Marius is a seventeenyearold who lives with his grandfather, m. Each book has a certain amount of points, and i have to get atleast 140 pts. One day, an ex convict wanders into the bishops village and cant find any food or lodging because everyone turns him away. The book is given its epic scope by the wealth of historical detail and meandering political rhapsodizing. Les miserables is a keepsake to be read and treasured. The novel as a whole is one of the longest ever written, with 655,478 words in the original french. While the fictional aspects may seem to be an afterthought, hugos craft is. At any rate, i read the book, then bought a paperback in english and abridged it for myself. In a nearby town, georges pontmercy, marius father, a hero of the napoleonic wars, lives in retirement. You may copy it, give it away or reuse it under the terms of the project gutenberg license included with this ebook or online at. The official website for the stage production of les miserables.
Les miserables is a truly emotional book that inspires you to look within yourself. It is a huge book that meanders along taking many long detours but eventually arriving at its destination. Hugo now turns to another leading character, marius. Many people attribute the longest sentence in literature to victor hugo. The source most often given for this, if a source is given, is timothy fullertons triviata. Word count is a direct way to measure the length of a novel in a manner unaffected by variations of format and. It addresses england as well as spain, italy as well as france. Its a moving story which takes you through the lives of many that interwine and grow together. I think it stands as the longest fantasy trilogy to date. You can also read the full text online using our ereader. I had meant to read it for years, but kept putting it off. Les miserables is a perfectly fine, if not good, cop thriller with a social urgency bubbling under the surface to provide added depth, but its no portrait of a lady on fire, which was sumptuous. In 19thcentury france, jean valjean, who for decades has been hunted by the ruthless policeman javert after breaking parole, agrees to care for a factory workers daughter.
Famous novels have been extremely long, like 530,000 words for victor hugos les miserables or 420,000 words for george r. The episcopal palace was a huge and beautiful house, built of stone at the beginning of the last century by m. Porter has published twelve books, including victor hugo 1999, and a hundred. When hes done with that, he gives a long discussion of paris as though the city were a sort of person with a specific personality. It will remain a classic in every sense of the word. Yes, it takes time and dedication to read and you will have a truly epic book hangover when youre done but its well worth it. However i think that many people are only exposed to the story through the stage version, and never really consider trying to takle the book. It is supposedly the worlds longest published novel in english at 2. As much a history or commentary as a work of fiction, les miserables is dominated by frances past. In the englishspeaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original french title. He tells him of his difficulties, but bossuet, though full of goodwill, is unable to help since he himself is homeless. In the case of les miserables it was eminently worth it.
Les miserables tells the story of exconvict, jean valjean, and his valiant struggle to redeem his past. Les miserables, victor hugo les miserables is a french historical novel by victor hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. Set in the parisian underworld and plotted like a detective story, the work follows the fortunes of the convict jean valjean, a victim of society who has been imprisoned for 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread. A vocabulary list featuring excerpt from les miserables. The book, first published in 1862, is set in 19th century. Les miserables, five volumes, complete by victor hugo. A compendium of useless information, published in 1975. Inside youll find 30 daily lessons, 20 fun activities, 180 multiple choice questions, 60 short essay questions, 20 essay questions. Its also insightful social commentary, among the best and most interesting of writing genres, if you ask me. New introductions commissioned from todays top writers and scholars. The strange power of les mis, the book victor hugos hardnosed melodrama. We tend to judge books on how thick they are, how many pages they.
Find out how long your favourite books are and how they compare to their. Victor hugo tells his classic story of redemption and struggle, now a major motion picture, of a tormenting police officer and a former convict. D norman dennys translation only i know the password, so dont even try to guess. When valjean breaks parole, javert relentlessly searches for the escapee. Victor hugo certainly writes beautifully, his command of the words and. A potent social document of the poverty, ignorance, and brutality of man, les miserables is also a rousing adventure story, famous for such unrivaled scenes as the brilliant depiction of the battle of waterloo. You must be prepared for a long journey, dont be the child who continually asks are we there yet. As for the story itself, les miserables is simply one of the greatest stories ever told. Buy les miserables classics by hugo, victor, denny, norman, denny, norman, denny, norman from amazons fiction books store. I dont know whether it will be read by everyone, but it is meant for everyone. Sep 16, 2016 les miserables is a truly emotional book that inspires you to look within yourself.
I found the portrayal of ordinary people a particularly fascinating topic and i loved learning about the real world events that took place during the same period. Jul 11, 2008 les miserables, as interpreted by the rsc. Les miserables is known as one of the cornerstones of european literaturei dont think anybody will dispute that. Word count is a direct way to measure the length of a novel in a manner unaffected by variations of format and page size. Welcome the episcopal palace of d adjoins the hospital. Word counts of the most popular books in the world foster grant uk. Before it became a beloved broadway musical and hollywood movie, les miserables was an 1862 french novel that was criticized for being unrealistic and preachy. Gillenormand, by threatening to disinherit marius, has forced georges. Its great because its an imaginative, beautifully crafted and uplifting story. But during the french revolution, he was forced to emigrate to italy, and his wife died before having children. By this point in the book hugo has already made clear at preposterous length that he advocates the grandest of social.
It really is worth the read, and i do feel that the length of the story makes you empathise with the journey of jean valjean and his struggles. But length is not just a question of pages, its also a. A monumental classic dedicated to the oppressed, the underdog, the laborer, the rebel, the orphan, and the misunderstood, les miserables is a rich, emotional novel that captures nothing less than the entirety of life in nineteenthcentury france. The les miserables lesson plan contains a variety of teaching materials that cater to all learning styles. Hugos genius was for the creation of simple and recognizable myth. Les miserables word cloud classics flexibound december 3, 2012. The claim is that a sentence in les miserables, 823 words long, earns that title. At first impression it can seem as though hugo pointlessly digresses from the plot, often writing chapter after chapter at 100 page lengths on events such as the battle of waterloo, social background of the time, minor characters, etc. The closest thing it comes to is the weird 100 pages at the beginning of demons where. However, one has to be patient, and simply enjoy what each chapter is about. Indeed, this 19thcentury french authors books from the epic drama les miserables to the classic unrequited love.
If i read it in print form, it would have been 1463 pages. The insanity of victor hugos les miserables the war on loneliness. Oct 15, 2014 a vocabulary list featuring excerpt from les miserables. The strange power of les mis, the book the new republic. Les miserables is a novel of great enough length that there are several different plot lines happening throughout the story following different characters.
The book starts with a 22,000 word novella that describes a guythe bishopwho literally. This is a list of the novels over 500,000 words published through a mainstream publisher. Les miserables is widely considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century. Movie i am proud of my naming abilities, and ill be examining books and. First published in france in 1862, it is victor hugos greatest achievementthe ultimate tale of redemption. This book is available for free download in a number of formats including epub, pdf, azw, mobi and more. It was an instant popular success and was quickly translated into several languages. Synopsis this version is a close adaptation of the broadway stage musical with the dialogue entirely in song in 1815 france, convict jean valjean hugh jackman is released on parole by prison guard javert russell crowe after serving a 19year sentence for stealing a loaf of bread as well as repeated escape attempts. Les miserables english language and millions of other books are available for instant access. After several months of drifting around france, valjean is offered food. With hugh jackman, russell crowe, anne hathaway, amanda seyfried. Dec 20, 2018 overall, les miserables is an incredible book. And i thought the stand was long its only 1168 pages.
The translation is clear and easy to follow, with poetry translated in the footnotes so as not to ruin the beauty of the original. The story of jean valjean, a poor french boy who is arrested at the age of 19 for stealing a loaf of bread for his family, and who is sentenced to the quarries for seven years. Les miserables the book by victor hugo is incredibly long, but. Everyday low prices on a huge range of new releases and classic fiction. The nostalgia chick referred to les miserables as les coincidences, because of the way the characters lives all intertwine, and this is all the more true in the book. If a writer wrote merely for his time, i would have to break my pen and throw it away, the largerthanlife victor hugo once confessed. As his cab takes him without destination through the streets of the latin quarter, marius is hailed by a fellow student, bossuet. The books opens by describing the life of a really upstanding dude named bishop myriel. Books can be as short as 25,000 words, around 100 pages, or as long as 3. Length of a book is typically associated with its sizespecifically page countleading many to assume the largest and thickest book equates to its length. Les miserables is one of the longest novels in european literature. The word they translated as spin is filer, which does have that meaning as a homonym, but which also means to shadow or to follow collinsrobert frenchenglish dictionary. Les miserables, novel by victor hugo, published in french in 1862. Novels can also be extremely short, like ernest hemingways old man and the sea, which is just 26,000 words.
Spanning decades at over 2000 pages long, les miserables may sound like a chore but it is well worth a read. In the original french, les mis is 655,478 words, but apparently there. Les miserables achieves its immense length partly for this reason and partly because the bits of dialogue are in fact large lumps. Click the link for more information on the show, to buy tickets and much much more. Jean valjean, a man who has spent 19 tortuous years in prison, in released on parole by the acclaimed officer, javert. Fortunately, i listened to it on audiobook instead.
Traditionally, artamene ou le grand cyrus, has been considered the longest novel, but has. He was the son of a man of parliament, and he spent his younger years devoted to worldly affairs. How many words does les miserables unabridged version by. A lot of the introduced characters encounter other characters, so we get an increasingly complex net of relationships.
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