I’m SO close to finishing Les Mis and all you want to talk about is the sewer of Paris, Hugo. Whhhhhyyyyy??
I’m SO close to finishing Les Mis and all you want to talk about is the sewer of Paris, Hugo. Whhhhhyyyyy?? ?
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It’s right in the title, miserable. I couldn’t get through it. You’re a better person than I, maybe the Hunchback of Notre Dame might be better
@Nikki Do not read the ending of Hunchback of Notre Dame first. I made that mistake years ago and never ended up finishing the book.
That part drove me insane.
Get the Norman Denny translation and you will fall deeply in love with it
I have no idea what version I have! ? It’s a penguin classics and it’s 1230 pages, so I assume a little has been cut out of mine. The story is amazing, but the digressions, Hugo, ugh why? ?
Crystal Lindner
That’s the one I have and I am reading. Has a great Notes section.
This is serious reading, but Hugo has a great sense of humor if you’ve got an inclination to laugh!
I just watched the latest BBC Adaptation a few days ago, it was really good. Will need to read the book now. Here is the trailer for anyone interested in it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=isQGHwWyJ6k
@Sandra Any idea if it will be coming to Netflix or hulu?
@Crystal not sure. It’s showing on Foxtel and in the US on PBS Masterpiece.
Because sewers matter.
@Stephanie exactly ?
Where would our civilization be withou a sewer?
@Kathy down the gutter – ha! ha!
I couldn’t resist 😉
You don’t need to focus on all the tiny details of the sewers, at least I didn’t and it never affected the story at all.
Crystal Linder
PBS is running a six part series on Sunday nights. It looked so good to me, I ordered a used edition of the book. I love it!
I ordered used, but they sent me new for same price.
I love the book so much, but the sewers in Paris must be the largest in the world! Page after page after page!! ?The best police chase book ever! Thanks to the modern movie I was able to reread with Hugh Jackman as Valjean in my head ? This is a great classic in my opinion.
@Deb I agree that the story is wonderfully constructed, but I think Alexandre Dumas is still my favorite long story teller.
It’s a bit like Moby Dick, but I haven’t figured out why the sewers.
Did the homeless live in.the sewers?
@Marie right, it seemed like with all the battle scenes, though a couple were extra wordy, that they always added more emphasis to the story, but with the sewers… I mean “they were an enormous, smelly labyrinth” would have sufficed for the 10 extra pages ?
@Kathy, he didn’t really mention it being a living place for the homeless but more of a hide out for criminals.
@Crystal But it’s funny that for a time people actually took tours in the Parisian sewers, because they were so impressive, so…
Too dangerous to play in sewers.
?? I remember feeling the same about this chapter
I visited the Paris sewers on a guided tour only because of him!!!
I think he gets distracted quite easily!
I am on the battle of Waterloo and started reading pet cemetery along side it to break it up ? Loving the actual story parts of the book though.
That’s some combination!
That part gets good at the end! Something to look forward to!
@Lucy pet sematary is pretty creepy , good book.
Sean Gallagher
Is Pet Cemtary a classic?
@Kathy in my opinion no, it probably will be at some point. It must be a good age now though. I like the book though ?
Just skim that part. Move ahead.
So people will clean up Paris!
You have to understand the architecture and environment of a sewer of that period to get the full impact of what happens there. Stick with it.
Take notes, you can go ninja turtle hunting.
Crystal Linder
You must be a very strong woman! I just recejved my copy in tbe mail, all 1400+ pages. It was a new copy and very heavy, about 2 pounds.
How many pages of this book did you read each day?☺
This is not abridged. It’s the whole deal.
@Kathy I tried to read 50-80 pages a day. I think if I would have stopped I probably would have given it up. The Count of Monte Cristo is still my favorite long read so far. I can’t remember any slow points in that one! ?
It takes time to keep checking the Notes section and translating tbe French.
1,900 pages in the original French, 1,400 in English! I read it in French class junior year, saw the stage musical several times on Broadway and the school edition several more times in high schools. Still waiting to produce it. Every time it reopens on Broadway or is on the road nearby, they withhold the rights if you live within 30 miles of Broadway. I am loving the production currently on PBS at 9 pm. In every production I’ve seen, the scenes in the sewers are relative short…just enough time to see how cleverly the set designer used lighting (and dripping water!) and for Jean Valjean to sing a song.
There’s a copy with both French and English in the same edition.
Also there are editions for kids 5-7 years old.
@Crystal
Check out the editions for kids 5-7 years old!