The Toilers of the Sea

By: Victor Hugo

Narrated by: Patrick Dickson

Victor Hugo wrote this wonderful story while living in exile on the island of Guernsey, which is where the adventure unfolds. Set in the early 1800s, The Toilers of the Sea tells off a young reclusive fisherman who falls dangerously in love with a beautiful island girl. Her uncle, himself an intrepid seafarer, is the owner of a paddle-steamer, which plies its trade to and from St. Malo on the coast of Brittany. The vessel is wrecked on a remote reef in suspicious circumstances, and our brave young fisherman sets out alone to salvage the all-important machinery, the steam engine itself. If he succeeds, he will return home to the promised hand of the girl he daren't even talk to.

Like his contemporary, Charles Dickens, Victor Hugo paints boldly on a huge canvas. His characters are compelling and colorful. Through them, he explores the values and the morality of his times. In this novel, he pits them not only against each other and their hard circumstances, but also against the elements themselves in the rough and rocky seas of the "Norman Archipelago".

Patrick Dickson has intelligently abridged this terrific novel focusing on the drama of the adventure and the plight of its characters. Like Hugo, he spent 15 years of his life on the island of Guernsey, and he brings a unique sensibility to the storytelling. He is an actor with extensive narrating experience. This is his first self-produced audiobook.

©2015 Patrick Dickson (P)2015 Patrick Dickson

Great stuff

Loved listening to this after visiting the island of Guernsey and Hugo's home there. Loved this story too, but I gotta say Hugo let me down at the end. Probably a cultural thing! The production and narrator were great.

Great story

Loved the narrator. I'm usually not a fan of sound effects or music in audiobooks, but it worked well. Such a great book. Scheming, shipwrecks, love, man overcoming nature, date, and heartbreak. Will be on my recommendation list.

Interesting, could without the special effects

I listened to this just after Les Miserables. I was curious to read another of Victor Hugo's writings. It was interesting. The added music and sound effects were distracting, and are totally unnecessary. Avid audio book listeners do not need these. But, I'm glad to have read the book.

Get rid of the music

The book is amazing, the reading is great, but this audible is made nearly impossible to listen to with the horrible inclusion of music here and there. I wish there were other options for this title... close to giving it up and just reading it on my own. Would also have been nice to have an unabridged version of the book... sad when I am pushed towards other services like YouTube for audio books.

Not What Hugo Intended

I have read the book unabridged in the past, and sadly I find that this audiobook is not a good presentation. I found it impossible to get past the excessive abridgment, which the performer attempted to disguise with clumsy music and sound effects. The ratio of story to silly, repetitive music was very disruptive; while the reading though well-done was too rapid. Hugo ought to be savored. His writing implements the highest abstractions in concrete drama, and you need time to take it in. I simply couldn’t let go and fall into the story. Though I was grateful that someone took on the challenge of recording one of Hugo’s lesser known works, sadly I could not get past the first half hour.