Los miserables / Les Miserables

by Victor Hugo

Les misérables (1862) es una novela publicada por Victor Hugo y está considerada como una de las obras más conocidas del siglo XIX.

La novela, de estilo romántico, plantea a través de su argumento un razonamiento sobre el bien y el mal, sobre la ley, la política, la ética, la justicia y la religión.

El autor confesó que se había inspirado en Vidocq, criminal francés que se redimió y acabó inaugurando la Policía Nacional francesa, para crear a los dos protagonistas y que la historia de su país le había inspirado para situar el contexto histórico: por ello, los personajes viven la Revolución francesa (1789-1799) y los posteriores cambios políticos. Además, el autor analiza los estereotipos de aquel momento y muestra su oposición a la pena de muerte. En definitiva, esta novela es una defensa de los oprimidos, vivan en el lugar y momento histórico que vivan.

ENGLISH DESCRIPTION

Les Misérables is a French historical novel by Victor Hugo, first published in 1862, that is considered one of the greatest novels of the 19th century.

In the English-speaking world, the novel is usually referred to by its original French title. However, several alternatives have been used, including The Miserables, The Wretched, The Miserable Ones, The Poor Ones, The Wretched Poor, The Victims and The Dispossessed. Beginning in 1815 and culminating in the 1832 June Rebellion in Paris, the novel follows the lives and interactions of several characters, particularly the struggles of ex-convict Jean Valjean and his experience of redemption. Examining the nature of law and grace, the novel elaborates upon the history of France, the architecture and urban design of Paris, politics, moral philosophy, antimonarchism, justice, religion, and the types and nature of romantic and familial love.

Les Misérables has been popularized through numerous adaptations for the stage, television, and film, including a musical and a film adaptation of that musical. The appearance of the novel was highly anticipated and advertised. Critical reactions were diverse, but most of them were negative. Commercially, the work was a great success globally.

• ISBN10: 8491051120
• ISBN13: 9788491051121
• Publish Date: 28 June 2016 (first published 1 January 1862)
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: ES
• Imprint: Penguin Clasicos
• Format: Paperback (US Trade)
• Pages: 1520
• Language: Spanish
• URL: https://penguinrandomhouse.com/books/isbn/9788491051121

Reviews

[Mercy]

Los miserables es un libro de valor universal, Victor Hugo se merece bien su puesto entre los mejores literatos, aunque le encante divagar pero a mi me ha encantado. Sus personajes tan humanos, su historia tan realista y u don para darle belleza hasta al más nimio detalle. Qué no los asuste la cantidad de páginas, Los miserables es una verdadera joya de la literatura.

Reseña completa: http://thebooksaremylife.blogspot.com/2014/12/resena-los-miserables-victor-hugo.html

[Michael @ Knowledge Lost]

This is the story of Jean Valjean, a man seeking redemption after serving nineteen years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his starving relatives. When everyone else turns their back on him, it was a Bishop that showed him immense kindness and inspires him to do the same to everyone else. He finds him eventually appointed mayor of Montreuil-sur-Mer but then back on the run hunted by police inspector named Javert.

That is a very brief outline of what this book is about, as the book is about 1400 pages. If I tried to go into more detail it could be too big for a one paragraph synopsis, but I think people are familiar enough with this novel to know the basic plot of this book. I decided to read the book because of the recent adaption; yes I know it was an adaptation of the musical but I still wanted to read the book first so I’d have a better understanding of the plot.

This novel covers some very interesting topics from the nature of the law and the idea of grace, politics, justice, romance and moral philosophy. All this weaved into the plot but then you find yourself reading huge chunks of text outlining the battle of Waterloo, religion, the construction of the Paris sewers and urban design of Paris. These digressions really threw me off with the book and honestly think that if the editor removed them, the book would have been more accessible and readable.

There is a lot to offer within the book and I would say I could easily read it again (not now but in the future) and explore the sense of compassion and love that is in this book. It’s a heart breaking story but I will admit I cried more in the adaptation than I did in the book. I know I haven’t mentioned the French Revolution which is a huge part of this book, but it really is hard to review a book that is so packed with ideas and still cover the plot points as well.

While this book did take a while to get through and at times I was struggling to enjoy it. In the end I found this to be worth the journey. Now that I’ve also seen the most recent movie adaptation I would probably recommend people just watch that. But if you are interested in digesting a book this size and exploring the ideas it raises or you just love to read great literature then make sure Les Misérables is on your to-read list.

This review appeared originally on my blog; http://literary-exploration.com/2013/02/14/book-review-les-miserables/

[Angie]

[brokentune]

I had to re-read Les Miserables. I fell in love with the story on the first read, but not the language. Having seen a few adaptations on stage and screen in the few years since my first read of the book, it has not lost any of its original appeal but I noticed that in all the adaptations I was drawn to Javert almost more than to Valjean. So, it was time to rediscover the original characters from the book... I still don't find the language used adequately telling the story - but maybe that's a translation issue. (And yeah, Javert is still the character that intrigues me most.)

[remo]

INMENSA novela sobre la Francia postrevolucionaria, sobre el bien y el mal, la afrenta y el perdón, sobre la buena estrella y la mala suerte, sobre el castigo y la redención. Sobre el ser humano. Es grandiosa y es bella. Absolutamente recomendable.