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If you have read the book by Victor Hugo Les Miserables, tell us what you thought! I finished reading the unabridged version earlier this year, and I love it with all my heart. It is an amazing book. Amazing.

What do you think of it? (If you haven't read it, read it, and then tell us what you think!)

I bought a beautiful folio edition about a year ago and have still not gotten around to reading it yet. I will read it soon and let you know what I think.

Alright, I look forward to your reply

No probs, it may take a while though, I have about 5 books on the backburner now. I may have to move it up the list.

That is definately one of those books on my "To Read" list. In fact I'll be sure to make it my next read!!

No I haven't read it.. but it seems to be one of the favorites of so many authors. I definitely want to read this.. What is it about BTW?

About six months ago, I was struggling to adjust to a major change in my work schedule because I had joined a new company. It was around the time of my 30th birthday and, perhaps, something about the number made me introspect a lot about where I had reached in life. Call it the cliched 'mid-life crisis' but it was really unnerving when I evaluated my life. Eventually I sought refuge in books, as always. Hugo's 'Les Miserables' was one of the books I started reading and before I realized, I zipped through to the 600th page. The fluid prose, notwithstanding that its a translation, and the vibrant characters seems to open up a world that I felt I belonged to. Distinctly Romantic and yet Modern, the novel at times took the form of a picaresque narrative and, at times, an epic. I had never read Hugo before and my only encounter with French Literature was Camus' 'The Outsider'. I will be reading 'The Hunchback of Notre Dame' for sure. I keep eyeing it on my bookshelf from time to time to gain a sense of delayed but inevitable pleasure!

I'm beyond it love with this book, and have been for years. The prose is so beautiful, the messages are so perfectly expressed and woven into the story, the characters are alive even in their roles as archetypes and symbols.

To those wondering what it's about: As you might guess from the number of pages, there's quite a lot of plot going on. It takes place in France, between 1814 and 1832. The main character is a convict who violates the terms of his parole and becomes a fugitive. While running, he changes, and strives to be a better person. Years later, he meets Fantine, a worker fired from his factory and thrown into brutal poverty. Later in the story, we see Marius, a young student in dire straits after disowning his complicated family, the Thénardiers, unscrupulous inn keepers-cum-thieves in the Parisian slums, their daughter Éponine, whose love for Marius is the only bright spot in a life that is destroying every part of her, and the Friends of the ABC, a motley crew of student revolutionaries working towards an armed uprising.

It took me three tries to read this book, though not for lack of loving it. The first time, I checked it out from the school library and didn't have enough time to finish it. The second time, I read until my favorite characters (the revolutionaries) were dead. The third time, I read it all the way through, then promptly reread it, after going through Romeo and Juliet.

It's easily one of my favorite books, and I agree with tricteuse that the characters are both alive and stand as archetypes and symbols. In fact, it's that very "archetypalness" that makes the book incredible. To avoid spoilers, I'll simply say that a certain character realizes the world can't be as flat and simple as he's always made it out to be. I love just about every moment of the book and was thrilled on rereading to find that Victor Hugo was incredibly ahead of his time when it came to religion and public education.

I read it back in tenth grade when I had to do a book report on a foreign book and I loved it! I would like to re-read it someday as I think it is a book that can provoke new thoughts each time you read it.

I've read the abridged version and I have the unabridged but haven't made my way through it yet. Its a beautiful story.

I had been planning a trip to France and while going through travel information and such I discovered Les Miserables. I fell in love. There is such great personality to this novel that is hard to capture for most writers, and especially hard for most readers to relate to. I recommend this to anyone looking for a deep, heart-wrenching read.

I absolutely loved the musical/movie of Les Mis when it came out (was that really a few years ago?). I got the free kindle edition of the book, which may have been abridged, read part of it, took an extended break, and eventually finished it. I want to read it again because I feel like Hugo captures something important about the relationship of mercy and justice, and what goodness really is. I am much more familiar with the movie than with the book, but I also like that, at least in the movie, even characters whose lives seem tragic or wasted find redemption.

I read it and I love it!

I saw the movie starring Hugh Jackman and Anne Hathaway, and I was left astounded. The words, the emotions touched me to my core. I start reading the actual novel tomorrow. I have no doubt that I'd love the book like I have loved no other till date.