Les Misérables (English language)

To clarify a misconception — in the “product details,” the ISBN listed (1449565530) is in error, as is the corresponding number (218) of print pages. That ISBN corresponds to “Volume II, Cosette.” A publisher broke the rather long book into volumes so that they could sell five books instead of just the one megabook, and volume II is 218 pages. The kindle book is the complete, unabridged edition with all five volumes. Like all scanned books, it has scattered scanning errors that you can, in general, read through without compromising the experience.

I started Les Mis with the translation by Fahnestock & MacAfee in paperback. After reading more than 3/4 of the book, I purchased a Kindle. While I awaited its arrival, I downloaded Kindle to my PC & searched for a Kindle copy of Les Mis (& didn’t want to pay a second time for the book). I could not find the same translation, but this is very similar. I easily transferred over 450 highlights from my paper copy to the ebook (on my computer). It took time, but it was pretty straightforward (a little awkward since the translations weren’t identical). It would have been much harder & longer to try to do that on the actual Kindle.

One thing I miss in this translation: “Slang” is usually used instead of “argot”, “emeute” is not used for “riot”. It was fun to have some French words which would be explained & repeated in the text, used as text (in the F & M translation), instead of a translation which seems weak (in the Kindle copy). This is why I gave it a 4 instead of a 5.

I really liked the links from the Table of Contents to each volume, book & chapter (chapters were not listed in the Table of Contents of the paperback). But there is no forward option (to the next chapter). The format was very readable, even easier than the paperback (a blank line between paragraphs, which was very helpful on the extra long paragraphs).

An added bonus, which I found helpful, at the end of the Kindle copy, there is a letter Hugo wrote to the Italian publisher in 1862 telling in his words why Les Mis is for all nations. (This was not in my paper copy.)

By the time my Kindle arrived, my notes were ready to sync from the PC to the Kindle (pretty quick & mostly painfree), & I finished the book with the Kindle… much easier to hold & manipulate than 1500 pages.

I know it’s scary. It’s probably one of the longest and hardest to read books you’ve ever picked up (or at least it was for me). Hugo goes into painstaking detail with his history, his scenery, and his character development. Reading on can be frustrating sometimes because you just can’t see where the author is going. Minute descriptions of people, places, and political views abound. But you come to trust in Hugo…because you realize that no lengthy discussion is wasted with him. It has a purpose and a place and provides a richness to his story that I have never seen in any other work.

The scope and depth of the story is UNBELIEVABLE. The characters are so completely flesh and bone that you know them. You know who they are and exactly how they will react in a situation before it ever happens. The scenes are so masterfully laid out that you can envision every detail in your mind. And oh, believe me when I say the storytelling is breathtaking. Les Miserables is about poverty and the human condition, set against the backdrop of decades of French history. But it is so much more. It’s a story of the redemption of man, despite everything the world can throw at him. It is a story of fear and sadness, but most of all, hope. The hope that we can do better. The hope that religion will not lead us down a path of self-righteousness, but to true righteousness, which to quote the book of Isaiah is “to loose the chains of injustice and untie the cords of the yoke, to set the oppressed free and break every yoke”. There is so much to be learned about forgiveness, love, happiness, and life from this story.

Les Miserables is not just a book. It might be the best book ever written. It is a LIFE CHANGER. Don’t be afraid of it. Experience it for yourself.

I never thought on reading Les Miserables. I decided to do so quite some months ago. I’m glad I did. Most of Victor Hugo’s reflections are still important and relevant for our days. Before watching the movie or going to the musical, do yourself a favor and read this one out. It is long but it is worth it.

I got this copy because I wanted a copy of the Hapgood translation in print that was unabridged, and in print. Being unable to find a hardcover with those criteria, I settled for this one.

What a pleasant surprise.

What I actually thought was a paperback was really a “flexiback.” I am starting to see more large books being printed in this medium, and it is really neat. It is the best of both worlds really. This cover actually feels like faux leather – surely not cardboard – and it has a matte feel to it that gives a nice amount of grip for holding this big book. The words on the front and the back are actually embossed into the covers, which makes it look quite nice. The pages are of a perfect thickness for the size of this book. They are not too thin, but they are not thick. And also, and most importantly, the book is quite thick – it is genuinely unabridged.

This is one of my favorite books on my shelf. I am really glad I bought it, and at ~$10, it’s a magnificent value. I definitely recommend it.

Les Miserables is one of the three or four greatest and most important novels ever written. It is a magnificent historical tour de force filled with all the riches of cultural context, of human striving, love, and compassion as well as the despair and cruelty of poverty in 19th century France (or perhaps anywhere). It is loaded with profoundly memorable characters and their absorbing stories and interrelationships. If it has a fault as a novel it is that on rare occasions Hugo indulges in some socio-historical essay writing, which somewhat disrupts the flow of the larger story and which might have been better inserted as footnote material. Tolstoy does the same in War and Peace, which LM to some extent resembles. It is no accident that the greatest modern musical is based (fairly faithfully) on this wonderful monument of French fiction. It is a very long, dense book, so take your time and savor every scrumptious morsel. NB: this is not the book you take on the plane to destract yourself for a couple of hours. This is not chewing gum for the mind a la James Patterson. This is literature at its greatest, and you have to let yourself be absorbed into its astonishing depths. BTW, I am NOT and have never been HEIDI. I am JBF. Don’t know why Amazon wants me to be Heidi, but couldn’t figure out how to change.

My only problem with this book was with the large amount of text in French, without footnotes or any other way, outside of sitting with a French/English dictionary to understand the meaning. It would have been nice if they had linked the French words and phrases, which are plentiful, with a built in dictionary just as they did for the English words. I had the same problem with War and Peace, by Tolstoy. The aristocracy in Russia used French most of the time and it was very difficult to get the gist of what was being said. Otherwise, I wish I had read this years ago. Victor Hugo’s great novel, some call it the greatest novel of all time, would easily be a good choice if one were stranded on a desert island and could only take one book… for me, this would be it!!!