Les Miserables book review.

So I finally finished reading Les Miserables. To be honest I read it really slowly, because, as always, when I read a good book I get too emotionally attached to at least one of the characters. This time I completely fell in love with the story of Jean Valjean and how incredibly, beautifully, tragic his life was.

 I think that this novel would be quite fun to study in depth, as it is incredibly beautifully written (I imagine it would be even more beautiful in French) and is said to be one of the longest books ever (959 (According to Kindle) or 1488 (according to wikipedia) pages and it took me a total of (approximately) 17 hours to read).

Les Miserable, originally published in French in 1862 and written by Victor Hugo is an amazing novel that highlights what life was to the poorer people of France (Mainly Paris) in the early nineteenth century, while following the life of an ex-convict by the name of Jean Valjean, who was arrested for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his starving sister and her children.

The novel is filled with wonderful literary context and amazing quotes my favorites include:

• "'One would say, to see all these snow-flakes fall, that there was a plague of white butterflies in heaven' "
• "Diamonds are found only in the dark places of the earth; truths are found only in the depths of thought."
•  "Who could have bound the lamb to the wolf, and, what was still more incomprehensible, have attached the wolf to the lamb?"
• " To breathe Paris preserves the soul"

Les Miserables has recently been re-made as a film (although there has been a musical version for years), and I actually want to see it, because, Hugo's novel being as absolutely amazing as it was, would be quite easily interpereted into a film, and with actors such as Hugh Jackman, Anne Hathaway and Helena Bonham Carter it must a great movie. Personally I believe that the book is ALWAYS better, but if the book was that wondrous, the movie will still be really great.

I would recommend this novel to avid readers, of at least fifteen years of age, because of a) The length, b)The literary context that is fairly complex and c)It has a fair amount of old English/ direct translations which take a lot of persistence.

I absolutely loved this Les Miserables and would give it a  score of 9/10!

Have an amazing day:)