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Les Miserables
Close your eyes and let this powerful music transport you to another time and place. Les Miserables has captivated generations, but with this critically acclaimed Broadway soundtrack, a beautiful story becomes an unforgettable experience. Against the backdrop of the French Revolution, the story of escaped convict Jean Valjean and his search for grace and redemption will leave any listener moved by the parallel of God's grace towards us. This dramatic reading of the entire novel along with the dynamic new recordings of five of the most popular songs from the original score will bring this masterpiece of the ages to life once again.
112 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1862
250 people are currently reading
1742 people want to read
About the author
Monica Kulling
76 books72 followersMonica Kulling was born in Vancouver, British Columbia. She received a BA in creative writing from the University of Victoria. Monica Kulling has published twenty-six fiction and nonfiction books for children, including picture books, poetry, and biographies. She is best known for introducing biography to children just learning to read and has written about Harriet Tubman, Houdini, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Amelia Earhart among others. Monica Kulling lives in Toronto, Canada.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews
January 31, 2013
It's hard to imagine how someone could manage to get a 1000+ page book shortened enough so that it is only slightly over a hundred pages while managing to keep the entire story. Monica Kulling, however, does a wonderful job. Her adaptation of the book is written like a letter from Jean Valjean to Cosette, which means it cuts out a lot of back story, because Jean Valjean would not know of those things. However, all the important parts of the book are still kept in, including things that are not in the musical version of Les Miserables, such as Jean Valjean being arrested again and escaping after falling into a river.
Some of the best parts about this book is that because it is written in the form of a letter, we see more of Jean Valjean's emotions, what he was feeling at certain times of the story. One of my favorite sections was when Jean Valjean at the Thenardier's inn to take Cosette away. In that section of the book it is very clear how kind and loving this older man is to a young girl he has never seen before in his life.
Because of the way the book is written there are a number of scenes that had to be cut out, which I understand, however, I wish there was a way that they could have been left in. Those scenes mostly include the Students fighting at the Barricade. Those scenes are some of the most powerful in the originally book, in the musical, and the movie, making this version seem a little lacking as many people who have seen the musical or movie will likely agree.
All in all though, it was a wonderful book to read, especially for young adults who may have seen the movie or musical and want to read the book, but do not feel as though they are up to being able to read the full version of Les Miserables.
Some of the best parts about this book is that because it is written in the form of a letter, we see more of Jean Valjean's emotions, what he was feeling at certain times of the story. One of my favorite sections was when Jean Valjean at the Thenardier's inn to take Cosette away. In that section of the book it is very clear how kind and loving this older man is to a young girl he has never seen before in his life.
Because of the way the book is written there are a number of scenes that had to be cut out, which I understand, however, I wish there was a way that they could have been left in. Those scenes mostly include the Students fighting at the Barricade. Those scenes are some of the most powerful in the originally book, in the musical, and the movie, making this version seem a little lacking as many people who have seen the musical or movie will likely agree.
All in all though, it was a wonderful book to read, especially for young adults who may have seen the movie or musical and want to read the book, but do not feel as though they are up to being able to read the full version of Les Miserables.
November 12, 2012
Les Miserables is my favorite Broadway production, so I figured I'd be doing myself a disservice NOT to read the book.[return]The book is not very different from the musical; just a great deal longer and denser.[return]I do not however regret devoting so many hours to this book. It was a fascinating look at life in nineteenth century France and it had many fascinating pieces omitted from the musical. My favorite bits excluded from the musical:[return]- Marius's history[return]- Jean and Cosette's time at the convent[return]- Javert's perspectives on everything
January 10, 2013
I will start out by saying this book was amazing. I tried to read the original "Les Miserables" but it was extremely difficult, considering I'm only thirteen. So I got on the Barnes and Noble website and ordered "Les Miserables (A Stepping Stone Book)" and I am so glad I did. The plot begins by introducing the main character Jean Valjean. He is writing a story to his daughter Cossette. The rest of the book except for the end is what the story he is writing says. The whole book is a giant, descriptive adventure. I felt as if I was living it. Even though it is a simplified version of the original, it leaves out no emotions or details. It also has some historical events in it. Trust me, you won't be bored.
Read
April 18, 2018It is a story about life of man who is generous, intelligent and good care of the others. The man was breadwinner in his sister's household and steals a loaf of bread to feed them. Unfortunately he was put in jail nineteen years for that. From that time he became a les miserable man and started story
August 12, 2025
Les Miserables by Victor Hugo
Is there any book more famous than Les Miserables?
Maybe dan Brown’s Inferno…
And then many people know the name from the many adaptations based on the book.
When I look some book up on the net, there is a tendency to find first the movie and only then the book.
The other day it happened with Breakfast at Tiffany’s and I will not
Was it last year that another production was nominated for many Academy Awards and even won a few?
The story of Jean Valjean, Cosette, Marius and Javert is so powerful that we tend to remember these names and their story forever.
In fact, I have read this book when I was a teenager; it impressed me in spite of the fact that I thought the start too slow.
Another encounter with Valjean was in…London, oddly enough.
At the time, some twenty years ago, I was working in the travel business and British Airways had invited someone from our agency to explore their new Club Class.
Or was it some other name? Anyway, their generous free trip included the British Airways flight to London and back- obviously and a stay in a good hotel downtown.
On top of that, we have been treated to a night’s performance of Les Miserables.
The adaptation enjoyed a tremendous success maybe it is still does.
I for one was not keen on the show for I did not go to London, Paris or Madrid on a regular basis, like the jet-set type who sees a concert in Geneva today and a play in Berlin after tomorrow.
I would have rather roamed the streets more, than sit in a chair and listen to Valjean sing about his theft.
This is when I had a rather cynical outlook of the play:
- After all, Jean Valjean was a thief!
Yes, the circumstances were awful and he had to steal in order to keep his family alive, but so do many of the people in jail.
There are a number of fat cats in prison around the world, but my estimate is that more than 99% of those who do time have a reason, beyond greed.
They lack education, means to survive, the IQ to understand what they’re doing, the genes and the social environment than lead them to a life of crime.
That being said, the epic tale of Jean Valjean is compelling and meaningful.
After he slipped and went to jail, he met his destiny in the bishop who saved his life and his soul.
Afterwards, Jean Valjean becomes nothing but the epitome of the positive hero: saves people, even physically taking one from a wagon that was crushing him.
He even saves the life of Javert, albeit the situation gets complicated and I will not say how, just in case there is a soul reading this, who has not been through Jean Valjean.
I was lucky with the adaptation that I listened to these days.
It was produced, directed by Orson Wells, who also played the role of Jean Valjean and read some of the explanations.
And I am glad that I finish the year with the note on an excellent book, looking forward to ore of the kind in 2015.
PS- I have discovered on goodreads that I have already written a note for Les Mis, on December 28th 2012. This is a second note and should be all right since it is for a new reading/listening, of a different adaptation
Is there any book more famous than Les Miserables?
Maybe dan Brown’s Inferno…
And then many people know the name from the many adaptations based on the book.
When I look some book up on the net, there is a tendency to find first the movie and only then the book.
The other day it happened with Breakfast at Tiffany’s and I will not
Was it last year that another production was nominated for many Academy Awards and even won a few?
The story of Jean Valjean, Cosette, Marius and Javert is so powerful that we tend to remember these names and their story forever.
In fact, I have read this book when I was a teenager; it impressed me in spite of the fact that I thought the start too slow.
Another encounter with Valjean was in…London, oddly enough.
At the time, some twenty years ago, I was working in the travel business and British Airways had invited someone from our agency to explore their new Club Class.
Or was it some other name? Anyway, their generous free trip included the British Airways flight to London and back- obviously and a stay in a good hotel downtown.
On top of that, we have been treated to a night’s performance of Les Miserables.
The adaptation enjoyed a tremendous success maybe it is still does.
I for one was not keen on the show for I did not go to London, Paris or Madrid on a regular basis, like the jet-set type who sees a concert in Geneva today and a play in Berlin after tomorrow.
I would have rather roamed the streets more, than sit in a chair and listen to Valjean sing about his theft.
This is when I had a rather cynical outlook of the play:
- After all, Jean Valjean was a thief!
Yes, the circumstances were awful and he had to steal in order to keep his family alive, but so do many of the people in jail.
There are a number of fat cats in prison around the world, but my estimate is that more than 99% of those who do time have a reason, beyond greed.
They lack education, means to survive, the IQ to understand what they’re doing, the genes and the social environment than lead them to a life of crime.
That being said, the epic tale of Jean Valjean is compelling and meaningful.
After he slipped and went to jail, he met his destiny in the bishop who saved his life and his soul.
Afterwards, Jean Valjean becomes nothing but the epitome of the positive hero: saves people, even physically taking one from a wagon that was crushing him.
He even saves the life of Javert, albeit the situation gets complicated and I will not say how, just in case there is a soul reading this, who has not been through Jean Valjean.
I was lucky with the adaptation that I listened to these days.
It was produced, directed by Orson Wells, who also played the role of Jean Valjean and read some of the explanations.
And I am glad that I finish the year with the note on an excellent book, looking forward to ore of the kind in 2015.
PS- I have discovered on goodreads that I have already written a note for Les Mis, on December 28th 2012. This is a second note and should be all right since it is for a new reading/listening, of a different adaptation
January 1, 2018
My 6yo loves the movie. We tried giving him one of our copies of the novel which isunabridged, well my husband did. He had told our son if he read the book we'd take him to see the broadway production. I found this kids version on amazon and put out a feeler for it on the classical education forum I belong to. I purchased it and my little guy read it in 4 days while we were on vacation. I read it too and thought it was a great child version of the story. I recommend it to anyone with a child who is interested in the story.
March 1, 2013
After watching the film that came out in 2012 I decided to give this book a try and unfortunately due to the time is was written and style it was written I was unable to finish. It is a very hard book to read but if you want to delve in deeper to the film and can cope with a very hardworking book I would recommend this book. It is not the fault of the writer but of the difference of our times.
March 8, 2025
This was a quick and beautiful read! One of the grades at my school was reading this so I wanted to read it with the students! I loved how beautiful this story was, even in this shorter version! A great way to introduce young kids to this classic story
December 29, 2022
A great summarized version of the book for kids. My girls and I read this together before seeing the musical, and it made their experience so much more enjoyable to be able to understand the plot.
November 25, 2019
This was a literature book from Faith’s curriculum. In order to help her read more fluently, I had her read aloud this book to me. She was crying by the end.
June 27, 2018
An age appropriate accounting of this fascinating story that uses concrete language to communicate the key plot points. There are some slight literary flourishes, though they are inconsistently done. Most notably, the book begins as if it is a letter written from Valjean to Cosette at the time of his death, but the author loses the first person voice several times. In addition, the final scenes are somewhat convoluted by this lack of consistency in switching from Valjean to an omniscient narrator. There are probably other editions for kids that are better, but this is the one we have, and it's adequate. An enjoyable single sitting read for a mama who loves the story, and a joy to introduce to our youngsters.
For the highly recommended original publication, as well as other resources and presentations of this story see my review...
Les Miserables, Hugo, 1862
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
For the highly recommended original publication, as well as other resources and presentations of this story see my review...
Les Miserables, Hugo, 1862
https://www.goodreads.com/review/show...
March 25, 2014
The story is a classic and one of my very favorites, and if only for the story and characters which were a product of Victor Hugo's imagination do I give this work 2 stars. I already have a certain aversion to adaptations, but they are a good way to introduce classic works to my son -- I don't think he would have the patience for Hugo's 1,000 + page classic at this age. This work represented all of the things that I dislike about adaptations: changes in style, too much condensation (this book could have easily been tripled in length), elimination of certain characters and events (retaining only those viewed as essential to the plot) and introducing too many characters in too short a time (this ties back to the last two points raised) -- my son enjoyed the story, but he couldn't keep track of all of the many characters, with French names, introduced over the course of a mere 100 pages.
October 21, 2024
I consider Victor Hugo one of the true greats of literature. I consider Notre-Dame de Paris among the greatest literary works of all time, and I admit I'm not certain why I had not gotten around to reading Les Miserables for all these years. Thus, when I found a copy on the shelves at my local library's fundraising book sale, I snapped it up. I later realized (and should have at the time of purchase) that I had purchased an abridged version translated from the French by Charles Wilbour. In the introduction it was noted that "for all the novels' power if was diffuse and wordy." The introduction goes on to say, "By means of such a cutting there emerges more clearly the moving, heroic life of a simple and good man." This may be true, but I was greatly disappointed to see the story of Fantine almost eliminated from the book entirely. While the first chapter is titled "Fantine," her story is almost completely eliminated in this abridged version. It describes her decision to leave her child with Thenardier in order to secure a job, and quite a while later we learn that she is on her deathbed. Everything that transpires in the life of Fantine is completely overlooked, completely eliminated, in this version. Perhaps, given he lived in the 1800s, Wilbour simply was a bigot who found the only truly important things to do was write the story of a "simple and good man." He succeeded on that account but did a grave injustice to the story of Fantine. That said, if someone is interested in reading Les Miserable and is not reading for the challenge of something like 1,500 pages, this is still a marvelous story. Having seen musical adaptations of this particular story, and having high expectations given my historical respect for Mr. Hugo, I knew the general storyline, but was still very much moved by the power of this remarkable novel. A must read for anyone with an appreciation for the classics.
March 22, 2023
Luisterboek
Pasgeleden naar de musical geweest, dus interessant waar het verhaal vandaan komt. Veel meer (achtergrond)informatie op een mooie manier verteld. De kant van de vroegere armoede wordt veel over geschreven, mooi want daar lees je niet vaak iets over. Zo leefden en leven mensen echt... Met stukjes wat lastiger te volgen vanwege al de verschillende Franse namen. Je leert ook best veel over Frankrijk en Parijs in de 19e eeuw. Sommige personages zijn heel mooi beschreven, met meer diepgang dan wat ik ken. Vooral het laatste stuk van Javert. "De maatschappij verraden om zijn geweten trouw te blijven. Hij herkende zichzelf niet meer. Het gezag was in hem gestorven."
Gavroche heeft in het boek mijn hart gestolen, veel meer dan met de film/musical. Wat een verhaal en wat een einde.
Pasgeleden naar de musical geweest, dus interessant waar het verhaal vandaan komt. Veel meer (achtergrond)informatie op een mooie manier verteld. De kant van de vroegere armoede wordt veel over geschreven, mooi want daar lees je niet vaak iets over. Zo leefden en leven mensen echt... Met stukjes wat lastiger te volgen vanwege al de verschillende Franse namen. Je leert ook best veel over Frankrijk en Parijs in de 19e eeuw. Sommige personages zijn heel mooi beschreven, met meer diepgang dan wat ik ken. Vooral het laatste stuk van Javert. "De maatschappij verraden om zijn geweten trouw te blijven. Hij herkende zichzelf niet meer. Het gezag was in hem gestorven."
Gavroche heeft in het boek mijn hart gestolen, veel meer dan met de film/musical. Wat een verhaal en wat een einde.
April 14, 2020
I read this book with my 11 year old because he was interested in the story. Clearly this book is a lighter telling of Les Mis, but some of the changes to make it more palatable for kids were jarring. In particular, they essentially erased Eponine from the story entirely aside from a couple of throw away lines. That disappointed me as she is my favorite character In the story. Overall, it is a fine entry into the story for younger audiences.
March 16, 2021
I was listening to Les Miserables in its entirety and got lost with some mixed up chapters. So I grabbed this copy to figure out what was going on, especially when I let a few months lapse between listening to more. I did eventually finish the long long version, and enjoyed reading this version to top it off. I have never seen any adaptation in theatre or movie, so this was a fresh read for me.
April 12, 2026
I read this retelling to preview it for my daughter. Kulling does an excellent job telling the story in a child-friendly manner whilst still hitting most of the important points, and lays a good foundation for reading the full novel later. I would definitely try more Stepping Stones retellings. There are certain classics with whose stories I want my children to be familiar from an early age, and Les Miserables is one of them.
January 24, 2020
I was getting tired of the silly chapter books. So, I found some of these classics adapted for kids and against my childs wishes I read it to him over the course of five nights or so. And he liked it! Even this watered down version was tough to follow, but he was asking questions about it.
I cried at the end of the book, he was just happy to get back to Inspector Flytrap.
I cried at the end of the book, he was just happy to get back to Inspector Flytrap.
February 7, 2023
This is a fantastic book, age appropriate for kids. We did this as a read aloud. It is a very quick read and entirely enjoyable a rendition, a marvelous adaptation; if you have desire of a shortened version, this fits perfectly. Jean Valjean’s misfortunes are engrossing and his love and care for Cosette (and Marius) and his true character shine through it all. Loved it!
January 10, 2019
An abridged summary that I was able to read quickly to my 9 and 12 year old boys before taking them to see their sisters in the school edition musical of Les Misérables. It was a quick read that didn’t take more than 2-3 hours.
December 26, 2020
This book was well adapted for a children's version. IMO, parents should read this book before their children to determine when they'll be old enough as they do have some parts that might be graphic or hard to explain to younger readers. (For example, "Slit his throat!")
January 14, 2021
An absolutely incredible read. Hugo's characters are vibrantly realistic, and Kulling's beautiful translations make it a masterpiece. While long, it is definitely a novel I would recommend to anyone, one of my favourites!
March 12, 2021
I’ve only seen random parts of the movie and never really knew the storyline of this book. I was happy to see it in a very condensed form in our curriculum. I enjoyed it, I don’t think my girls enjoyed it but I’m glad I read it with them.
August 9, 2024
Read aloud to 6yo C. as part of our 1st-grade social-studies unit on France, and she was RIVETED. When I set it down halfway through for a drink, she picked it up and poured through it herself. My girl! We read it from start to finish in two hours because she couldn’t bear to let it lie.
December 24, 2024
Read this abridged version of Les Miserables since we went to see the show in Chicago. It was a very helpful read for me (and family) as it clarified the musical. I may try the full book sometime. Such a beautiful story.
September 5, 2017
Good introduction for children. Still held some of the adventure and excitement even though it was shortened by so much.
November 23, 2018
A good short adaptation for kids
June 3, 2018
I think Monica did an exceptional job at adapting Les Miserables! I thought the formatting of the story was a tiny bit annoying though.
January 31, 2020
Fairly true to the story.
April 3, 2021
Pretty good introduction to Les Miserables. I didn’t give it 5 starts because that’s what I would give the actual real unabridged version.
Displaying 1 - 30 of 76 reviews