Les Misérables: Translated by Julie Rose

By: Victor Hugo, Julie Rose - translator

Narrated by: George Guidall

Length: 60 hrs and 26 mins

Publisher's summary

One of the great classics of world literature and the inspiration for the most beloved stage musical of all time, Les Misérables is legendary author Victor Hugo’s masterpiece. This extraordinary English version by renowned translator Julie Rose captures all the majesty and brilliance of Hugo’s work. Here is the timeless story of the quintessential hunted man—Jean Valjean—and the injustices, violence, and social inequalities that torment him.

©2008 Random House (P)2011 Recorded Books, LLC

Critic reviews

“Rich and gorgeous. This is the [translation] to read.” ( Times (London))

Excellent!

Amazing work of literature, great translation and wonderful performance. Every individual should listen to this work.

I finished!!

This is not a book for the average reader. I love this story, but this book is long. I had to work at finishing this. However, this is one of the most profound and insightful books on humanity and our connection with God. If God is not your thing, then you and victor Hugo would be friends. He was a agnostic pessimist. However, his insights on humanity and their connection with God are miles beyond other writers.

Great Translation for English Speakers

Would you recommend this audiobook to a friend? If so, why?

Yes, I tried to listen to Les Miserables Unabridged Narrated by Frederick Davidson - countless times and due to the translation it was slow going and I could never finish it. This translation by Julie Rose is wonderful and flows as you would expect an native English story to. As anyone with a thesaurus can attest there are countless ways to say the same thing in English. Julie Rose has a knack of choosing the right words!

What other book might you compare Les Misérables: Translated by Julie Rose to and why?

As mentioned above the other version on audible is not translated into English as fluently.

What does George Guidall bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?

He's wonderful. He has a wonderful aged voice - he's a master story teller!

Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?

Fantine's death and plea for the care of her daughter Cosette - always a tear jerker!

There Is No Greater Book Written By Man.

Les Miserables is very much akin to scripture, and no doubt inspired from on high! A beautiful reading! Delightful from beginning to end!

Transported in space and time...

Where does Les Misérables: Translated by Julie Rose rank among all the audiobooks you’ve listened to so far?

It's one of the best. The narration touched my soul.

What did you like best about this story?

I fell in love with Jean Valjean and rooted for him and Cosette.

Have you listened to any of George Guidall’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

Too long for that!

its awesome. maybe awesomer if it was abridged?

I dug the hell out of it, but could have been spared the endless details about some of the characters and places. For example: the sewer. I didn't need the entire history of the sewer system while homeboy was escaping through it. Def. could have been spared a lot of details. that being said, I completely broke down and sobbed at the end. Just that good, just that penetrating. stunner of a book, for sure.

"A story for the ages."

Les Miserables is a gem, well worth your time. Not only is the descriptive style of Hugo enthralling, but the translation, along with the narrator, George Guidall, can keep any reader engaged for hours. This timeless classic will be sure to leave you floored by its depth and beauty, and even change the way you look at life.

Awesome from beginning to end!

I couldn't stop listening if I tried! The performance was excellent. This was probably the best audible listen I have ever heard.

Absolute best narration of an audio book!

George Guidall is an outstanding narrator. It is so much easier to listen to Guidall than to fumble and stumble over all those French names and phrases in print. Guidall's French is impeccable. This is, hands down, the best audiobook narration I have ever encountered. And this translation is by Julie Rose which is much better than the more common Isabel F. Hapgood translation.

I loved this book. The storyline is extravagant and fabulous with amazing plot twists and turns. Character development and weaving of various storylines are superb. The grand scope of this novel is simply astounding. I'm glad I finally tackled this beast.

An exploration of what it means to be human

I listened to this unabridged piece of classic french literature with an overall feeling of satisfaction. Victor Hugo spares no words in exploring a multitude of ideas and themes, many of which are pertinent today. Themes especially important and still pertinent include social justice, compassion, forgiveness, and self-determination to name a few.

Hugo seems to take great delight in characters who are seemingly ordinary. He writes convincingly about them and illustrates each vividly and intricately weaves them all together.

The protagonist, Jean Valjean struggles mightily in life finally finding peace and meaning in choosing to define himself rather than allow society to define him as a subhuman convict; rising above the animal instincts that allowed him to survive as a galley slave. He ends up saving others along the way.

It was a rather long book which was a bit exhausting. But, I was ultimately glad that I listened to this masterpiece, and would recommend it to any who love good classic literature.