Book Review - Les Miserables: Book 2 - Cosette

From Goodreads: Introducing one of the most famous characters in literature, Jean Valjean - the noble peasant imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread - Les Misérables (1862) ranks among the greatest novels of all time. In it Victor Hugo takes readers deep into the Parisian underworld, immerses them in a battle between good and evil, and carries them onto the barricades during the uprising of 1832 with a breathtaking realism that is unsurpassed in modern prose. Within his dramatic story are themes that capture the intellect and the emotions: crime and punishment, the relentless persecution of Valjean by Inspector Javert, the desperation of the prostitute Fantine, the amorality of the rogue Thénardier and the universal desire to escape the prisons of our own minds. Les Misérables gave Victor Hugo a canvas upon which he portrayed his criticism of the French political and judicial systems, but the portrait which resulted is larger than life, epic in scope - an extravagant spectacle that dazzles the senses even as it touches the heart.

Thoughts: Les Miserables is over 1200 pages. It's a big ask to read, so I am breaking it down into smaller parts reading and reviewing each volume (there are 5), most probably with a break in between each one. You can read my review of book 1: Fantine, here.

Book two sees us investigate Cosette's life with the Thénadier's and her rescue from them by Jean Valjean. It also includes a looooooooong history of the battle of Waterloo and various other events that are not actually part of the story. As such I ended up skipping large chunks. While I do worry I may miss things by doing this, I know that if I don't skim over the bits I find tedious I won't read the book at all.
This part of the story fills in a large chunk of what was missed in the movie and the musical - the intervening years between Cosette being taken from the Thénadier's and her reaching adulthood. The length of the book does mean it's impossible for the makers of the movie and stage production to include everything and I admit I don't feel that anything that happened here was necessary to the story.

This takes me to 40% of the book - almost half way! Hopefully there won't be as big a gap between this and the next book Marius.

Book Review - Les Miserables: Volume 1 - Fantine

From Goodreads: Introducing one of the most famous characters in literature, Jean Valjean - the noble peasant imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread - Les Misérables (1862) ranks among the greatest novels of all time. In it Victor Hugo takes readers deep into the Parisian underworld, immerses them in a battle between good and evil, and carries them onto the barricades during the uprising of 1832 with a breathtaking realism that is unsurpassed in modern prose. Within his dramatic story are themes that capture the intellect and the emotions: crime and punishment, the relentless persecution of Valjean by Inspector Javert, the desperation of the prostitute Fantine, the amorality of the rogue Thénardier and the universal desire to escape the prisons of our own minds. Les Misérables gave Victor Hugo a canvas upon which he portrayed his criticism of the French political and judicial systems, but the portrait which resulted is larger than life, epic in scope - an extravagant spectacle that dazzles the senses even as it touches the heart.

Thoughts: Les Miserables is over 1200 pages. It's a big ask to read, so I am breaking it down into smaller parts reading and reviewing each volume (there are 5), most probably with a break in between each one.

The first volume is called Fantine and introduces us to the main characters of the book. I must admit I found Victor Hugo's massive tome a lot easier to read than I thought I would, although he does tend to be a bit wordy! Really, the man would not describe in three words when he could use fifty, would not use a paragraph when he could write a chapter. Despite this, I found myself not skimming as I normally would. As always, reading the book gives you so much more insight into the story than the movie. You get a full feel for the charity and kindness of the priest, the desperation and despair of Jean Valjean and the inflexibility of Javert. Fantine's broken love affair and her abandonment of Cosette is so much more heart breaking and cruel.

I must admit that being familiar with the story through the musical is making it easier to read - those parts where I'm not sure I really understand what is happening are easier to work out as I know the story. I will also admit to singing appropriate parts of the sound track in my head as I read!

While I am eager to read the next volume (Cosette) I am enforcing my break rule as I know I will over load if I don't. As I said in my first post about Les Miserables, this one is a year long project so I don't feel the need to rush.

This One is a Year Long Project...

It was inevitable that after seeing the movie I would once again attempt the book. I've always been a fan of the musical and after performances such as this one by Anne Hathaway, how could I not give the book another chance?

However this time I am taking a different approach. Instead of thinking I must read the entire 1232 pages in one go, I am giving myself permission to put it down and pick up something else whenever I find it too much. I also reading it on the kindle - a much easier format than the brick the book is. My first aim is to read at least 5% (I have to give myself some rules!). That way I get a sense of achievement when I reach it and bonus points if I go beyond! I'll most probably review as I go too. As they say, once more into the breach!

And finally this one because it's my favourite.