Home Feed
Home
Search
Search
Add Review, Blurb, Quote
Add
Activity
Activity
Profile
Profile
Les Miserables (Illustrated)
Les Miserables (Illustrated) | Victor Hugo
Les Misrables 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, which has not been successfully translated from French (attempts ranging from The Miserable, The Wretched, The Miserable Ones, The Poor Ones, The Wretched Poor and The Victims, to The Dispossessed).Beginning in 1815 and culminating in the 1832 June Rebellion in Paris, the novel follows the lives and interactions of several characters, focusing on 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 Misrables 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
Amazon Indiebound Barnes and Noble WorldCat Goodreads LibraryThing
Pick icon
100%
blurb
Dilara
Les Misrables | Victor Hugo
post image

1. Off the top of my head, I'd say my great-grandmother's cast-iron pot. It was a wedding present, and therefore is at least 120 years old. I still use it.
2. Les misérables. There are lengths and digressions, but the core stories still resonate with people today, and I have no doubt that that will also be the case in the next century.

Thank you for the #Two4Tuesday questions, @TheSpineView
Tagging anyone who wants to play...

TheSpineView Thanks for playing! 2mo
AnishaInkspill oldest thing - a very battered ed of tennyson\'s poem, book dated 1909 2mo
Dilara @AInkspill I\'m impressed! And welcome to Litsy, I hope you\'ll like it here 💐 2mo
AnishaInkspill @Dilara hi, just finding my way round 😃 2mo
30 likes4 comments
blurb
Kristin_Reads
post image

It‘s the season for summer beach reads, and my TBR pile is sky high, so what did I do… why I bought the thickest chunkster on my bucket list and ignored everything else! (As one does…) I‘m just 30 pages in (out of 1350) … maybe I‘ll be done by summer‘s end?!

Jari-chan 💪💪💪 6mo
Kristin_Reads @Jari-chan 🤣 Yes, it‘s so heavy it‘s a true arm workout! 6mo
41 likes2 comments
review
IndoorDame
post image
Pickpick

I actually finished it! It took a year & a half of reading on & off & several false starts before that, but while I couldn‘t get it to sustain my attention consistently, I really loved this when I was actually reading it! The French history plot line went over my head & I can‘t seem to follow battle scenes, but I loved how suffused this was with progressive philosophy, raw emotion, & beautiful writing. I‘d totally make this a🏝️📖pick. #doublespin

slategreyskies Wow! I‘ve heard great things about this book. So much so, I‘ve even purchased a copy of it for my Kindle, but it feels kinda overwhelming to start. I‘m so glad you enjoyed it! ❤️ 7mo
IndoorDame @slategreyskies I won‘t tell you how many years I had a copy sitting on my shelf unread before I even attempted it the first time 🤣 7mo
TheBookHippie @slategreyskies @IndoorDame I read a chapter a day in 2020. It was my saving grace. One of my top ten favorite books of all time. I still have the print out if you want a copy @slategreyskies 😅😂🤣 7mo
See All 15 Comments
Ruthiella Well done! 👏👏👏 The actual story was good but all the digressions were very hard personally for me to get through! 😅 7mo
dabbe Bravo! 🤩🤩🤩 7mo
IndoorDame @TheBookHippie I can imagine! 2020 was a lot like a 🏝️ 7mo
IndoorDame @dabbe thanks! You finishing War and Peace was a huge inspiration for me to pick this up again in Jan. (That will not be my next intimidating book though. I need a break from scary Russian lit!) 7mo
slategreyskies @IndoorDame I get that. I‘m not sure when I first purchased a copy, but this one gives me the side eye every time I purchase yet another chunkster when I haven‘t even started reading this one yet. 🤣 7mo
slategreyskies @TheBookHippie I remembered how much you loved it, and I almost tagged you when I saw this post! 🤣 what sort of print out do you have? Is it notes or something? I already have a Kindle version of it, but I don‘t have a hard copy or notes yet. 7mo
TheBookHippie @slategreyskies it‘s the daily reading schedule broken down 365 chapters - 365 days I did take extensive notes 😳🤭 I posted monthly summations as well on my blog that is essentially just for me. 😂😂😂😂 7mo
wanderinglynn Congrats! 👏🏻👏🏻👏🏻🎉🥂 That‘s an accomplishment. This book continues to sit on my TBR shelf. 😆 7mo
slategreyskies @TheBookHippie I‘m not sure if I need the print out or not, but just out of curiosity, do you have a favorite translation/translator? I have the Christine Donougher translation. It looks good, I think. 7mo
curiouserandcurioser @IndoorDame great accomplishment!! My daughter and I are in the midst of this and though it is taking us awhile, we both LOVE it:) 7mo
TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!! Fantastic accomplishment!!!! 7mo
58 likes15 comments
blurb
Meshell1313
post image

@Rissreads What a generous and thoughtful #missmydad giveaway. This made me immediately think of reading Les Mis in high school with my best friend who passed away recently. After we read it we had to go see the Broadway show about a dozen times. I can‘t see this book without thinking about him. ❤️

KateReadsYA I'm sorry for your loss ❣️ 9mo
AnnCrystal 💕🫂📒🎭🎬💝. (edited) 9mo
Rissreads It sounds like you had a lot of fun together. ♥️ Thank you for participating (edited) 9mo
38 likes3 comments
blurb
IndoorDame
post image

#weirdwords #weirdwordwednesday @CBee

adjective FORMAL
adjective: matutinal
of or occurring in the morning

This one is super fun to say! And once I looked it up and found it‘s meaning, and that it was from the Latin, I realized it must be related to matins which I just learned about from Call The Midwife (so I totally defy whoever said TV wasn‘t educational 😆)

CBee I love Call the Midwife ♥️♥️ 10mo
IndoorDame @CBee it‘s so good!!! 10mo
dabbe 🤩🤩🤩 10mo
See All 6 Comments
TheBookHippie I love Call the Midwife 10mo
IndoorDame @TheBookHippie I just finished the latest season, so now I‘m feeling all at loose ends! 10mo
TheBookHippie @IndoorDame patiently waiting for season 13 to drop… 10mo
38 likes6 comments
blurb
IndoorDame
post image

One day back into reading Hugo and as usual I need help from my Litsy fam of French speakers or classicists… Google translate says pantoufloche means slipper and white I love the sound of “by the pantoufloche of the pantoufloche” as a swear, the connotation of by the slipper of the slipper is totally lost on me 🤷🏻‍♀️

Dilara French native speaker here! “Slipper“ is “pantoufle“. “Pantoufloche“ and “pantouflochade“ are made-up words, which to my ear sound both cutesy and ridiculous, in part because of their proximity with “pantoufle“, in part because of the way they sound. They are being used instead of ruder expletives (it's unclear which though). I don't think there is any more to it 😁. In any case, they don't seem to be in any dictionary, current or old... 11mo
IndoorDame @Dilara thank you! 🙏😁 I knew asking Litsy was the way to go! The only thing I don‘t like about this translation is that a few times I‘ve run into something like this where a footnote would‘ve really enhanced my understanding of the whole chapter. 11mo
Dilara @IndoorDame I am with you on footnotes: I love them and could never understand why some people are against them... 11mo
41 likes1 stack add3 comments
blurb
IndoorDame
post image

I bailed on a CAD read of this last spring. I was around 40% which was significantly further than I‘d gotten in any of my previous attempts. You‘d think after 3? tries I‘d just give up, but I‘ve really enjoyed this every time, and right now I‘m actually able to pick up from where I left off instead of starting over, so maybe this is the year I finally finish it?

MatchlessMarie Same! I am historically horrible at buddy 😅 reads but I am going to try and finish Les Mis this year too. 11mo
Roary47 You got this! It‘s one I would like to tackle sometime in the near future. 11mo
See All 7 Comments
ChaoticMissAdventures Good luck!! I have tried this unsuccessfully a few times myself. 11mo
Ruthiella You can do it! 👍 11mo
dabbe Maybe I should make a 4th attempt. Maybe. Who's the translator in your edition? 🤗 11mo
IndoorDame @dabbe this is a Isabel F. Hapgood translation which I‘m really liking. My first attempt was my dad‘s Signet paperback from the 60s or 70s which I think is a Lee Fahnestock and Norman Macafee translation, and I ditched it because the pages were literally falling out, but I think I remember the English being way fussier in that one… (edited) 11mo
49 likes7 comments
blurb
dariazeoli
Les Misrables | Victor Hugo
post image

I‘ve reached the last hundred pages of #LesMisCAD! I‘m excited to check it off my list at the end of the month.

Anyone doing a yearlong read next year? I was considering a series like Throne of Glass or something on those lines.

blurb
dariazeoli
Les Misrables | Victor Hugo
post image

I just don‘t know if I‘m ready for this…

#LesMisCAD

dabbe I tried three times and finally bailed. After seeing the Broadway musical 9 times, the book moved way too slowly for me, so I #hailedthebail! 😀 12mo
30 likes1 comment
blurb
dariazeoli
Les Misrables | Victor Hugo
post image

#LesMisCAD

A little fall of rain, can hardly hurt me now…

Today was the day. (I‘ve been reading forever.)

review
bekakins
Mehso-so

#doublespin #scarathlon #mischifandmayhem It‘s only taken A YEAR but I have finally finished Les Mis after plowing through a chapter a day. I was torn between a pick and so-so - the overarching story is really good, but there‘s so much unnecessary fluff (eg; the section on Waterloo, Paris) that detracts from the main plot. This could have been about half the length and would have been way better IMO.

PuddleJumper That's a chonky book and so dense! Amazing! 14mo
TheAromaofBooks YAY!!! Fantastic work!!! 14mo
AnnR 👏👏👏 14mo
11 likes3 comments
blurb
vonnie862
post image

Do you hear the people sing?
#lesmis

RaeLovesToRead Lovely pic 😊 1y
LiteraryinPA One of my all time favorites!! 1y
Deblovestoread Beautiful pic and my favorite show! 1y
39 likes3 comments
quote
bekakins
post image

This months #bookspin is a chapter a day of Les Mis - I‘m over 80% through now! I actually read this sentence a few weeks back but it‘s really stuck with me cos it‘s so utterly depressing 🤣

TheAromaofBooks I have to admit this is one classic I've never been tempted to tackle!!! 1y
bekakins @TheAromaofBooks it‘s got some good parts but there‘s an awful lot of fluff in it 🤣 I reckon it‘d be wayyyy better if it was half the length! 1y
11 likes2 comments
review
GinaKButler
post image
Pickpick

Finally done. This is certainly not my favorite classic, but I‘m glad I‘ve finished it.

It was my Q2 #chunksterchallenge2023 pick.

Looking forward to a more contemporary chunk for Q3.

@Amiable @Kelly326

Amiable Excellent effort! I'm with you on the book -- I didn't love it, but I'm glad I read it. Mostly because that means I am fully qualified to complain about it. Ha ha! 😀 1y
Kelly326 Almost there…. 1y
28 likes2 comments
blurb
GinaKButler
post image

950 pages in…planning on finishing this #chunksterchallenge2023 pick in June!

@Amiable
#bookspinbingo

Amiable Good luck! 👍🏼 2y
30 likes1 comment
blurb
dariazeoli
Les Misrables | Victor Hugo
post image

A further small digression, you say? Basically foreign to this book, you say?

Victor, I‘m still trying to get the image of women on their knees licking crosses on the floor out of my head. Ready to rejoin our main characters when you are, sir!

#LesMisCAD

Tamra Funny! 2y
34 likes2 comments
blurb
IndoorDame
post image

Why do I have the nagging sense that I‘ve seen a version of this somewhere? Is it quoted frequently? Did one of the Brontë sisters write a similar scene? Am I just crazy and experiencing deja vu…? #LesMisCAD @dariazeoli @MatchlessMarie

blurb
dariazeoli
Les Misrables | Victor Hugo
post image

Yesterday was my first missed chapter for #LesMisCAD - I‘m impressed that I kept it up for nearly 4 months! It seems like this weekend‘s chapters were meant to be read together, anyway, so no harm done.

Learning about the nuns and their daily life was truly something. Hugo painted a picture by describing their yellow teeth and their penance while kneeling on the stone floor for hours. Sounds miserable to me!

IndoorDame 4 months is an amazing streak!👏👏👏 2y
Cuilin I didn‘t know there was a buddy read for this. I just started this. Lol 2y
IndoorDame What chapter did you read for today? I also missed a day this week and this morning got confused thinking maybe I missed 2 days and am still a chapter behind… 2y
dariazeoli @IndoorDame 6.2 - The Rule of Martin Vega 2y
IndoorDame @dariazeoli perfect! Thanks!!! 2y
28 likes5 comments
blurb
IndoorDame
post image

#LesMisCAD @dariazeoli @MatchlessMarie I‘ve never experienced a chase scene in this fragmented slow motion before. It‘s really odd. I was tempted to just read straight through to the end of this section, but I got worried I‘d lose momentum on our CAD pacing that I‘m actually doing really well with! if I started messing with it. And then I started wondering why the chase is broken up into so many characters in the first place…?

dariazeoli I haven‘t missed a day yet (!) and agree with you; it‘s a little odd to read in bits and pieces. I just had a vision of the “Take on Me” video - Javert at one end of the path, his henchman at the other. Where does Morten Harket, I mean, Jean Valjean, go??? 2y
IndoorDame @dariazeoli omg, I‘d totally forgotten about that video! Such a perfect image for this sequence!!! 2y
52 likes2 comments
blurb
GinaKButler
post image
Amiable How are you liking it? 2y
BarbaraBB It gets better by the page don‘t you think? 2y
GinaKButler @BarbaraBB @Amiable Let me get through this battle at Waterloo and I‘ll let you know. 😂 2y
BarbaraBB Lol just skim that one and return to the main characters 😉 2y
38 likes4 comments
blurb
IndoorDame
post image

I couldn‘t find a translation for the little parody included in today‘s chapter online. Are either of you reading an edition that gives the English for this? Or are any Littens fluent in French? #LesMisCAD @dariazeoli @MatchlessMarie

RaeLovesToRead Mr Raven on his perch, held an enforceable seizure in his beak, Mr Fox, by the enticing smell, pretty much told him this story, Hey! Hello! (With some help from Google translate...) (yeah, I must be getting this wrong... 🤔 my French isn't great.) 2y
RaeLovesToRead Actually I think Mr Raven may be perched on a file... 2y
IndoorDame @RaeLovesToRead it‘s infinitely better than mine 😂 Thank you!! 2y
See All 12 Comments
Ruthiella @RaeLovesToRead I think you have it right, and yes, Mr. Crow is perched on a file. I think there must be a satirical element here. Maybe a child‘s rhyme converted to reflect legal proceedings? @Dilara Do you know? 2y
Dilara @Ruthiella It's a satirical reworking of the Crow & Fox fable by La Fontaine about a cunning fox who steals a cheese from a crow by flattering it and persuading it to sing. The crow opens its beak and drops the cheese it was holding, and the fox runs away with it. We all learned it at school 😁
Its moral is “Learn that each flatterer
Lives at the cost of those who heed.“
http://lafontaine.mmlc.northwestern.edu/fables/corbeau_renard_en.html
(edited) 2y
IndoorDame @Dilara @Ruthiella thank you!! I really appreciate the help ❤️ 2y
Dilara @Ruthiella In this case, the crow is perched on a file (Rae was right) and is holding a “saisie exécutoire“, which seems (legalese isn't my forte) to be an order allowing the selling of seized assets. 2y
IndoorDame @Dilara ah, that makes sense 😁 2y
Dilara @IndoorDame Happy to be of help! 😁 I don't understand why a translation wasn't provided in the version you're reading, though 🙃 2y
ImperfectCJ Jumping in after lurking to say that I love this thread! I've been studying French (via Duolingo, which I don't quite trust to give me usable language), and was pleased by how many words I could put together, but dismayed by how little meaning I could get out of it. @Dilara 's link and insights were very helpful! 2y
IndoorDame @Dilara no clue! Frustratingly, the occasional French phrase is defined in my edition, but I‘ve found no pattern to the ones they pick 😣🤷🏻‍♀️ 2y
IndoorDame @ImperfectCJ parody is always a tough place to try out parsing a new language. You can be practically fluent and still miss puns and cultural cues that the whole joke hinges on. But congrats on successfully studying with Duolingo! I‘ve never gotten further than using it as a refresh (edited) 2y
44 likes12 comments
blurb
IndoorDame
This post contains spoilers
show me
post image

I know enough of the story from the musical/pop culture, to feel reassured that Cosette‘s trust in JVJ isn‘t misplaced, but I can‘t decide if w the life she‘s led, her reaction to him so far is supposed to be indicative of incredible insight into human nature or incredible naïveté? Cause in essence a stranger just bought a little girl & that scenario doesn‘t usually end well. Even the little gifts he‘s given her don‘t usually bode well. #LesMisCAD

blurb
IndoorDame
post image

Okay, I‘m super happy to have left Waterloo and be back in the heart of the story, but did we seriously spend a month reading about that battle just for the sake the last line when we get the names Thenardier and Pontmercey? Even supposing one is intended to read this wasaay faster than we are, that seems excessive… 😠 #LesMisCAD @MatchlessMarie @dariazeoli

dariazeoli Thank you for the preview that I‘ll be leaving this hell later today 😆 I have to say I‘m really worried about the sewer section if this tome that I‘ve heard about. I hope we get to stay with our characters for awhile! 2y
IndoorDame @dariazeoli definitely! 2y
BarbaraBB I have this same edition. It‘s gorgeous don‘t you think? 2y
See All 6 Comments
IndoorDame @BarbaraBB yes! I love this edition! ♥️ 2y
Daisey That is absolutely the longest section of the book! It‘s been years since I read it, and I still remember how annoyed I was by the end. 2y
IndoorDame @Daisey haha glad it wasn‘t just me! 2y
52 likes6 comments
review
Mollyanna
post image
Pickpick

It took over two years, but I finally finished. Boy do I have lots of thoughts…. I both loved and detested this novel/history lesson/philosophy book. This was my #chunksterchallenge for 2021.

In the end, I am going with a low pick, but there were times that it was a so-so.

Also, my second finish for #20in4

Andrew65 That‘s some achievement. Well done 👏👏👏🎉 2y
Mollyanna @andrew65 Thank you. I may have sat there stunned for a bit when I turned the final page 😊 2y
Andrew65 @Mollyanna 🤣🤣🤣 2y
Amiable YAY! FANTASTIC!! I'm so proud of you! That is the ultimate commitment to taking down a chunkster! (And I'm with you -- I did not love this book. But I'm glad that I finished it. 😬) 2y
Mollyanna @Amiable Thank you! 😄. I can‘t believe I finally finished it… there were definitely times that I considered throwing it across the room. I am glad I finished it though. 2y
27 likes5 comments
blurb
IndoorDame
post image

Is anyone else getting sick of Waterloo?! I flipped ahead and we have 10 more days of the battle before we get to the next book and back to our story 😩#LesMisCAD @MatchlessMarie @dariazeoli

dariazeoli Oh nooooo - 10 more days of this? I‘m with you; so sick of it. 2y
IuliaC This cover though 😍 2y
IndoorDame @IuliaC I‘ve been super happy with this edition!!! 2y
See All 12 Comments
Liz_M Ha! My reaction to this when I was reading it was that I was so engrossed, I couldn't put it down until I found out who won! 2y
IndoorDame @Liz_M I expect that‘s totally the intention 😊 I know I tend to glaze over at long action sequences in books so it‘s probably me. Plus I know who won. Waterloo has actually come up in a surprising number of my books so far this year 🙃 2y
KristiAhlers Y'all are reading my favorite classic of all time! Jean Valjean is an amazing character 2y
dabbe That's how I'm feeling reading WAR AND PEACE. I want more PEACE (and a storyline besides kill, kill, kill). 🤣 2y
IndoorDame @dabbe haha. I may have to skip that one… 2y
dabbe @IndoorDame And I don't know if Waterloo is in it yet, but Napoleon sure is! 🤣 2y
Liz_M @IndoorDame 😂 That was the point of the joke, I certainly know who lost Waterloo 🤣🤣🤣 2y
IndoorDame @Liz_M lol 😂 I don‘t like to assume people know the same things I do since I‘ve seen heavily education is influenced by what part of the world you live in… 2y
51 likes12 comments
blurb
GinaKButler
post image

Here we go…the 2nd chunkster for @Kelly326 and I in 2023! Our plan is to finish it by the end of June.

@Amiable
#chunksterchallenge2023

Amiable Good luck! This wasn‘t one of my favorites. 2y
TheKidUpstairs Best of luck! Beautiful edition 😍 2y
IndoorDame Love that edition!!! 2y
JamieArc I have that édition to and plan to get to it soon! 2y
38 likes1 stack add4 comments
blurb
dariazeoli
Les Misrables | Victor Hugo
post image

If I‘m not mistaken, today‘s chapter is the longest thus far, as Jean Valjean struggles with making a choice between admitting his identity or letting another man go to the gallows in his place. What would you do on his shoes? 🤔

#LesMisCAD

IndoorDame I wish I had any sort of answer for that question! At first I thought him asking what would happen to all the people who now relied on him was just a rationalization, but then I realized that in a world without social services to fall back even if the question started out self serving, it isn‘t only that. He really does have to decide whose life is more valuable, or how many… I‘m glad I don‘t have a life that requires making that kind of choice! 2y
dabbe Who am I? #24601! 🤣❣️🤣 2y
dariazeoli @IndoorDame I‘m with you - not an easy choice in the least! 2y
dariazeoli @dabbe 🎵 Who am I?
Can I condemn this man to slavery
Pretend I do not feel his agony
This innocent who wears my face
Who goes to judgement in my place
Who am I?🎶
2y
dabbe @dariazeoli
Can I conceal myself for evermore?
Pretend I'm not the man I was before?
And must my name until I die
Be no more than an alibi?
Must I lie? ... 🎹
(edited) 2y
30 likes5 comments
blurb
IndoorDame
post image

#LesMisCAD @MatchlessMarie @dariazeoli

And so we meet Javert. We‘re told plainly that he is a symbol. His spirit animal is the wolf that the mother would have killed because he would have eaten the rest of the litter. Could Hugo have set up a more unlikable character?!

dariazeoli Wow. I‘m a little surprised at just how one-sided Hugo‘s description is! I always got the sense from the musical that we were supposed to be conflicted about him. 2y
IndoorDame @dariazeoli I expect a lot of changes were made for the stage adaptation. We‘ll have to wait and see if it‘s the whole nature of the character that they changed, or if something shifts later in the book and the play just compresses the timeline 2y
thebackyardgnome And to think that thr guy is based on a real person! 2y
IndoorDame @thebackyardgnome he must have been intense to inspire so many writers! 2y
54 likes4 comments
blurb
IndoorDame
post image

#LesMisCAD I got a few days behind and realized how unclear it is what chapter I was supposed to read to to catch up, so I found this schedule online… it was made for a 2018 read, but if you ignore that part the rest of it should work for us. I figure all of us will miss days here and there so I wanted to share it with you. http://www.nicksenger.com/onecatholiclife/wp-content/uploads/2017/11/Les-Miserab...

Ruthiella I followed that 2018 online read along in 2018! It‘s a great resource. 2y
IndoorDame @Ruthiella what a fun coincidence! 2y
MatchlessMarie Awesome! 2y
dariazeoli Thank you! I‘m impressed with myself for not missing a day yet. Of course, the year is still young and this will surely come in handy 😉 2y
55 likes4 comments
quote
MatchlessMarie
Les Misrables | Victor Hugo
post image
blurb
dariazeoli
Les Misrables | Victor Hugo
This post contains spoilers
show me
post image

I am so mad right now 😡

#LesMisCAD

IndoorDame What a heartless way to leave them! 😡 2y
11 likes2 comments
blurb
bekakins
post image

#bookspinbingo board! I normally try to get my book spin read done early in the month, but for Feb it‘s my les mis chapter a day so won‘t be done until the very end! This has been a really good way to break this beast down! It‘s pretty heavy going at times and there‘s a lot of unnecessary fluff, but I‘m enjoying it in the main!

TheAromaofBooks Woohoo!!! I have found a chapter a day has helped me knock out a lot of “hard“ books over the last year or so. 2y
11 likes1 comment
quote
dariazeoli
Les Misrables | Victor Hugo
post image

Part One of the book is named for Fantine, and we finally meet her just over 100 pages in! It‘s interesting to hear about her before she was Cosette‘s mother.

#LesMisCAD

blurb
IndoorDame
post image

Wow! What did I just read in today‘s chapter?! That was like 6 pages of names and not a lot else! I recognized 5 or 6 really major ones from history, and 2 or 3 from this novel, but how many of the other 30 odd am I going to need going forward? Do you think I should bookmark this chapter and read it a bunch more times until it starts to make some kind of sense? Or do I just go forward and assume this is background I don‘t actually need? #LesMisCAD

dariazeoli I‘m glad I saw your post before starting today‘s chapter! I don‘t have a good answer though 🤔 May be worth flagging the chapter for later, just in case. We can shake our fists at Hugo later if those names are never mentioned again! 2y
IndoorDame @dariazeoli 🤣 good call 2y
72 likes2 comments
blurb
IndoorDame
post image

Almost at the end of Book Second. How is your reading going? The end of today‘s chapter surprised me! I remembered the plot twist with the gendarmes, but not what happened after they left. I‘ve never seen an allusion in literature before to anyone except the devil buying souls! #LesMisCAD

IuliaC Beautiful cover! 2y
IndoorDame @IuliaC thanks! I‘ve been pleased with this copy! 2y
dariazeoli I feel like this fell in line with the plot of the musical (I know, I keep referencing it, but it‘s my only experience with the story before now!) I‘m looking forward to what‘s next for book-Jean Valjean! 2y
IndoorDame @dariazeoli Le Miz was the first musical I saw and still one of my favorites! Now that we‘re reading this I‘m itching to watch a recording of the performance, but I‘m trying to hold out till after our read so that I don‘t color the experience too much. 2y
64 likes4 comments
blurb
dariazeoli
Les Misrables | Victor Hugo
post image

If you‘re following along with our Les Mis chapter a day, I know we‘re only just getting to know Jean Valjean. Care for an interlude?

Randy Rainbow had released his first video of 2023, and the clusterfuck that was the Speaker vote(s) was just asking for this!

https://youtu.be/tXoJd4BoZTQ

#LesMisCAD

IndoorDame 🤣🤣🤣 2y
Amiable “Susan Lucci vibes” 😄 2y
TheBookHippie 👀🤣🤣🤣 2y
marleed Omg - I will never hear Master of the House the same again. 2y
dabbe Oh, how I love Randy 🌈!!! 🤣🤣🤣 2y
29 likes5 comments
blurb
dariazeoli
Les Misrables | Victor Hugo
post image

In the time that I‘ve read the first 50 pages of Les Mis, I‘ve also finished 6 books 😆

The first 14 days of #LesMisCAD acquaints us with the bishop who will play an important role in the life of a convict we haven‘t met yet up till this point!

IndoorDame I remember this intro from my last stab at reading this, so book 1 was a relaxing start. Tomorrow the hard work of actually parsing the rest of the story begins, but I‘m psyched to be back in this one. 2y
LeahBergen Happy Birthday! 📚📚 2y
34 likes3 comments
blurb
dariazeoli
Les Misrables | Victor Hugo
post image

Anyone who wants to join @MatchlessMarie and I is welcome to crack open a copy of Les Mis on Sunday for #LesMisCAD! We‘ll read a chapter each day in 2023 and finish up at the end of the year. Feel free to post with the hashtag if you‘re taking the plunge with us!

I‘ve been watching this YouTuber react to the 10th Anniversary Dream Concert as a first time watcher and it brings back great memories of my first intro to the story:👇🏻

dariazeoli 3 parts are up and Eponine hasn‘t even shown up yet. https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLUakgZ7IOKW-qKxgB9gRF24vGM-BpW3cD I just realized I lied; Debbie Gibson was my first intro to the musical when she played the role in the early 90s! (edited) 2y
IndoorDame I‘d love to try and join you guys! I‘ve tried to read it before and never stuck with it, but I enjoyed the beginning, so maybe as a buddy read it work for me🤞🏼 2y
dariazeoli @IndoorDame Granted it‘s still super early but I feel like this makes it easier to catch up if we miss a day or ten 😁 2y
IndoorDame @dariazeoli I did get caught up this morning, but with something we‘re planning to read all year I expect we‘ll all be missing days along the way and getting caught back up 😁 2y
38 likes1 stack add4 comments
blurb
dariazeoli
Les Misrables | Victor Hugo
post image

I‘ve been reading Middlemarch throughout 2022 and will complete it this weekend; it was great to take it on in digestible chapters each week!

For 2023, I‘m considering tackling this beast. 365 chapters means daily reading, so I‘m a little intimidated. For those who have done this before, how did you fare?

MatchlessMarie I started it with a group a couple years back. But never finished. I was using serial reader. I would be willing to try it again lol 2y
Lcsmcat I read it years ago, when my kids were small. I ended up setting it aside and coming back months later. But it is worth however much time it takes. Even the chapter on the sewers of Paris. 😂 2y
xicanti I read it across 2.5 weeks (I remember it being a full month, but my journal from that time says otherwise) and found it a lot more absorbing than I expected. There‘s definitely a lot of padding, but even that‘s kind of fun to take in once you realize those are the bits Hugo wrote when he was short on funds and needed a high word count to pull in a larger paycheque. 2y
See All 11 Comments
BookBelle84 I did it as a chapter a day. Sometimes playing catch up or reading ahead with the shorter chapters. Once you start I found it to be one of the easier classics to follow. I never made it through Anna Karenina. 2y
JamieArc This is on my list to read and I would join you but I committed to read Middlemarch this year with a group of Littens 😊 2y
DGRachel I read it for the first time in a week. I absolutely love this book. I got pulled away in the middle of a reread, though, and really want to try again. But, I say go for it, especially if you‘ve never read it before. I love Hugo. 2y
dariazeoli Thanks for weighing in, @JamieArc @BookBelle84 @xicanti @Lcsmcat @DGRachel ! @MatchlessMarie I‘m going for it! What do ya say? #LesMisCAD? 2y
MatchlessMarie I am down. Let‘s do it! 2y
Amiable I read this for my annual chunkster challenge a few years ago. I aimed for 100 pages per week. I started on Jan. 1 and was able to finish it in mid-March, I think. Not my favorite classic, but I‘m glad I finished it. 2y
MatchlessMarie Is the book in your photo the translation you are using? The first time I attempted reading Les Mis was through Serial Reader which is the Hapgood translation I believe. I might get this one though. 2y
dariazeoli @MatchlessMarie It is - I believe it‘s the Julia Rose translation and it was only $5.99 on Amazon last week. I hear it‘s a good option so 🤞 2y
44 likes11 comments
blurb
bekakins
post image

#doublespin done! As Les Mis is 786467 pages long I‘ve broken it out into 5 chapter chunks… October‘s portion complete! Although #scarathlon has taught me I can fit in a short burst of reading before I start work, so I may continue reading a chapter of this a day so I don‘t lost momentum..

TheAromaofBooks Yay!! I have had great success plowing through some classics this year by sticking to a chapter-a-day schedule. I'm not sure I'm ready to tackle this one, though!! 2y
bekakins @TheAromaofBooks it‘s a bit of a beast! At this rate I might be done by this time next year 🤣 2y
11 likes2 comments
blurb
nanuska_153
post image

Had to share this one 😂 I'll never get over the pain that the unabridged version of Les Miserables can bring you xD

Reecaspieces Truth! 😂😂😂😂 same with War and Peace. Troop movements for days 😂 2y
nanuska_153 @Reecaspieces I know what you mean,but I have to say I didn't get bored with Tolstoy's descriptions cause I could picture what was happening (and cause I have such a crush on Prince Andrei that if you describe washing dishes cause he touched them, I'm here for it😅).Now, I got lost on the Waterloo war's chapters in Les Miserables, and then when you finish turns out the war wasn't even relevant or happening at the time of the story...that killed me 2y
Reecaspieces @nanuska_153 all of the above! ☝🏼 2y
Larkken Oh, man, yes! and this is why I can't audiobook Hugo or Tolstoy. with physical books, I can at least skim... well, flip pages when I can feel them really getting into a description, haha 😅 2y
nanuska_153 @Larkken oh I wish I could do that, I have a "need to read everything" problem that makes very difficult to leave a book unfinished and impossible to skip pages 2y
38 likes5 comments