Les Miserables

By: Victor Hugo

Narrated by: Frederick Davidson

Length: 57 hrs and 48 mins

Publisher's summary

Set in the Parisian underworld and plotted like a detective story, Les Miserables follows Jean Valjean, originally an honest peasant, who has been imprisoned for 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister's starving family. A hardened criminal upon his release, he eventually reforms, becoming a successful industrialist and town mayor. Despite this, he is haunted by an impulsive former crime and is pursued relentlessly by the police inspector Javert.

Hugo describes early 19th-century France with a sweeping power that gives his novel epic stature. Among the most famous chapters are the account of the battle of Waterloo and Valjean's flight through the Paris sewers.

(P)1996 Blackstone Audiobooks

Amazing but long read

I had seen the broadway play and wanted to learn more about the story. It is a long, sometimes tedious read but worth the effort. The frequent diversions are what sometimes go on to long but the reader makes the prose almost poetic and he is able to keep your interest even during these periods. His singing voice does get annoying but his ability to read this long story and make these characters so real makes up for that. I am glad I devoted the time to this book and definitely recommend it.

What an incredible narration

What an incredible narration. If the spoken French had not been so distracting and hard to understand because of his accent, it would have been perfect. If you are not bilingual, I don’t think you will notice.

This book speaks for itself!

If you enjoy the musical then you owe it to yourself to hear the unabridged version that gives so much more details and intertwined relationships in a way that only Victor Hugo can deliver.

Who am I?

This question is, to me, the whole of this story. A never ending search for identity and a want to mold said identity. It comes, not so much in the form of an answer but, as a challenge to the reader. 24601.

Not a professor, nor do I have any true education in Classical literature, so I don't deign to critique this work from any place other than "reader". That being said the story of JVJ is remarkable and when the novel tracks him and his adventure it truly sings, however there are hours of time spent away from our main tale that seems, at best, superfluous.

For example, would the narrative have been altered by trimming down the descriptions and machinations of the battle of Waterloo? Or how about the history of the sewers of Paris? Probably not. That they occurred or existied sure, but both descriptions go on for hours (not hyperbole).

Also, Hugo, has an odd habit of writing "etc" and then not moving on. There was at least 45 minutes of Gavorche singing in french with etc put in every few lines. It seemed a bit much.

All that being said it is a timeless work and I know that the style then was different than modern writing. I wonder though, what this tale would look like with an editor today, probably very much like the musical.

As for the performance, no real issues, I enjoyed his characterizations, but had to grow to enjoy the basic narrator voice which reminded me of and incredibly posh Emperor Palpatine.

With the few exceptions mentioned above, I very much enjoyed this tale and feel it hits as hard and is as topical in today's society as it must've been upon it's release.

So Good!

Well, it took me many decades to find and read this book. And it is my most favorite and most cherish books.

Find another Narrator

What did you love best about Les Miserables?

The story is great. The book can be a bit wordy and at times tedious, but the depth of the descriptions of places, characters and the general feel of the period make it worth while. Frederick Davidson is not, however the voice I want in my head as I take this journey.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Les Miserables?

This book is full of memorable moments.

How could the performance have been better?

Better narrator or combination of narrators would help.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

Lots of moments of rejoicing and tears.

Any additional comments?

Nope.

What a grand book!

I read the abridged version many years ago. This version goes into a lot of philosophy and background of the culture of the day. It comes from an age when people had time to live in a book for a while rather than rushing from beginning to end in a mad rush! I enjoyed the language very much. In speaking of the dank basement, the author states, ”The persecution of the spiders had not been organized!” How much more interesting than saying that it needed cleaning or had a lot of spiders. It is a book to savor. Enjoy!

The most amazing story, and enjoyable.

What made the experience of listening to Les Miserables the most enjoyable?

The story line

What was one of the most memorable moments of Les Miserables?

There were too many to count

What about Frederick Davidson’s performance did you like?

Good narrator, his french would have been phenomenal if I new what he was saying.

Any additional comments?

The only part I found frustrating was the long periods of background information. Riding the crest of the story line spaced out by the monotony of the background info nearly made me seasick. From anger to ecstasy and back. I would get angry and turn it off but a short while later, addicted to the story line or consumed with curiosity, I would come crawling back for more.

Outstanding!

The epitome of a timeless classic. Extremely well read(as is everything he does) - very long but well worth it

Vive la France

Les Miserables is no doubt a very great novel when read in French by a reader somewhat familiar with the subjects treated. It is still a great novel when read in English by a reader (listener) to whom great chunks are incomprehensible. I think it is more difficult to read closely than War and Peace, a book to which it might reasonably be compared. Frederick Davidson (David Case) was, of course, one of the great masters. He is wonderful in narrative and equally convincing in male, female and juvenile characters. I especially admire his petit Gavroche.