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Les Miserables

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Les Miserables

By: Victor Hugo
Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
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Summary

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.

(P)1996 Blackstone Audio, Inc. Classics Genre Fiction Historical Fiction Literary Fiction Fiction Crime Middle Ages
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Critic Reviews

“Still manages to grip the reader with its epic narrative sweep and all-embracing humanism.”

(Sunday Times (London))

“A sprawling, robust novel.”

(Daily Mail (London))

“A humanist masterpiece.”

(The Guardian (London))

“Davidson’s exquisitely nuanced interpretation of Les Misérables expertly reflects the excellence of Hugo’s literary and political classic.”

(Booklist (audio review))
All stars
Most relevant
I follow Frederick Davidson to wherever he narrates. He had a unique gift.
Les Miserables is a tapestry of Justice and Mercy, for which I haven't seen a parallel outside Scripture.
Beware, French Literature pivots on the poignancy of death. Dry eyes only for cold hearts or unimaginative ones.

It's a Classic for a Reason

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A masterpiece... and just as relevant and docially insightful today as when it was written

Hugo's Classic

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I know he’s famous for his narration but I found the reader’s voice unbearable. I’ve already dumped other books with him, but somehow I ended up with this one. His affected way of talking is likened to the camp comedian Tom Allen.
The fabulous story is what made me continue.

Terrible narrator

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I struggled at first with the sneering tone in the narration, either that changed or I got used to it, but by about 3 hours in, I began to enjoy it and loved the narration by the end. I thoroughly loved this book, the story, the characters, the settings, the era, and the battles between characters and their conscience, which makes this for me a perfect read.

A perfect book

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Only able to listen to 2 chapters, could not get into this book at all.
definitely not to our liking.

Dissatisfied listener

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