Andrew’s Reviews > Les Misérables > Status Update
Andrew
is 20% done
Finished the "Fantine" section, enough for a small novel in itself. I'm hooked! Already loving the iconic characters -- Bishop de Digne, Jean Valjean, Fantine, Javert -- though they suffer a bit in authenticity due to Hugo's Dickensian propensity to beatify or vilify.
So far falling between Dickens and Tolstoy on Blake's Scale of Melodrama. . . neither as cartoonish as the Brit nor authentic as the Ruski.
— Jul 08, 2015 06:06AM
So far falling between Dickens and Tolstoy on Blake's Scale of Melodrama. . . neither as cartoonish as the Brit nor authentic as the Ruski.
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Andrew’s Previous Updates
Andrew
is 80% done
I'm slowing down. . . the main story's pretty interesting (though decidedly more Dickensian than Tolstoyian), but Hugo's horrendously frequent asides really bog it down.
The principal characters have grown flat too -- all of them appear to be motivated solely by Love, blech.
But Gavroche is the man! What a slog this would be without him peppered throughout. . .
— Jul 20, 2015 05:01PM
The principal characters have grown flat too -- all of them appear to be motivated solely by Love, blech.
But Gavroche is the man! What a slog this would be without him peppered throughout. . .
Andrew
is 55% done
Finally got some payoff with the Valjean/Thenardier confrontation after the uneven "Marius" section. I'm now skipping a good percentage of pages dealing with historic context and minor characters -- beginning to wish I had just gone with the abridged version.
— Jul 14, 2015 08:32PM
Andrew
is 41% done
Also, at risk of being a killjoy: wouldn't it have made a lot more sense for Jean Valjean to just abscond with Cosette to Switzerland or any other neighboring country once they had smuggled themselves out of the Convent? I realize that would have maybe precluded any further dramatic action in the story, but still -- wouldn't that have pretty much been checkmate?
— Jul 13, 2015 02:07PM
Andrew
is 40% done
After "Cosette" the bloat is intruding somewhat: 50 pages describing Waterloo and 50 more on the history of a specific convent. . . these things I could do without.
The story itself is still gripping but I find myself skimming over a lot of description, setting, history, etc. . . Isn't it weird that this was written at the same time as War&Peace, another huge tome that depicts a famous Napoleon defeat?
— Jul 12, 2015 11:00AM
The story itself is still gripping but I find myself skimming over a lot of description, setting, history, etc. . . Isn't it weird that this was written at the same time as War&Peace, another huge tome that depicts a famous Napoleon defeat?