Jillian T. (lovestoread) reviewed Les Miserables: A New Unabridged Translation on + 4 more book reviews
Helpful Score: 3
Timeless story of good and bad. Rich characters that will stay with you long after you've read this book. The musical was a faithful interpretation, but nothing beats reading in its entirety.
Helpful Score: 2
One of my favorite books of all time! You have to read it unabridged, though it's not an easy task; I love a lot of the parts that are taken out when it's shortened. What an amazing work.
Helpful Score: 1
When they say unabridged, they mean it! The main story is entertaining, and I enjoyed it. That being said, a considerable amount of time is spent on background and history of tangential items. While this adds to the depth, it slows down the pace and is what makes this a nearly 1500 page novel. One of the few flaws I had with the book was a very common one - the city/world/universe is made up of five people. That thief who just appeared and can decide the fate of a main character? Why it is the same person who ..., etc. The other is that this book was seemingly written before readers were exposed to now common twists; mysterious revelations are not unexpected. But overall, I did like the book and felt the author tried very hard to leave no loose end.
Helpful Score: 1
Les Miserables is a well written, engaging tale of redemption, loss, and hope in the midst of darkness. It may be a bit long for the average reader, however.
What's to say?! This is the great epic novel. I'd love to read it in French, but until then, there's just the English translation. So much better than the Broadway show!
I am still reading it, as it's a LONG book and I don't have a TON of extra time on my hands. But I am about 1/5 of the way through it and I am loving it! Victor Hugo describes things in such detail (sometimes, too much.....I'm at Waterloo right now) but he pulls you in to the characters and you really get a feel for who they are and what they represent.
A classic, of course.
Holly B. (bluedevilbooklover) reviewed Les Miserables: A New Unabridged Translation on + 72 more book reviews
i absolutely loved this book - it's HUGE!
Gads... it's the biggest paperback I've ever seen; 1600+ pages! Too daunting to even attempt.
