**SPOILERS BE HERE**
Last year, I decided to read War and Peace and Les Miserables in 2020. They're both around 360 chapters long, so reading two chapters a day would enable me to finish them both by the end of the year.
I succeeded!
I actually finished War and Peace in April (cuz COVID) and then waited until July to start Les Miserables. I've also already read Les Miserables twice before now, but this was my first time reading this translation. I prefer the Fahnestock/MacAfee/Wilbour translation; I wasn't a fan of how this one cut out two sections and added them to the end.
Oh wait! I've read an abridged version, too, one based on the 1998 film with Liam Neeson. That one is terrible; unabridged or bust!
Ok so maybe not unabridged or bust. If you had asked me about 10 years ago (the last time I read it), I would have said that, but now I think some sections could be reduced or cut out. Those two that were slapped onto the end weren't very relevant, nor were some other sections throughout the book. But! If anyone were to take out my favorite "unnecessary" section, I would be vehemently opposed to their version.
What's my favorite section, you ask? The sewers. I honestly don't know why I like it so much. I think the first time around it was just such a shocking thing to stumble upon that I was utterly confused by it. The second time I thought, "He's not wrong." And now I just find it wildly amusing; there are numerous pages about how Paris is throwing away its riches to the sea. The riches are human feces. I love it. What a nice aside from the main story. 11/10 would recommend.
I digress. I still love the book, but it's definitely lost some of its luster. I was obsessed with the musical back in 2009 when I first saw it on the West End (my first true professional theater experience). I loved it before then, too; I had listened to the soundtrack countless times and had seen the 1998 movie and read the abridged book. I saw it again about nine months later, and then three or four more times after that (once in Korean, which was very interesting). I'm disappointed I never got to the Broadway revival—it should have been on longer! The most recent miniseries on BBC was excellent. I love the 10th anniversary concert (and the 25th isn't bad; I'll watch anything with Lea Salonga). I don't even hate the movie adaptation, and firmly believe Russell Crowe is better than Hugh Jackman in it ("Bring Him Home" is seriously painful). But over the past decade, my obsession has faded. I still adore it, and it's still one of my favorite musicals, but the book is a bit bloated. I know that's the style of the time (see War and Peace, which is even more bloated), though, so I'm willing to overlook it.
I digressed again, but I think it's important to understand that I'm biased to love this book. I love the intricacy and how all the characters fit together. I think the musical suffers from not pointing out that Gavroche is a Thenardier, and that Marius feels he's indebted to the Thenardiers because of his father. I also wish there was more of the backstory with his grandfather and why do I keep talking about the musical when this is about the book?! Circling back around, I love how fleshed out everyone is. You get to experience all their journeys and it's incredible. Yes, sometimes their journeys are a bit surface-level and it's a lot of telling, not showing, but that could be because of translation and the vastly different writing style of the time. I just love all the detail about the characters. But Cosette is pretty boring once she reaches adulthood; I couldn't care less about her.
I don't have anything else specific to say. It's a great book! Oh! Boooooo, Marius for pushing away Jean Valjean at the end. He had his reasons but it's always so sad reading that part.
Completed: 8 December 2020
Rating: 4.25/5
Recommend: Absolutely if you can handle the commitment
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