Les Misérables

| 4.23 | 1,300,241 ratings and reviews

Recommended by David Bellos, Christian B Miller, and 2 others. See all reviews

Ranked #4 in French, Ranked #5 in French History — see more rankings.

Introducing one of the most famous characters in literature, Jean Valjean—the noble peasant imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread—Les Misérables ranks among the greatest novels of all time. In it, Victor Hugo takes readers deep into the Parisian underworld, immerses them in a battle between good and evil, and carries them to the barricades during the uprising of 1832 with a breathtaking realism that is unsurpassed in modern prose. Within his dramatic story are themes that capture the intellect and the emotions: crime and punishment, the relentless persecution of Valjean by Inspector Javert,... more
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Reviews and Recommendations

We've comprehensively compiled reviews of Les Misérables from the world's leading experts.

David Bellos Because it’s so huge and so capacious and contains so many different stories and takes on the world, you can make anything out of Les Misérables. (Source)

Christian B Miller Vividly illustrates two ideas about character. The first is that our characters can change over time, the second is that role models can be powerful sources of character change. (Source)

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