Title: Les Miserables
Author: Victor Hugo
Pages: 48 discs
Genre: Classic
Grade: B
Synopsis: Jean Valjean is a convict working in the chain gang. Upon his release he is shunned and treated poorly due to his low status as an ex-con. A priest takes compassion on him and lets him stay the night in his house. Valjean seizes this opportunity to rob him, but is caught and returned to the priest for identification. The priest claims the items were s gift, which inspires Valjean to change his life and live honestly.
My Review: Most people know the story of Les Miserables (between the musical and the movie), which do a pretty good job of capturing the main points. What I really enjoyed about the book was the extra depth that was included in the text (which is expected in a book of this length). The characters are so well developed and the story is so intricate, that I felt like I was really getting to know these characters. I could have done without the lengthy diatribes and tangents. Typically I am staunchly in favor of only reading non-abridged books, but in this case, an abridgment might actually improve the book (i.e. removing Hugo's tangents). Generally the book was enjoyable.
1 comment:
I read the abridged version in High School and it was great. I think it was still over 400 pages if I remember right. Guess I don't need to read the full thing!
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