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))

Entertaining Performance, Outstanding Translation

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

The story is well known and one of my favorites. This is a must read novel. I especially appreciated the essay at the end of the audio book - it was a great way to "wind down" and contemplate what I had just experienced.

Who was your favorite character and why?

Jean Valjean, of course. He was redeemed.

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

The narration was phenomenal. The dramatic emphasis was entertaining and I never tired of listening to him, even after 60 hours.

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

Very touching in many places. This translation was noticeably more accessible and understandable than the free ebook version I read a few years ago.

Any additional comments?

After reading the unabridged version once in print and now a second time by audio, I would opt for an abridged version next time. The detail often interrupts the flow of the story taking you further away from the action than you want to be.

Amazing Book, Best Narrator Ever

This is the best story of judgement and mercy outside of the Bible I have ever read. I've only ever read abridged versions as I've been told the unabridged novel rambles and goes off on rambling tangents. I am so happy I finally listened to the book as it was meant to be written. I found the entire book to be relevant, interesting and not rambling at all. All of the background story and side story all work to make the book even more beautiful and powerful than the abridged versions. Also, the narration was superb!

The best book ever!

This is my absolute favorite book ever. No other book can bring so many deep feelings to the reader. The story of redemprion is second to none. If you havent read this book you must!

Absolutely amazing!

I had only seen the movie with Liam Neeson, the book is so rich. It had me in tears.

Best Translation, Wonderful Narrarator

The third time’s a charm! I tried two other versions before choosing this one, and, once I found it, I had no need to look further! Julie Rose translated this masterpiece into very understandable, modern English, and she brought out so much I would have missed in the earlier translations. This narrator completed the partnership! His voice made 60 hours very enjoyable and engaging, and his talent made each character distinct and recognizable. I wholeheartedly recommend this one, and I hope all of you will enjoy it as much as I did. The Brothers Karamazov, Great Expectations, Jane Eyre, The Count of Monte Cristo, Til We Have Faces, Little Women, Uncle Tom’s Cabin, Paradise Lost and … this one!

A Book that Made Me a Better Person

I'm sitting here wondering what I can possibly say in regard to Les Misérables, and feeling more than a little overwhelmed. I finished listening to the audiobook last night, and am still reeling from everything the book said and means. That being said, I'll give it my best shot. But I'll give you a warning up front: this is a long, profound book. So I'll have to write a long review to express my thoughts on it. Even so, I feel like I'm just scratching the surface.

I'll start with the Audible stuff: as a translator myself, I know how difficult Julie Rose's job was, especially with a book of this magnitude. She had to get into Hugo's brain and express the story so that English speakers could understand and appreciate the tone and atmosphere of Hugo's world correctly. While doing this, she had to be invisible and let Hugo tell the story. It's a very fine line to walk, and she did a fantastic job with it. George Guidall did excellently in his narration--each character was distinct, and their voices changed depending on their point in life, while remaining individual. Wow.

Now on to the book itself.

Les Miserables is known as one of the cornerstones of European literature--I don't think anybody will dispute that. However I think that many people are only exposed to the story through the stage version, and never really consider trying to takle the book. In many ways, I understand this. The book is LONG. The audiobook version is over 60 hours, and most print versions are well into the 1,100+ page range. Not for the faint-hearted. But people that limit themselves to only experiencing the musical version are not only putting a cap on their enjoyment of the story, but are also limiting their intellectual growth.

I'm not saying that reading this book will make you smarter, but I am saying that reading (or listening to) Les Miserables will make you think about things you've probably never considered before, and not all of those things are good. The book is dark. The book is sad. The things that happen to the characters will tear your heart out and make you want to strangle somebody at the same time. I finished listening on my commute home, and I started crying on the platform at Ueno Station in Tokyo.

Becky (my wife for those of you reading this who don't know) has frequently said that she feels that Victor Hugo was inspired as he wrote this. I can't disagree. Any book that can have such a profound impact on both the guy listening in Tokyo as well as the world has to have something more than literary genius going on. I can honestly say that having read this, I feel like I am a better person for having read (listened) to Les Miserables.

Now for the nitty-gritty. One of the ways that Hugo can do what he does is by putting characters in conflict with one another. Not just that, but he also pits one aspect of a character against another, which makes for some very interesting storytelling. The innate goodness of Jean Valjean against Javert's loyalty to justice. The greed of Mr. Thenardier against the generosity of ... pretty much anyone.

A couple things to know if you are about to embark on this: the book is not written like ones we are used to nowadays. It was even considered old-fashioned when it was published. There are times when Hugo devotes a significant amount of time to describing an event that--let's be honest--has little bearing on the story overall; the Battle of Waterloo and the importance of slang among them. He also goes on diatribes about how important certain ideas are, or how base certain thinking is. Dialog generally isn't dialog, but rather are extended sililoquy directed at another character, after which the speaking character will do something. It's not often that you actually have two characters interacting like normal people. Instead, one character will stand in front of the other for a good thirty or forty minutes spouting off whatever comes to their mind, never really breaking of save for breath. It can grate against our modern reader-ey sensibilities, but you can deal with it.

One thing that I felt was interesting was that the first half of the book sets up the second half, in that it provides a powerful reason for all of the characters to end up in the same place. It provides background for their actions and gives us an emotional attachment to them (good or bad) that we can build on. And those attachments are strong, let me tell you.

In a nutshell, if you are a fan of the musical version of Les Miserables but haven't read the book, you are limiting yourself. I don't have anything against the musical, but there is so much more to the story than you get from seeing it on stage (or in theaters/on DVD now.) I've only listened to the musical once before, and I saw the Albert Hall version on DVD, but I didn't really understand what was going on. That version has new life for me now, because I actually know these characters. I know their struggles, backgrounds and the grinding sadness and poverty that is keeping them enslaved. As I said before, this book has made me a better person, and has the potential to change a person's life.

Wonderful Book

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

Amazing character development and wonderful story telling

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

60+ hours so no, but I've listened to 10 hours straight and really didn't want to stop

Beautiful Novel

If you could sum up Les Misérables: Translated by Julie Rose in three words, what would they be?

I love the opera version of Les Mis. I was hesitant to read the book because I did not think it would be as entertaining. Wrong! If anything, Victor Hugo paints the characters and the scenes so vividly, I can't stop listening! This is easily becoming my favorite book.

A book to read at least once in your life

** spoiler alert ** Les Miserables is the kind of book that stays with you. The characters, the twists of fate, the ethics. I especially loved the depth of character and moral dilemmas that Jean Valjean struggled with. It wasn't a one-time decision to be good, to be an angel — it was a lifetime of difficult decisions. His selfless decencies and charitable notions were inspiring just as Thenardier were revolting. Les Mis truly touched me and finishing it felt like saying goodbye to a friend.

But I do need to come clean with Marius and Cosette's relationship, and their characters as a whole. Marius and Cosette hardly knew each other, and I have a hard time seeing the depth of their relationship. They were infatuated. And Marius — for being as philosophical and progressive and generous (to the Thenardiers) as he is — it felt contradictory to see how cold and harsh he was to Jean Valjean when Valjean made his confession to him. And Cosette is a hollow character. The lack of imput works when she's an eight-year-old child, but as an adult it was off-putting. So much of the plot revolves around her, but she doesn't play an active role in any of it. Jean Valjean adores and protects her, and Marius loves her. But she's beautiful, so that makes it work, right?

That rant aside — this book is beautiful and should be read at least once in a lifetime.

Narrator Great, Story Fantastic, Translation Odd

Any additional comments?

I know a lot of people like the translation because it keeps the book from getting too "stuffy", but this is a literary masterpiece. I like formal wording for formal passages.