|
| Les Miserables (Classics) | 
 enlarge | Author: Victor Hugo
Creator: Norman Denny
Publisher: Penguin Classics
Category: Book
List Price: £10.99
Buy Used: £0.01
You Save: £10.98 (100%)
New (39) from £4.49
Avg. Customer Rating:  25 reviews
Sales Rank: 15767
Media: Paperback
Edition: Reprint
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 1232
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.8
Dimensions (in): 7.6 x 5.3 x 2.2
ISBN: 0140444300
Dewey Decimal Number: 843.7
EAN: 9780140444308
ASIN: 0140444300
Publication Date: March 25, 1982
Availability: Usually dispatched within 1-2 business days
Condition: Ships from USA, arrives in 2-3 weeks; 100% Money Back Guarantee; Shipped daily; Over one million satisfied book lovers read with Experienced Books; Good condition, showing modest signs of wear; Some discoloration/sunfade of cover/spine; Some rubbing on cover; Cover has some wear on edges;
|
| Also Available In:
| • | Hardcover - Miserables, Les (Classics S) | | • | Hardcover - Miserables, Les (Classics S) | | • | Hardcover - Miserables, Les (Gift Classics) | | • | Hardcover - Miserables, Les | | • | Paperback - Les Miserables (Penguin Popular Classics) | | • | Audio Cassette - Miserables, Les (Timeless Classics) | | • | Paperback - Miserables, Les (Stories to Remember) | | • | Paperback - Miserables, Les | | • | Hardcover - Les Miserables | | • | Hardcover - Miserables, Les (Everyman's Library) | | • | Hardcover - Miserables, Les | | • | Hardcover - Miserables, Les (Everyman's Library Classics) | | • | Audio Cassette - Miserables, Les (Penguin Classics) |
|
| Similar Items:
|
| Customer Reviews: Read 20 more reviews...
 'Citizens, our nineteenth century is great, but the twentieth century will be happy' August 19, 2008
Not the greatest prediction in history perhaps, but Victor Hugo's monumental Romantic epic still remains one of the best known and most popular works of the nineteenth century. A vast panorama of Parisian life during the first half of that century, Les Miserables seems to contain the author's entire world view and knowledge base, everything but the kitchen sink. Yes, when viewed through twenty-first century eyes it suffers from all the peculiarities associated with novels of that era: twists and turns born out of wildly improbable coincidences, a tendency to sentimentality and melodrama, familiar caricatures (misers, prostitutes, street urchins), odd attachments to unrelated children, and loose ends neatly tied up. But, like War and Peace it is a great sweep of life, like Moby Dick it is juxtaposed with digressions and immensely detailed descriptions (Waterloo, the Paris sewers), like Dickens's works the characters live and breathe even though they are flat and behave stereotypically. In sum, it is a magnificent slice of social history, teeming with life and detail, sometimes funny, often moving, always compassionate.
The story is basically simple. It revolves around peasant Jean Valjean who is sentenced to five years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his starving family and then to 19 years in the galleys for an escape attempt. He becomes a recidivist criminal on release until he sees the error of his ways after being befriended by a saintly priest. Then, making a stupid mistake on the spur of the moment, he is discovered and compelled to return to prison. However, escaping again, he spends the rest of his life seeking redemption, firstly by becoming a wealthy and respectable citizen and then by rescuing a young girl from abuse. Les Miserables is a morality tale which seeks to demonstrate the virtual impossibility of escape from poverty and injustice at a time and in a system where the less fortunate are excluded. Among a great canvas of characters many are memorable: Valjean himself, the obsessive policeman Javert, the ill-fated Fantine, the malevolent Thenardier couple, and the irrepressible urchin Gavroche. The numerous stage and film interpretations of Hugo's masterpiece are a testimony to its enduring popularity and its place in the pantheon of great European literature.
The best book I've read thus far. June 20, 2008
For those intimidated by the length and epic scale of Hugo's magnum opus, you need not be afraid. Whilst reading Les Miserables I was pleasantly surprised by the fluidity and pace of the narrative. It took me no longer than a month to finish the novel, and I became completely engrossed and enamoured by the story. A story covering a wide array of important social issues as well as those issues that lie close to the heart - love, death, hope, redemption and tolerance. All of these are apparent throughout the tale, and told with wonderful style and enormous beauty from that great master of romanticism - Victor Hugo. Some may find his unapologetically florid, overtly poetical language overbearing, I, personally, found it refreshing and a joy to read. Les Miserables is a book you will not find a chore to finish (save for the lengthy Waterloo - only the last part is worth reading - and convent digressions, which some may find interesting, but I found tiresome). You will feel France as you move from Provence at the beginning of the book, to the city of Paris towards the latter half of the book, and will feel a certain connection to the characters as if they were real people - Jean Valjean, Fantine, Cosette, Marius and countless others are truly unforgettable characters, creative inventions few other authors, both past and present, could match. The fact they are 'real' characters and not idealised in any way, but awash with both flaws and qualities, adds to the beauty of Les Miserables - a tale both heartrending and humorous, zealously exciting and quaintly pleasant. You will not be disappointed. I promise, and I urge you read Norman Denny's translation, which retains the style and beauty of the original.
a lifetime marsterpiece March 6, 2008
I read this book for the first time after being told about the story by a teacher, when I was 13. None of my family thought I would comprehend such a huge and intense book at such a young age. Victor Hugo's style, however, was so good that I quickly fell in love with the book. I am now 29 and it is still the most amazing book I ever read. This is one of those books that you can lose yourself in time and time again...Victor Hugo is a genius!
 Wonderful, except for the digressions February 16, 2008
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
What can I say about this mammoth novel, which has taken me longer to read than any other book of fiction while still reading at least some pages every day?
It is a colossal, moving and colourful work, filled with some of the greatest figures in French literature. It has drama, pathos, love, hate, cruelty, duty, revolutionary excesses and aristocratic narrowmindedness. The features that for me prevent it being a total success are the lengthy digressions, covering Waterloo, argot, monastical conventions and even the history of sewers and the volume of excrement in Paris. These slow the story down and do become tiresome. The tiresome antics of the revolutionaries on the barricades also grated, they seeming to be more interested in the glamour rhetoric and glory of the act of defiance, rather than a genuine drive for social justice. These digressions at one point slowed me down to a point where I was reading barely half a dozen pages a day and I did almost give up on it at one point. But I knew I wanted to find out what happened to Valjean and Cosette and I am glad I did, sad though the ending was. A monumental work.
Another Classic Novel By Hugo August 18, 2007
1 out of 1 found this review helpful
Les Miserables is a suberb classical novel which has stood the test of time. It's cleverly composed prose juxtaposed with the plot place it in the category of the all-time greats. Admittedly it does get slightly depressing in parts, but it adds to the effect of what Hugo was trying to achieve in portaying 19th century France. I may be wrong but I thought the story was an allegory for the real state of France at that time. Prior knowledge of France at this time would be useful but not essential. I say this because the chapters surrounding the battle of waterloo get confusing and knowledge of the Napoleonic era would make it less perplexing.Nonetheless, as previously stated, this knowledge is not essential as I got along fine. Basically the plot follows Jean Valjean, a released convict who was imprisoned for 19 years for stealing bread for his starving family. It folows his rise and fall as Mayor of Montriel-Sur-Mer, progressing through to his journeys as a vagabond. A great classic recommended to everyone fond of archaic literature
|
|
|
Powered by Associate-O-Matic
| |
