Les Misérables

Posted byPegg ThomasPosted inBook Reviews, Historical FictionTags:, , , , , ,

Les MisérablesLes Misérables by Victor Hugo
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

How can anyone give just three stars to a classic like Les Misérables? When it takes an avid reader almost six weeks to slog through it. Yes, I love the story! Who doesn’t? But the writing is not only old-world writing, it’s positively sloggy. For instance, there are four or five chapters that simply describe the sewer system in Paris and its history. Okay, Jean Valjean must walk through the sewer, but we don’t need chapters of description. (Tell us what time it is, don’t tell us how to build a watch.) There were also multiple chapters describing the street talk of the homeless youth of Paris. And – no – the reader didn’t need to know any of it. So while the story is excellent and the characters are fascinating, digging them out from amid the dross is a flat-out chore. Even for me … and I love reading the classics.

Now I’m ready to watch the new PBS Masterpiece Theater adaptation and I’m sure I will positively love it!

Published by Pegg Thomas

Pegg Thomas lives in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula with Michael, her husband of *mumble* years. She creates American stories with real history and fictional characters inspired by her ancestors who immigrated here in the mid-1600s. Pegg won the 2019 FHL Readers’ Choice Award for novellas, was a double-finalist for the 2019 ACFW Carol Award for novellas, and a finalist for the 2019 ACFW Editor of the Year. She was a finalist in the 2021 FHL Readers’ Choice Award for novellas. Pegg won the 2022 Selah Award for historical romance and placed 2nd with her second entry. She was also a finalist for the 2023 Selah Award and placed 2nd for the 2024 Selah Award. Pegg spent 3 ½ years as the managing editor of Smitten Historical Romance. When not writing or editing, Pegg can be found in her garden, her kitchen, or sitting at one of her spinning wheels creating yarn to turn into her signature wool shawls.

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