Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #42479 in Books
• Published on: 1987-03-01
• Original language: English
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Mass Market Paperback
• 1488 pages

Customer Reviews

So great, it makes this cynic want to cry
Some of my favorite books: Catch-22, 1984, Infinite Jest, Vonnegut's works, and ... this. That should say something. I'm a huge fan of contemporary, caustic satires and seldom do I enjoy anything sentimental. But this is a whole different ballgame.

Victor Hugo is possibly the greatest cockeyed optimist this world has ever known. His portraits of love and goodness in the heart of sin and evil are inspiring, heartbreaking, and definitely worth reading. I gladly read every word of this book, including the digressions, which were irrelevant to the plot but almost always added something to the themes.

Hugo brilliantly paints his characters, devoting pages of description to minor characters and letting major ones establish themselves through their actions. The result is that everyone is human, everyone counts, and no one is purely evil. The story is heartbreaking at times but at the end it is inspiring. The world needs more optimism like this.

I don't know ... I can't say enough about this book, and I fear I'm turning into a babbling idiot. It's poetic, wonderful, and it's the closest a work of art has ever come to making me cry.

A wonderous story of rising above what life has delt.
After seeing the operetta several times, I was totally enthralled with this story. I sought out any movie version I could get my hands on and have enjoyed 4 different versions: The original French movie from the 1930's, a 50's American version, a 1970's Anthony Perkins as Javert (excellent portrayal!), and the new release with Liam Niesen. All of these had inconsistancies - so to satisfy my need to understand the true story, I purchased this unabridged story. The descriptions of Paris and the battle of Waterloo were a bit of a bore (I Evelyn Wooded passed much of those parts). Other than this, it is one of the greatest books I have ever read! I am disappointed that the opera and all the movies deviated from the basic storyline as they did! None of the stories gave any history on Fantine and how she came to leave Cosette at the Inn; or described how Jean Valjean actually was put in prison and escaped, or how he saved the sailor who was hanging from the sail line. ! I did have one disappointment from the book, I had hoped to learn that Jean Valjean and Fantine had prior relationship (but did not recognize each other after many years and hardships) and that Cosette was actually Jean's daughter. I was sad to learn that the other stories depicted this relationship correctly, that they were just strangers who forever impacted each others lives. This story has something for everyone: a touching love story between Jean / Fantine, Jean / Cosette, Cosette / Marius; a story of war and comaradere; a story of human suffering, faith and character.

I love this book!
Les Miserables is, in my mind, the greatest book ever written. I have read several different editions, and none of them comes close to this one in capturing Hugo's style. Victor Hugo's character development is superb; he manages to capture with skill and clarity countless personality and character types; from the streetwise urchin Gavroche to Marius's ancient grandfather M. Gillenormand. Although I love the way Hugo blends the storyline with his political opinions and social background, for me the characters themselves are the highlight of the book, and the most memorable to be found anywhere. (Particularly Gavroche and Eponine, in my opinion.)There seems to be at least one character for everyone to relate to, and no two dimensional personality types either. I have read the book I think about 6 times since I was 13, and it had kept me entranced every time. The 1000 and something pages pass by quickly, and at the end I find myself wanting to immediately begin it again. I have never cried so hard in my life, or been drawn so deeply into the lives of the characters, than I was in this book. For fans of the musical, reading the book provides much enriching background information on both the characters and the political system of the time. Although it is long, Les Mis is an undisputable classic, and nobody's home should be without a copy.