Madeline
If you decide to make the Les Miserables journey, and this is a commitment, do yourself a favor and get the abridged version! I know more about the Battle of Waterloo, how the Paris sewer system works, and what Victor Hugo thinks about Convents now that I have read Les Miserables than I ever previously cared to know about. If I was interested in these topics I would have seeked them out on my own.
Why Did I Decide to Read Les Miserables?
I cannot for the life of me remember how this book even got on my “To Read” list. I am not usually drawn to classics let alone French classics. But I am glad it did. Through storytelling, it made me cringe. It made me cheer for the poor characters. I found myself talking about it at parties and thinking about it when I was not actively consuming it. It was written over 150 years ago but still feels fresh and relevant. It may have been a comment on the French revolution but the stories still track for today.
A Book Into A Movie… And A Play
I listened to all 60 long hours of Les Miserables book over the course of two months. And the entire time I had to make an effort to avoid the movie in order to prevent spoiling digesting the story in the raw as it was intended. But first thing I did when I finished it, was run to my computer and do a quick search for the movie and hit the “rent” button for the most recent movie. Thank you to the beautiful cast of the film, I was swept away by this film.
For movies made from books, I am always curious to see how movie making professionals visualize the story for themselves. Because the book Les Miserables has so much detail and intricacies, the interpretation could have been taken in many directions. I understand that the book is sooo looooong, but the movie skimmed over many of the details and storylines.
The Details And Intricacies Of The Characters
Along with the details of the book describing every object and every item that is someone connected to politics, the reader learns a lot about characters that come in to the story. In some cases, they come into the story with plenty of explanation to get the reader invested in them and then they disappear, never to be heard of again and so I found myself getting lost with learning about all the characters, their backgrounds, and how they fit into the story that is already well on its way.
Midway through the book, I realized who I needed to pay attention to and who was just part of the fantastical visualizations. It took me half way through, (about 30 hours of listening) to realize that only a handful of characters are important to the story and the ones I need to pay attention to. Hugo is a pro with detail and although it’s admirable, it’s also quite annoying as a reader.
Final Thoughts
Although the book was quite long, if I ever get a chance to see Les Miserables in the theater, I am buying front row center tickets. This storyline was absolutely worth the money of a potentially good theater show and since I would never need to read the details again, I can get on board with a theatrical rendition of Les Miserables. Considering it is also one of the more successful plays on Broadway ever, I am in! (Navigates to ticket hub without hitting save on this post).
