Set in the Parisian underworld of the early nineteenth century, Les Misérables follows the adventures of Jean Valjean, once an honest peasant, who spent nineteen years in prison for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister’s starving family.
A hardened and bitter criminal upon his release, Valjean is transformed when an act of compassion by a priest, whom he robbed, saves him from returning to prison. Changing his identity and his ways, Valjean becomes a successful industrialist and eventually the town mayor.
Taking compassion on the poor, he raises the orphaned daughter of a prostitute as his own, never telling her of his shady past. Yet he is haunted by it, still pursued relentlessly by the police inspector Javert, who does not believe in moral redemption.
When Valjean’s daughter, Cosette, falls in love with a young revolutionary, Javert concocts a plot to catch both the lawless peasants and the elusive Valjean once and for all.
Full of suspense, romance, and powerful social commentary, this sweeping epic became the gospel of the oppressed and is widely considered one of the greatest French novels of its age.
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"Why did I choose to read "Les Misérables" in the first place? In truth, I do not know. I did not know what it was about. Something about France, obviously, but what? The title gave hints, a painting of little Cosette, barefoot, in rags, struggling with a broom larger than, and she the audio sample impressed… In whatever case, somewhere, somehow, I saw, or heard, something that intrigued me, enough that I would commit to spending 58 hours of my life listening to Frederick Davidson read it to me. In the end, it was clear why I saw it through to the end. I was well rewarded for the effort.
Frederick Davidson narrated over 700 audiobooks. Les Misérables was the first I heard. It will not be the last. Les Misérables was the first work of Victor Hugo I have read. Davidson brought it to life. My bucket list of books to consume, and my own mortality, permitting, it will not be the last. But why? Why did such a book leave me so moved? Davidson brought it to life, but what else?
First, in the “mechanics” of the writing. Hugo, and the translator put together a grand panorama of the social condition of France in the early 19th century, well-seasoned with accounts of such as the Napoleonic wars and other revolutions. Detailed, maybe even tedious in places, but the reader knows where he is at all times. Second, in Hugo’s grasp, and depictions, of the plight of the poor of that day; a child suddenly stripped of the care of a parent was truly in dire straits! And a convict seeking redemption in a society that has disowned him! Third, in his development of his characters; their pasts, their struggles, their motivations. Fourth, in the way the diligent reader could be drawn into the story, and feel the emotions, and internal conflicts, of each of the participants. There could be more, but…no spoilers! Pay attention, and you WILL feel this novel! You will not be unmoved!
I finished the book in a multi-hour binge on the last day. I felt truly spent. Saddened and uplifted both. I even had trouble sleeping that night, trying to process the emotional upheavals of that long story I had just finished; but, I hope I am at least more aware of the human condition that is the inevitable subject of great novels. The book IS, after all, mostly about the lives of the people having to deal with their times. Even the “bad guys” evoke sympathy.
It is a long road, but it is well worth it. "Les Misérables" is truly a great book, and Mr. Davidson’s narration truly did it justice.
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E. J. Madaj (5 out of 5 stars)