo. When valjean breaks parole, javert relentlessly searches for the escapee. I thought i was buying the hardcover book with the little girl sweeping, on the cover. The story of jean valjean, a poor french boy who is arrested at the age of 19 for stealing a loaf of bread for his family, and who is sentenced to the quarries for seven years. The 2012 movie rekindled my interest, and i reread it the norman denny translation with an entirely new perspective, writing commentary as i went. The family and i just returned from les miserables. Commentary on the novel i first read les miserables in high school, back in 1992 or 1993, after discovering the musical. It will remain a classic in every sense of the word. Les miserables volume i is a popular book by victor hugo. However, one book thats intimidated me is victor hugos les miserables. The book was a graduation gift, so there was no time to replace the item and purchase something else. Les miserables quotes showing of 2,048 he never went out without a book under his arm, and he often came back with two. Jean valjean did in fact commit breaking and entering, two burglaries though one victim refused to press charges, at least four prison escapes, highway robbery technically, parole violation, faking his own death, trespassing, and identity fraud.
The literal meaning of les miserables is the miserable ones. Les miserables is a gripping experience, tense and upsetting, showing how seemingly small events, perhaps manageable in the particulars, can balloon into something out of control, like a fire exploding into a conflagration. The 2012 movie rekindled my interest, and i reread it the norman denny translation with an entirely new perspective, writing commentary as i went in 2018, i came back to it again, reading the christine donougher translation. When the book was finished, hugo tried and failed to write a preface. Hugo opens book three of les miserables by discussing the street children of paris and going through all of the different types of urchins as though they were subspecies of humanity. The title is french, translating in english to the wretched ones. The book i received was not the book as illustrated see your image above.
Highly recommend reading her process, followed up by what others have to say. The copy i have in hand where it is already doing wonders for. Read les miserables volume i, free online version of the book by victor hugo, on. When valjean arrives at the town of digne, no one is willing to give him shelter because he is an exconvict. Jul 11, 2008 adam thirlwell on why victor hugos epic masterwork repays the effort. Les miserables or, as it is often shortened, les mis is a novel by victor hugo, published in 1862. Hugos wrenching story centers on jean valjean, an honest peasant sentenced to five years hard labor for stealing a loaf of bread, then nineteen more for trying to. Nov 17, 2018 thank goodness, too, because les miserables is a looong book. The sequel to les miserables was published in 1995. Les mis represented, to me, a high water mark of literature, one to which i wouldnt rise, because of impatience, or because of disinterest. The characters are french and the book is centered around their lives. It is our intent and purpose to foster and encourage indepth discussion about all things related to books press j to jump to the feed.
More on the movie when i have a moment to collect my thoughts, but my overall response. Les miserables is a truly emotional book that inspires you to look within yourself. Its the story of jean valjean, a man who stole a loaf of bread or maybe murdered somebody, and found a secret admirer in javert. Shes my les miserables expert and heres some pointers for. In camp, reading les miserables the new york times. As for the story itself, les miserables is simply one of the greatest stories ever told.
The books opens by describing the life of a really upstanding dude named bishop myriel. Charles francoisbienvenu myriel has been bishop of digne for nine years. Now you can read les miserables volume i free from the comfort of your computer or mobile phone and enjoy other many other free books by victor hugo. While i appreciate the abridged version for use in class, there are some rather important details that are left out, and i. It was interesting to compare the translations, and to see how my. Learn exactly what happened in this chapter, scene, or section of les miserables and what it means. But theres only so many trials and tribulations a twohour hollywood. I could write pages upon pages about les miserables but i dont think theres any. While i appreciate the abridged version for use in class, there are some rather important details that are left out, and i wish they were included in the abridgement. However, one has to be patient, and simply enjoy what each chapter is about. The copy i have in hand where it is already doing wonders for my biceps is a modern library. The book, first published in 1862, is set in 19th century france and still captures imagination and emotion today. May 25, 2014 just realized i had this video hidden and the comments turned off. Mar 02, 20 the strange power of les mis, the book victor hugos hardnosed melodrama.
Adam thirlwell on why victor hugos epic masterwork repays the effort. Chrissies process with this book and the many comments. Dec 12, 2012 i am carrying on at length like this by way of approaching les miserables, the 1862 victor hugo novel. Tom hoopers film is a colossal effort after 158 minutes, you really have experienced something. It would be good if whisoersync for kindle was made available. I have read this abridged version of les miserables numerous times with my sophomore honors students, and les miserables is very likely one of my favorite books. Les miserables cliffsnotes study guides book summaries.
The strange power of les mis, the book the new republic. Victor hugos les miserables volume i consists of 9 parts for ease of reading. The nostalgia chick referred to les miserables as les coincidences, because of the way the characters lives all intertwine, and this is all the more true in the book. Choose the part of les miserables volume i which you want to read from the table of contents to get started. A summary of themes in victor hugos les miserables. The book is nearly 3,000 pages long and considered an epic. Javert isnt chasing an innocent man on false evidence. I think the thing i loved most about les miserables, apart from the fact that someone managed to make a musical out of it, is that hugo persistently does everything we were told not to do in creative writing class. The strange power of les mis, the book victor hugos hardnosed melodrama. Jean valjean, after spending nineteen years in jail and in the galleys for stealing a loaf of bread and for several attempts to escape, is finally released, but his past keeps haunting him. Victor hugo, les miserables even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise. If a writer wrote merely for his time, i would have to break my pen and throw it away, the largerthanlife victor hugo once confessed. It continues the story of cosette and marius, but is more a sequel to the musical than to the original novel.
Les miserables by victor hugo goodreads share book. Mar 31, 2015 before i dig into this classic work of literature, i asked a few friends what i should know before reading les miserables. The pity is, both were written as serials and are too complex to translate easily to the big screen. Just realized i had this video hidden and the comments turned off.
Read les miserables volume i online by victor hugo at, the free online library full of thousands of classic books. I didnt expect such a readable and enjoyable novel. Within his dramatic story are themes that capture the intellect and the emotions. The version i read was isabel florence hapgoods 1887 english translation. If you have a stack of other novels youre itching to get at, steer clear of this one until afterward. Its one of those classics every man and his dog claims to have read and with more film and tv adaptations than you can shake a remote at, its fairly easy to convince yourself you sort of, kind of, may as well have.