-
Les Miserables
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 57 hrs and 48 mins
Failed to add items
Add to Cart failed.
Add to Wish List failed.
Remove from wishlist failed.
Adding to library failed
Follow podcast failed
Unfollow podcast failed
![Prime logo](https://m.media-amazon.com/images/G/01/Audible/Homestead/Prime_Logo_RGB.png)
Get 2 free audiobooks during trial.
Buy for $29.25
No default payment method selected.
We are sorry. We are not allowed to sell this product with the selected payment method
Listeners also enjoyed...
-
The Count of Monte Cristo
- By: Alexandre Dumas
- Narrated by: David Clarke
- Length: 53 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the day of his wedding, Edmond Dantès is falsely accused of treason, arrested, and imprisoned without trial in a grim island fortress off Marseilles. A fellow prisoner inspires Dantès to escape and guides him to a fortune in treasure. Dantès returns home under the pseudonym of the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo, in order to avenge himself on the men who conspired to destroy him.
-
-
Great reader.
- By Craig Petrie on 08-09-24
By: Alexandre Dumas
-
Crime and Punishment
- By: Fyodor Dostoevsky, Constance Garnett - translator
- Narrated by: Anthony Heald
- Length: 20 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this intense detective thriller instilled with philosophical, religious, and social commentary, Dostoevsky studies the psychological impact upon a desperate and impoverished student when he murders a despicable pawnbroker, transgressing moral law to ultimately "benefit humanity".
-
-
Wonderful reading, disturbing book
- By Tad Davis on 11-03-08
By: Fyodor Dostoevsky, and others
-
War and Peace
- By: Leo Tolstoy
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 61 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Often called the greatest novel ever written, War and Peace is at once an epic of the Napoleonic wars, a philosophical study, and a celebration of the Russian spirit. Tolstoy's genius is clearly seen in the multitude of characters in this massive chronicle, all of them fully realized and equally memorable.
-
-
Glad I finally decided to read it
- By Plumeria on 09-25-05
By: Leo Tolstoy
-
Ninety-Three
- By: Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 1793 in France, the year of the guillotine. Already, Louis XVI has been sentenced to the scaffold, and Terror reigns. The architects of the Revolution (Marat, Danton, and Robespierre) have set up the Convention, an embryo parliament, designed to stem social chaos. But ideals topple in the face of political necessity, alliances founder, and intrigue is a way of life.
-
-
Stuffy
- By Julie on 04-08-13
By: Victor Hugo
-
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- By: Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 22 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the grotesque bell-ringer Quasimodo, Victor Hugo created one of the most vivid characters in classic fiction. Quasimodo's doomed love for the beautiful gypsy girl Esmeralda is an example of the traditional love theme of beauty and the beast. Yet, set against the massive background of Notre Dame de Paris and interwoven with the sacred and secular life of medieval France, it takes on a larger perspective.
-
-
More than I bargained for...
- By 1DrummingAddict on 07-18-15
By: Victor Hugo
-
Les Misérables
- By: Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 67 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Les Misérables is set in Paris after the French Revolution. In the sewers and backstreets, we encounter "the wolf-like tread of crime", and assassination for a few sous is all in a day's work. We weep with the unlucky and heart-broken Fantine, and we exult with the heroic revolutionaries of the barricades; but above all we thrill to the steadfast courage and nobility of soul of ex-convict Jean Valjean, always in danger from the relentless pursuit of the diabolical Inspector Javert.
-
-
Use earphones that are light on bass
- By Tad Davis on 11-08-15
By: Victor Hugo
-
The Count of Monte Cristo
- By: Alexandre Dumas
- Narrated by: David Clarke
- Length: 53 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the day of his wedding, Edmond Dantès is falsely accused of treason, arrested, and imprisoned without trial in a grim island fortress off Marseilles. A fellow prisoner inspires Dantès to escape and guides him to a fortune in treasure. Dantès returns home under the pseudonym of the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo, in order to avenge himself on the men who conspired to destroy him.
-
-
Great reader.
- By Craig Petrie on 08-09-24
By: Alexandre Dumas
-
Crime and Punishment
- By: Fyodor Dostoevsky, Constance Garnett - translator
- Narrated by: Anthony Heald
- Length: 20 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this intense detective thriller instilled with philosophical, religious, and social commentary, Dostoevsky studies the psychological impact upon a desperate and impoverished student when he murders a despicable pawnbroker, transgressing moral law to ultimately "benefit humanity".
-
-
Wonderful reading, disturbing book
- By Tad Davis on 11-03-08
By: Fyodor Dostoevsky, and others
-
War and Peace
- By: Leo Tolstoy
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 61 hrs and 6 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Often called the greatest novel ever written, War and Peace is at once an epic of the Napoleonic wars, a philosophical study, and a celebration of the Russian spirit. Tolstoy's genius is clearly seen in the multitude of characters in this massive chronicle, all of them fully realized and equally memorable.
-
-
Glad I finally decided to read it
- By Plumeria on 09-25-05
By: Leo Tolstoy
-
Ninety-Three
- By: Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 13 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
It is 1793 in France, the year of the guillotine. Already, Louis XVI has been sentenced to the scaffold, and Terror reigns. The architects of the Revolution (Marat, Danton, and Robespierre) have set up the Convention, an embryo parliament, designed to stem social chaos. But ideals topple in the face of political necessity, alliances founder, and intrigue is a way of life.
-
-
Stuffy
- By Julie on 04-08-13
By: Victor Hugo
-
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- By: Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 22 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the grotesque bell-ringer Quasimodo, Victor Hugo created one of the most vivid characters in classic fiction. Quasimodo's doomed love for the beautiful gypsy girl Esmeralda is an example of the traditional love theme of beauty and the beast. Yet, set against the massive background of Notre Dame de Paris and interwoven with the sacred and secular life of medieval France, it takes on a larger perspective.
-
-
More than I bargained for...
- By 1DrummingAddict on 07-18-15
By: Victor Hugo
-
Les Misérables
- By: Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 67 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Les Misérables is set in Paris after the French Revolution. In the sewers and backstreets, we encounter "the wolf-like tread of crime", and assassination for a few sous is all in a day's work. We weep with the unlucky and heart-broken Fantine, and we exult with the heroic revolutionaries of the barricades; but above all we thrill to the steadfast courage and nobility of soul of ex-convict Jean Valjean, always in danger from the relentless pursuit of the diabolical Inspector Javert.
-
-
Use earphones that are light on bass
- By Tad Davis on 11-08-15
By: Victor Hugo
-
Don Quixote
- Translated by Edith Grossman
- By: Edith Grossman - translator, Miguel de Cervantes
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 39 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Sixteenth-century Spanish gentleman Don Quixote, fed by his own delusional fantasies, takes to the road in search of chivalrous adventures. But his quest leads to more trouble than triumph. At once humorous, romantic, and sad, Don Quixote is a literary landmark. This fresh edition, by award-winning translator Edith Grossman, brings the tale to life as never before.
-
-
My Fourth Try at an Audible Quixote
- By James on 12-24-12
By: Edith Grossman - translator, and others
-
Les Misérables: Translated by Julie Rose
- By: Victor Hugo, Julie Rose - translator
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 60 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the great classics of world literature and the inspiration for the most beloved stage musical of all time, Les Misérables is legendary author Victor Hugo’s masterpiece. This extraordinary English version by renowned translator Julie Rose captures all the majesty and brilliance of Hugo’s work. Here is the timeless story of the quintessential hunted man—Jean Valjean—and the injustices, violence, and social inequalities that torment him.
-
-
A Book that Made Me a Better Person
- By Jeff Diamond on 03-29-13
By: Victor Hugo, and others
-
Emma
- An Audible Original Drama
- By: Jane Austen, Anna Lea - adaptation
- Narrated by: Emma Thompson, Joanne Froggatt, Isabella Inchbald, and others
- Length: 8 hrs and 21 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Austen wrote, 'I am going to take a heroine whom no-one but myself will much like' and thus introduces the handsome, clever, rich - and flawed, Emma Woodhouse. Emma is perfectly content with her life and sees no need for either love or marriage; nothing however delights her more than matchmaking her fellow residents of Highbury. But when she ignores the warnings of her good friend Mr. Knightley and attempts to arrange a suitable match for her protegee Harriet Smith, her carefully laid plans soon unravel and have consequences that she never expected.
-
-
Background sonds RUINED this
- By Sandra Dodd on 09-09-18
By: Jane Austen, and others
-
David Copperfield
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 33 hrs and 54 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Based in part on Dickens's own life, it is the story of a young man's journey from an unhappy and impoverished childhood to the discovery of his vocation as a successful novelist. Among its gloriously vivid cast of characters, he e.ncounters his tyrannical stepfather, Mr. Murdstone; his formidable aunt, Betsey Trotwood; the eternally humble yet treacherous Uriah Heep; the frivolous, enchanting Dora; and one of literature's great comic creations, the magnificently impecunious Mr. Micawber.
-
-
"I am born."
- By Barbara K. on 05-21-09
By: Charles Dickens
-
Moby Dick
- By: Herman Melville
- Narrated by: William Hootkins
- Length: 24 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
"Call me Ishmael." Thus starts the greatest American novel. Melville said himself that he wanted to write "a mighty book about a mighty theme" and so he did. It is a story of one man's obsessive revenge-journey against the white whale, Moby-Dick, who injured him in an earlier meeting. Woven into the story of the last journey of The Pequod is a mesh of philosophy, rumination, religion, history, and a mass of information about whaling through the ages.
-
-
Excellent, EXCELLENT reading!
- By Jessica on 02-18-09
By: Herman Melville
-
Gone with the Wind
- By: Margaret Mitchell
- Narrated by: Linda Stephens
- Length: 49 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Winner of the Pulitzer Prize for Literature, Margaret Mitchell's great novel of the South is one of the most popular books ever written. Within six months of its publication in 1936, Gone With the Wind had sold a million copies. To date, it has been translated into 25 languages, and more than 28 million copies have been sold. Here are the characters that have become symbols of passion and desire....
-
-
not to miss audible experience
- By dallas on 12-08-09
-
East of Eden
- By: John Steinbeck
- Narrated by: Richard Poe
- Length: 25 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This sprawling and often brutal novel, set in the rich farmlands of California's Salinas Valley, follows the intertwined destinies of two families - the Trasks and the Hamiltons - whose generations helplessly reenact the fall of Adam and Eve and the poisonous rivalry of Cain and Abel.
-
-
Why have I avoided this Beautiful Book???
- By Kelly on 03-25-17
By: John Steinbeck
-
The Three Musketeers (AmazonClassics Edition)
- By: Alexandre Dumas, William Robson - translator
- Narrated by: Guy Mott
- Length: 27 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Young nobleman d’Artagnan has arrived in Paris intent on joining the guardians of King Louis XIII. He befriends the regiment’s most formidable musketeers, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, and together they unite in their commitment to uphold justice. Soon, a royal indiscretion thrusts them into an audacious escapade of courtly intrigue, thwarted romance, and daring rescue. But it’s the Machiavellian schemes of a powerful enemy and the wicked seductions of an ingenious female spy that will be their greatest challenges.
-
-
terrible narrator. every comma is a 3 second pause
- By Anonymous User on 09-21-21
By: Alexandre Dumas, and others
-
A Tale of Two Cities [Tantor]
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 13 hrs and 39 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A Tale of Two Cities is one of Charles Dickens's most exciting novels. Set against the backdrop of the French Revolution, it tells the story of a family threatened by the terrible events of the past. Doctor Manette was wrongly imprisoned in the Bastille for 18 years without trial by the aristocratic authorities.
-
-
it's the singer not the song*
- By Maynard on 11-09-13
By: Charles Dickens
-
Jane Eyre
- By: Charlotte Brontë
- Narrated by: Thandiwe Newton
- Length: 19 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Following Jane from her childhood as an orphan in Northern England through her experience as a governess at Thornfield Hall, Charlotte Brontë's Gothic classic is an early exploration of women's independence in the mid-19th century and the pervasive societal challenges women had to endure. At Thornfield, Jane meets the complex and mysterious Mr. Rochester, with whom she shares a complicated relationship that ultimately forces her to reconcile the conflicting passions of romantic love and religious piety.
-
-
Perfect!!
- By Amazon Customer on 04-21-16
By: Charlotte Brontë
-
One Hundred Years of Solitude
- By: Gabriel García Márquez, Gregory Rabassa - translator
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 14 hrs and 4 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the 20th century's enduring works, One Hundred Years of Solitude is a widely beloved and acclaimed novel known throughout the world and the ultimate achievement in a Nobel Prize-winning career. The novel tells the story of the rise and fall of the mythical town of Macondo through the history of the Buendía family. Rich and brilliant, it is a chronicle of life, death, and the tragicomedy of humankind. In the beautiful, ridiculous, and tawdry story of the Buendía family, one sees all of humanity, just as in the history, myths, growth, and decay of Macondo, one sees all of Latin America.
-
-
What in the heck happened?????
- By Melinda on 02-05-14
By: Gabriel García Márquez, and others
-
Robinson Crusoe
- By: Daniel Defoe
- Narrated by: Simon Vance
- Length: 10 hrs and 10 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Widely regarded as the first English novel, Daniel Defoe's Robinson Crusoe is one of the most popular and influential adventure stories of all time. This classic tale of shipwreck and survival on an uninhabited island was an instant success when first published in 1719, and it has inspired countless imitations.
-
-
Great story but with moments that made me cringe
- By Tad Davis on 10-25-12
By: Daniel Defoe
Publisher's summary
Hugo describes early 19th-century France with a sweeping power that gives his novel epic stature. Among the most famous chapters are the account of the battle of Waterloo and Valjean's flight through the Paris sewers.
Featured Article: 50+ Undying Quotes About Life from Acclaimed Authors
Though it's hard to argue with Merriam-Webster, we all know that life means something more than the standard dictionary definition—or, at least, we want it to. If you're searching for insights into the meaning of life, or words of inspiration to make your life more meaningful, there's no better source than authors of great works of literature. From Shakespeare to Alice Walker, from Jane Austen to Saul Bellow, iconic authors have a lot to say about life.
Related to this topic
-
Les Miserables
- By: Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: David Case
- Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Les Misérables emphasizes the three major predicaments of the 19th century, each symbolized by a major character: Jean Valjean represents the degradation of man in the proletariat, Fantine represents the subjection of women through hunger, and Cosette represents the atrophy of the child by darkness.
-
-
TOO Abridged, Read Only if You Won't Read More
- By Syd Young on 02-03-14
By: Victor Hugo
-
Les Misérables
- Penguin Classics
- By: Christine Donougher, Victor Hugo, Robert Tombs
- Narrated by: Adeel Akhtar, Natalie Simpson, Adrian Scarborough, and others
- Length: 65 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Victor Hugo's tale of injustice, heroism and love follows the fortunes of Jean Valjean, an escaped convict determined to put his criminal past behind him. But his attempts to become a respected member of the community are constantly put under threat: by his own conscience and by the relentless investigations of the dogged Policeman, Javert. It is not simply for himself that Valjean must stay free, however, for he has sworn to protect the baby daughter of Fantine, driven to prostitution by poverty.
-
-
Great Book, Great Translation, 5 Great Narrators
- By Rain Wiegartner on 06-07-20
By: Christine Donougher, and others
-
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- By: Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 22 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the grotesque bell-ringer Quasimodo, Victor Hugo created one of the most vivid characters in classic fiction. Quasimodo's doomed love for the beautiful gypsy girl Esmeralda is an example of the traditional love theme of beauty and the beast. Yet, set against the massive background of Notre Dame de Paris and interwoven with the sacred and secular life of medieval France, it takes on a larger perspective.
-
-
More than I bargained for...
- By 1DrummingAddict on 07-18-15
By: Victor Hugo
-
A Christmas Carol
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Benjamin May
- Length: 3 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The timeless tale of Ebenezer Scrooge and his adventures on Christmas Eve continue to teach an important lesson, even to this day. Author Charles Dickens introduces us to the main character by painting him in a negative light, a selfish and miserly old man who will barely pay enough money to keep his office heated. When Scrooge returns home after work, the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley, visits him and tells him that because of the wrongdoing he had done during his life, he has been condemned to walk in his ghost years shackled....
-
-
A Fine audio Interpretation
- By Lee Gregory Stewart on 02-03-23
By: Charles Dickens
-
The Count of Monte Cristo
- By: Alexandre Dumas
- Narrated by: David Clarke
- Length: 53 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the day of his wedding, Edmond Dantès is falsely accused of treason, arrested, and imprisoned without trial in a grim island fortress off Marseilles. A fellow prisoner inspires Dantès to escape and guides him to a fortune in treasure. Dantès returns home under the pseudonym of the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo, in order to avenge himself on the men who conspired to destroy him.
-
-
Great reader.
- By Craig Petrie on 08-09-24
By: Alexandre Dumas
-
The Best Ghost Stories Ever Told
- Best Stories Ever Told
- By: Stephen Brennan - editor
- Narrated by: J. M. Badger, Imelda Pot
- Length: 24 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A big, brilliant, spooky collection of classic and contemporary ghost stories that will make you hesitate before turning off that light.
-
-
A very mixed review
- By Michael Mayer on 08-05-15
-
Les Miserables
- By: Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: David Case
- Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Les Misérables emphasizes the three major predicaments of the 19th century, each symbolized by a major character: Jean Valjean represents the degradation of man in the proletariat, Fantine represents the subjection of women through hunger, and Cosette represents the atrophy of the child by darkness.
-
-
TOO Abridged, Read Only if You Won't Read More
- By Syd Young on 02-03-14
By: Victor Hugo
-
Les Misérables
- Penguin Classics
- By: Christine Donougher, Victor Hugo, Robert Tombs
- Narrated by: Adeel Akhtar, Natalie Simpson, Adrian Scarborough, and others
- Length: 65 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Victor Hugo's tale of injustice, heroism and love follows the fortunes of Jean Valjean, an escaped convict determined to put his criminal past behind him. But his attempts to become a respected member of the community are constantly put under threat: by his own conscience and by the relentless investigations of the dogged Policeman, Javert. It is not simply for himself that Valjean must stay free, however, for he has sworn to protect the baby daughter of Fantine, driven to prostitution by poverty.
-
-
Great Book, Great Translation, 5 Great Narrators
- By Rain Wiegartner on 06-07-20
By: Christine Donougher, and others
-
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- By: Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 22 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the grotesque bell-ringer Quasimodo, Victor Hugo created one of the most vivid characters in classic fiction. Quasimodo's doomed love for the beautiful gypsy girl Esmeralda is an example of the traditional love theme of beauty and the beast. Yet, set against the massive background of Notre Dame de Paris and interwoven with the sacred and secular life of medieval France, it takes on a larger perspective.
-
-
More than I bargained for...
- By 1DrummingAddict on 07-18-15
By: Victor Hugo
-
A Christmas Carol
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Benjamin May
- Length: 3 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The timeless tale of Ebenezer Scrooge and his adventures on Christmas Eve continue to teach an important lesson, even to this day. Author Charles Dickens introduces us to the main character by painting him in a negative light, a selfish and miserly old man who will barely pay enough money to keep his office heated. When Scrooge returns home after work, the ghost of his former business partner, Jacob Marley, visits him and tells him that because of the wrongdoing he had done during his life, he has been condemned to walk in his ghost years shackled....
-
-
A Fine audio Interpretation
- By Lee Gregory Stewart on 02-03-23
By: Charles Dickens
-
The Count of Monte Cristo
- By: Alexandre Dumas
- Narrated by: David Clarke
- Length: 53 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
On the day of his wedding, Edmond Dantès is falsely accused of treason, arrested, and imprisoned without trial in a grim island fortress off Marseilles. A fellow prisoner inspires Dantès to escape and guides him to a fortune in treasure. Dantès returns home under the pseudonym of the mysterious Count of Monte Cristo, in order to avenge himself on the men who conspired to destroy him.
-
-
Great reader.
- By Craig Petrie on 08-09-24
By: Alexandre Dumas
-
The Best Ghost Stories Ever Told
- Best Stories Ever Told
- By: Stephen Brennan - editor
- Narrated by: J. M. Badger, Imelda Pot
- Length: 24 hrs and 58 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
A big, brilliant, spooky collection of classic and contemporary ghost stories that will make you hesitate before turning off that light.
-
-
A very mixed review
- By Michael Mayer on 08-05-15
-
A Hero of Our Time
- By: Mikhail Lermontov
- Narrated by: Clive Chafer
- Length: 6 hrs and 11 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In A Hero of Our Time, Grigory Pechorin is a bored, self-centered, and cynical young army officer who believes in nothing. With impunity he toys with the love of women and the goodwill of men. He is brave, determined, and willful, but his wasted energy and potential ultimately result in tragedy.
-
-
Genius Presentation of Ywtsaxt fas
- By Brad Isaak on 11-06-16
-
The Count of Monte Cristo (Dramatized)
- By: Orson Welles
- Narrated by: Orson Welles
- Length: 59 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Starring Orson Welles, Anges Moorehead, and Ray Collins, The Count of Monte Cristo is a tale of revenge and retribution. Edmond Dantès, a young, energetic sailor, is falsely accused of treason on his wedding day and incarcerated in the forbidding Château d'If. His escape and ultimate revenge on those who wronged him makes this one of the most thrilling stories in French literature, as compelling now as when it was first published in 1846.
-
-
Excellent
- By Stefanie on 05-19-14
By: Orson Welles
-
The Three Musketeers (AmazonClassics Edition)
- By: Alexandre Dumas, William Robson - translator
- Narrated by: Guy Mott
- Length: 27 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Young nobleman d’Artagnan has arrived in Paris intent on joining the guardians of King Louis XIII. He befriends the regiment’s most formidable musketeers, Athos, Porthos, and Aramis, and together they unite in their commitment to uphold justice. Soon, a royal indiscretion thrusts them into an audacious escapade of courtly intrigue, thwarted romance, and daring rescue. But it’s the Machiavellian schemes of a powerful enemy and the wicked seductions of an ingenious female spy that will be their greatest challenges.
-
-
terrible narrator. every comma is a 3 second pause
- By Anonymous User on 09-21-21
By: Alexandre Dumas, and others
-
Father Goriot
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 12 hrs
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Impoverished young aristocrat Eugene de Rastignac is determined to climb the social ladder and impress himself on Parisian high society. While staying at the Maison Vauquer, a boarding house in Paris's rue Neuve-Sainte-Genevieve, he encounters Jean-Joachim Goriot, a retired vermicelli maker who has spent his entire fortune supporting his two daughters. The boarders strike up a friendship and Goriot learns of Rastignac's feelings for his daughter Delphine. He begins to see Rastignac as the ideal son-in-law, and the perfect substitute for Delphine's domineering husband. But Rastignac has other opportunities too....
-
-
Astounding performance
- By Laurence Grey on 04-05-21
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
Doctor Zhivago
- By: Boris Pasternak, Larissa Volokhonsky - translator, Richard Pevear - translator
- Narrated by: John Lee
- Length: 23 hrs and 18 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In celebration of the 40th anniversary of its original publication, here is a new translation of the classic story of the life and loves of a poet/physician during the turmoil of the Russian Revolution. Taking his family from Moscow to what he hopes will be shelter in the Ural Mountains, Zhivago finds himself instead embroiled in the battle between the Whites and the Reds. Set against this backdrop of cruelty and strife is Zhivago’s love for the tender and beautiful Lara.
-
-
Russian Philosophical Feast
- By Syd Young on 02-16-13
By: Boris Pasternak, and others
-
Jude The Obscure
- By: Thomas Hardy
- Narrated by: Stephen Thorne
- Length: 15 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This is the story of a young country workman obsessed by his ambition to become an Oxford student, interwoven with his fraught relationships with two women.
-
-
Staggering
- By Tad Davis on 02-16-10
By: Thomas Hardy
-
Madame Bovary
- By: Gustave Flaubert, Lydia Davis - translator
- Narrated by: Kate Reading
- Length: 13 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Emma Bovary is the original desperate housewife. Beautiful but bored, she is married to the provincial doctor Charles Bovary yet harbors dreams of an elegant and passionate life. Escaping into sentimental novels, she finds her fantasies dashed by the tedium of her days. Motherhood proves to be a burden; religion is only a brief distraction. In an effort to make her life everything she believes it should be, she spends lavishly on clothes and on her home and embarks on two disappointing affairs.
-
-
Ironic, humorous, and restrained
- By Esther on 05-13-13
By: Gustave Flaubert, and others
-
The Diary of a Madman and Other Stories
- By: Nikolai Gogol
- Narrated by: Nicholas Boulton
- Length: 17 hrs and 2 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The Diary of a Madman and Other Stories is a bizarre and colorful collection containing the finest short stories by the iconic Russian writer Nikolai Gogol. From the witty and Kafkaesque "The Nose", where a civil servant wakes up one day to find his nose missing, to the moving and evocative "The Overcoat", about a reclusive man whose only ambition is to replace his old, threadbare coat, Gogol gives us a unique take on the absurd.
-
-
Brilliant writer, fantastic narration, plus TOC
- By Reader on 04-01-22
By: Nikolai Gogol
-
Le Pere Goriot
- By: Honoré de Balzac
- Narrated by: David McCallion
- Length: 9 hrs and 55 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Honoré de Balzac uses his classic style of detail to describe a most controversial setting in his novel Le Pere Goriot. The story takes place in Paris just after the fall of Napoleon in 1819. The story focuses on three characters, Rastignac, a student who wants to try and make it big in the capital, Vautrin, an interesting and funny character who is also quite mysterious, and the main character, Goriot, that carries a heavy burden that only a loving parent would endure.
-
-
A minor masterpiece
- By Jack Rock on 03-04-18
By: Honoré de Balzac
-
The Short Stories of Anton Chekhov, Volume 1
- By: Anton Chekhov
- Narrated by: Charlton Griffin
- Length: 3 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Anton Pavlovich Chekhov, (1860-1904), was born in Russia at Taganrog on the Sea of Azov. His name has become synonymous with a certain literary style much admired and widely copied since his death. Typically, a Chekhov story is a "mood", a state of mind, usually with regard to relations between one person and another. Under the influence of the constant, infinitesimal, and unforeseen pinpricks of life, there occurs a gradual transformation of that state of mind.
-
-
A Box of Chocolates
- By Darlene on 02-08-05
By: Anton Chekhov
-
Dombey and Son
- By: Charles Dickens
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 36 hrs and 59 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In this carefully crafted novel, Dickens reveals the complexity of London society in the enterprising 1840s as he takes the listener into the business firm and home of one of its most representative patriarchs, Paul Dombey.
-
-
Perfect pair
- By Philip on 03-25-08
By: Charles Dickens
-
The Strange Case of Dr Jekyll and Mr Hyde and Other Tales of Terror
- By: Robert Louis Stevenson
- Narrated by: Michael Kitchen
- Length: 5 hrs and 14 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
This dark psychological fantasy is more than a moral tale. It is also a product of its time, drawing on contemporary theories of class, evolution and criminality, and the secret lives behind Victorian propriety, to create a unique form of urban Gothic.
-
-
The Dark Human Heart
- By Jefferson on 01-30-11
People who viewed this also viewed...
-
Les Misérables
- By: Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: Walter Covell
- Length: 33 hrs and 13 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Les Miserables is set in the Parisian underworld. The protagonist, Jean Valjean, is sentenced to prison for 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread. After his release, Valjean plans to rob monseigneur Myriel, a saint-like bishop, but cancels his plan. However, he forfeits his parole by committing a minor crime, and for this crime Valjean is haunted by the police inspector Javert. Valjean eventually reforms and becomes a successful businessman, benefactor, and mayor of a northern town.
-
-
astounding
- By Leslie on 07-30-06
By: Victor Hugo
-
Les Misérables
- Penguin Classics
- By: Christine Donougher, Victor Hugo, Robert Tombs
- Narrated by: Adeel Akhtar, Natalie Simpson, Adrian Scarborough, and others
- Length: 65 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Victor Hugo's tale of injustice, heroism and love follows the fortunes of Jean Valjean, an escaped convict determined to put his criminal past behind him. But his attempts to become a respected member of the community are constantly put under threat: by his own conscience and by the relentless investigations of the dogged Policeman, Javert. It is not simply for himself that Valjean must stay free, however, for he has sworn to protect the baby daughter of Fantine, driven to prostitution by poverty.
-
-
Great Book, Great Translation, 5 Great Narrators
- By Rain Wiegartner on 06-07-20
By: Christine Donougher, and others
-
Les Misérables: Translated by Julie Rose
- By: Victor Hugo, Julie Rose - translator
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 60 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the great classics of world literature and the inspiration for the most beloved stage musical of all time, Les Misérables is legendary author Victor Hugo’s masterpiece. This extraordinary English version by renowned translator Julie Rose captures all the majesty and brilliance of Hugo’s work. Here is the timeless story of the quintessential hunted man—Jean Valjean—and the injustices, violence, and social inequalities that torment him.
-
-
A Book that Made Me a Better Person
- By Jeff Diamond on 03-29-13
By: Victor Hugo, and others
-
Les Misérables
- By: Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 67 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Les Misérables is set in Paris after the French Revolution. In the sewers and backstreets, we encounter "the wolf-like tread of crime", and assassination for a few sous is all in a day's work. We weep with the unlucky and heart-broken Fantine, and we exult with the heroic revolutionaries of the barricades; but above all we thrill to the steadfast courage and nobility of soul of ex-convict Jean Valjean, always in danger from the relentless pursuit of the diabolical Inspector Javert.
-
-
Use earphones that are light on bass
- By Tad Davis on 11-08-15
By: Victor Hugo
-
Les Miserables
- A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation
- By: Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: Joss Ackland, Roger Allam, full cast
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Joss Ackland, Roger Allam, and Leslie Phillips star in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Victor Hugo’s classic novel. When poverty drives Jean Valjean to steal a loaf of bread from a baker’s window, it is an action that will haunt him for the rest of his life. A citizen of postrevolutionary France, he is sentenced to nineteen years’ hard labour.
-
-
Possibly the best audio version of Les Miserables?
- By DARBY KERN on 08-02-16
By: Victor Hugo
-
Les Misérables (ABR)
- By: Victor Hugo, Isabel F. Hapgood - translator
- Narrated by: Pete Cross
- Length: 43 hrs and 23 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Considered to be French novelist Victor Hugo's masterpiece, Les Miserables, which was published in 1862, is a sprawling historical and philosophical epic that covers from 1815 through the Paris Uprising in 1832. Notable for its many subplots and digressions from the main storyline, the novel's stated aim is a progress from evil to good, from injustice to justice, from falsehood to truth, which can be seen most clearly in the story of the central character Jean Valjean, an ex-convict who struggles to shake the sins of his past and become a good man.
-
-
Transcendent, magnanimous
- By CMD on 03-25-21
By: Victor Hugo, and others
-
Les Misérables
- By: Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: Walter Covell
- Length: 33 hrs and 13 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Les Miserables is set in the Parisian underworld. The protagonist, Jean Valjean, is sentenced to prison for 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread. After his release, Valjean plans to rob monseigneur Myriel, a saint-like bishop, but cancels his plan. However, he forfeits his parole by committing a minor crime, and for this crime Valjean is haunted by the police inspector Javert. Valjean eventually reforms and becomes a successful businessman, benefactor, and mayor of a northern town.
-
-
astounding
- By Leslie on 07-30-06
By: Victor Hugo
-
Les Misérables
- Penguin Classics
- By: Christine Donougher, Victor Hugo, Robert Tombs
- Narrated by: Adeel Akhtar, Natalie Simpson, Adrian Scarborough, and others
- Length: 65 hrs and 41 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Victor Hugo's tale of injustice, heroism and love follows the fortunes of Jean Valjean, an escaped convict determined to put his criminal past behind him. But his attempts to become a respected member of the community are constantly put under threat: by his own conscience and by the relentless investigations of the dogged Policeman, Javert. It is not simply for himself that Valjean must stay free, however, for he has sworn to protect the baby daughter of Fantine, driven to prostitution by poverty.
-
-
Great Book, Great Translation, 5 Great Narrators
- By Rain Wiegartner on 06-07-20
By: Christine Donougher, and others
-
Les Misérables: Translated by Julie Rose
- By: Victor Hugo, Julie Rose - translator
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 60 hrs and 26 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the great classics of world literature and the inspiration for the most beloved stage musical of all time, Les Misérables is legendary author Victor Hugo’s masterpiece. This extraordinary English version by renowned translator Julie Rose captures all the majesty and brilliance of Hugo’s work. Here is the timeless story of the quintessential hunted man—Jean Valjean—and the injustices, violence, and social inequalities that torment him.
-
-
A Book that Made Me a Better Person
- By Jeff Diamond on 03-29-13
By: Victor Hugo, and others
-
Les Misérables
- By: Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 67 hrs and 53 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Les Misérables is set in Paris after the French Revolution. In the sewers and backstreets, we encounter "the wolf-like tread of crime", and assassination for a few sous is all in a day's work. We weep with the unlucky and heart-broken Fantine, and we exult with the heroic revolutionaries of the barricades; but above all we thrill to the steadfast courage and nobility of soul of ex-convict Jean Valjean, always in danger from the relentless pursuit of the diabolical Inspector Javert.
-
-
Use earphones that are light on bass
- By Tad Davis on 11-08-15
By: Victor Hugo
-
Les Miserables
- A BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation
- By: Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: Joss Ackland, Roger Allam, full cast
- Length: 5 hrs and 40 mins
- Original Recording
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Joss Ackland, Roger Allam, and Leslie Phillips star in this BBC Radio 4 full-cast dramatisation of Victor Hugo’s classic novel. When poverty drives Jean Valjean to steal a loaf of bread from a baker’s window, it is an action that will haunt him for the rest of his life. A citizen of postrevolutionary France, he is sentenced to nineteen years’ hard labour.
-
-
Possibly the best audio version of Les Miserables?
- By DARBY KERN on 08-02-16
By: Victor Hugo
-
Les Misérables (ABR)
- By: Victor Hugo, Isabel F. Hapgood - translator
- Narrated by: Pete Cross
- Length: 43 hrs and 23 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Considered to be French novelist Victor Hugo's masterpiece, Les Miserables, which was published in 1862, is a sprawling historical and philosophical epic that covers from 1815 through the Paris Uprising in 1832. Notable for its many subplots and digressions from the main storyline, the novel's stated aim is a progress from evil to good, from injustice to justice, from falsehood to truth, which can be seen most clearly in the story of the central character Jean Valjean, an ex-convict who struggles to shake the sins of his past and become a good man.
-
-
Transcendent, magnanimous
- By CMD on 03-25-21
By: Victor Hugo, and others
-
Les Miserables
- By: Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: Frederick Davidson
- Length: 12 hrs and 4 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Set in the Parisian underworld and plotted like a detective story, Les Misérables follows the adventures of Jean Valjean, originally an honest peasant, who has been imprisoned for 19 years for stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister's starving family. A hardened criminal upon his release, he eventually reforms, becoming a successful industrialist and town mayor.
-
-
Good reader, but no Fantine back story at all.
- By Katie Maynard on 09-14-17
By: Victor Hugo
-
Les Misérables
- By: Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: Philippe Duquenoy
- Length: 60 hrs and 49 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
As one of the greatest novels of all time, Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables takes the listeneron a journey into the turbulent Parisian underworld. With breathtaking realism, Hugo recreates the dark world of the 1832 uprising and the sad but meaningful struggle between good and evil. In Les Misérables, Victor Hugo introduces one of the most beloved fictional characters of classic literature, Jean Valjean, who is best known for his imprisonment for the minor offense of stealing a loaf of bread.
-
-
What a great narrator!
- By BZF on 10-02-22
By: Victor Hugo
-
Les Miserables
- By: Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: David Case
- Length: 12 hrs and 25 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Les Misérables emphasizes the three major predicaments of the 19th century, each symbolized by a major character: Jean Valjean represents the degradation of man in the proletariat, Fantine represents the subjection of women through hunger, and Cosette represents the atrophy of the child by darkness.
-
-
TOO Abridged, Read Only if You Won't Read More
- By Syd Young on 02-03-14
By: Victor Hugo
-
Les Misérables
- By: Victor Hugo, Lee Fahnestock, Norman MacAfee
- Narrated by: Mark McKerracher
- Length: 5 hrs and 44 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Les Misérables has long been recognized as one of the finest novels of all time, a brilliant fusion of unforgettable characters and universal themes.
Its hero is Jean Valjean, the noble peasant imprisoned. A sweeping story of love and honor in the depths of the Parisian underworld, immerses us in an epic struggle between good and evil, and carries us onto the barricades during the uprising of 1832 with a realism that is unsurpassed in modern literature.
-
-
too short
- By Elizabeth on 12-11-12
By: Victor Hugo, and others
-
Les Miserables
- By: Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: Alan Munro
- Length: 67 hrs and 37 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
One of the greatest novels of the 19th century. Jean Valjean, who for decades has been hunted by the ruthless policeman Javert after breaking parole, agrees to care for a factory worker's daughter. The decision changes their lives forever.
-
-
Cannot bear fake French accent
- By diesel on 03-29-18
By: Victor Hugo
-
Les Misérables. L'intégrale
- By: Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: Michel Vuillermoz, Élodie Huber, Pierre-François Garel, and others
- Length: 56 hrs and 52 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Un enregistrement exceptionnel : les cinq volumes des "Misérables", un des plus grands romans de la littérature française, enfin disponibles en livre audio. Jean Valjean, Cosette, les Thénardier, Gavroche, ou encore Javert sont autant de noms qui résonnent au-delà de l'histoire qui les a fait naître. Ces misérables sont décrits à la fois comme des archétypes du genre humain, mais aussi comme les produits d'une société génératrice de pauvreté, d'ignorance et de désespoir.
-
-
Michel Vuillermoz (the 1st) is a really bad reader
- By bo on 07-18-17
By: Victor Hugo
-
Les Misérables
- By: Victor Hugo, Isabel F. Hapgood - translator
- Narrated by: Pete Cross
- Length: 62 hrs and 45 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Considered to be French novelist Victor Hugo's masterpiece, Les Miserables, which was published in 1862, is a sprawling historical and philosophical epic that covers from 1815 through the Paris Uprising in 1832. Notable for its many subplots and digressions from the main storyline, the novel's stated aim is a progress from evil to good, from injustice to justice, from falsehood to truth, which can be seen most clearly in the story of the central character Jean Valjean, an ex-convict who struggles to shake the sins of his past and become a good man.
-
-
Incredible Book
- By A. M. Dirks on 08-04-19
By: Victor Hugo, and others
-
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- By: Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 22 hrs and 28 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
In the grotesque bell-ringer Quasimodo, Victor Hugo created one of the most vivid characters in classic fiction. Quasimodo's doomed love for the beautiful gypsy girl Esmeralda is an example of the traditional love theme of beauty and the beast. Yet, set against the massive background of Notre Dame de Paris and interwoven with the sacred and secular life of medieval France, it takes on a larger perspective.
-
-
More than I bargained for...
- By 1DrummingAddict on 07-18-15
By: Victor Hugo
-
Les Miserables
- By: Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: Bill Homewood
- Length: 5 hrs and 5 mins
- Abridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Les Miserables is set in Paris after the French Revolution. In the sewers and back streets we encounter "the wolf-like tread of crime," and assassination for a few sous is all in a day's work. We weep with the unlucky and heartbroken Fantine, and exult with the heroic revolutionaries of the barricades; but above all we thrill to the steadfast courage and nobility of soul of ex-convict Jean Valjean, always in danger from the relentless pursuit of the diabolical Inspector Javert.
-
-
Hugo's love still shines...
- By Barak Zadok on 08-29-10
By: Victor Hugo
-
The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- By: Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 22 hrs and 15 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Quasimodo was born disfigured, hunchbacked and lame, and years spent ringing the bells of the Cathedral of Notre Dame have left him deaf, but also spared him the taunts of the cruel mobs of Paris. Now Quasimodo has fallen in love with the lovely Gypsy girl Esmeralda, the only person who ever showed pity on him - but she faces a death sentence, and only Quasimodo's pure spirit can save her. Or can he?
-
-
Overwhelmingly sad
- By Tad Davis on 09-02-13
By: Victor Hugo
-
Los Miserables
- By: Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: Victor Hugo
- Length: 16 hrs and 30 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
Los miserables es una novela histórica de Víctor Hugo, publicada en 1862. La historia se enmarca en el período de la restauración de la monarquía francesa, que tuvo lugar en la primera mitad del siglo XIX. Su tema gira en torno al bien, el mal, la ética, la justicia y la fe. El argumento de la novela Los miserables de Víctor Hugo se centra en la historia de Jean Valjean, condenado a prisión por robar una hogaza de pan para sus sobrinos.
-
-
Fabuloso!!
- By Conny D.G. on 04-30-24
By: Victor Hugo
-
Les Misérables: Children's Edition
- By: Matt Larsen, Victor Hugo
- Narrated by: Benjamin Fife
- Length: 5 hrs and 3 mins
- Unabridged
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
The classic tale of Les Miserables abridged for a ten year old child, yet still enjoyable for an adult of any age.
By: Matt Larsen, and others
What listeners say about Les Miserables
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
-
Overall
- Bonnie
- 08-03-07
Great Literature
This audio book is well worth the listening time. It is fast-moving, exciting and philosophical. I especially loved the way the author described the spiritual struggle of the main character.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
4 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Linse
- 11-02-12
Wonderful story, poorly written
If you could sum up Les Miserables in three words, what would they be?
The story is deeply moving - even weeks after finishing the book, I find myself walking or driving, think of a scene and growing happy or melancholy. Not many stories haunt me like this.
However, it is not as good as Dickens. Dickens (of the same era) tells a story which paints an image in your mind of life back in the 1800's. In contrast, Hugo tells a story, then frequently stops and directly explains what you should have understood from the story - as if the reader is too stupid to understand without a professor's detailed dissection and explanation. This rehashing gets tedious very fast.
So I'd say:
- one third of the book is the wonderful story.
- one third of the book is interesting historical detail and context.
- one third of the book should have been edited out.
Would you recommend Les Miserables to your friends? Why or why not?
Yes, it is a wonderful story, just be prepared for some boring, pointless parts.
What does Frederick Davidson bring to the story that you wouldn’t experience if you just read the book?
The ability to listen when I drive :) I do like the emotion.
Was there a moment in the book that particularly moved you?
There are so many places in which I smiled to cried.
I think the section about Cosette carrying the water and with the dolls is perhaps the most moving (first the lead-sword in a rag, then the purloined doll, then her own doll).
Any additional comments?
As I frequently listen to good stories 3 or even 4 times, I'd love to find an abridged version which cuts out the 1/3 of content which shouldn't be there.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
3 people found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Ian C Robertson
- 12-04-11
A Tour de Force
Les Mis', now know for the wonderful musical, remains a masterpiece of drama as this production makes clear. The story is so cleverly constructed it makes one think that Hugo came forward in time and wrote parallel plots, cut and pasted them and, then, returned in time with the finished manuscript. There are lfew more memorable heroes than Jean Valjean or more sympathetic villains than Javert. Even today, many years after I first read the novel in print, it is hard to resist the feeling that Marius does not deserve their sacrifice, albeit made for Cosette by Valjean and for Valjean by Javert, and not for him.
As for the performance, it suffers from the understandable production issues inherent in older audio books. There is a fair amount of Fredrick Davidson's breathing caught on the audio and there are some odd pauses and strange background noise (once sounding like a tap running). Notwithstanding this (and having been spoilt by current production standards, it takes a bit of getting used to) Davidson's range is so vast and his continuity so sustained, one can't help but be impressed overall with his performance.
Like all epic works, parts of the narrative need to be persevered with. It is no different to reading the text in that regard. However, I realized with the audio that I actually took more in because I suspect I did not read the long descriptive bits before. For example, the history of the nun's order came as a surprise to me, no matter the previous readings, as did the famous detail of the Battle of Waterloo. I enjoyed both much more in audio than when reading the novel.
A full listening for me was broken into three sittings, interspersed with other audio books; again, as I might go about reading an epic novel. It worked well splitting the Parts, 1 - 3, 4 - 7 and 8 - 10. I'm confident that other combinations would be equally successful. Although I don't think I could have downed the whole 10 Parts in one sitting, a complete listen over about two months worked for me and was very rewarding overall.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
2 people found this helpful
-
Overall
- Bryan
- 06-09-11
Poverty and its cousin misery are here to stay
Victor Hugo's classic that has drawn crowds to its musical rendition for decades provides stark realization that poverty has been with us for hundreds if not thousands of years, and is likely to go with us into the future. In places Hugo's lengthy descriptions and wanderings off the story nevertheless provide insight into French life in the early 19th century. But don't lose concentration at these times - you may lose context and detail necessary later. Generally well narrated, the accents of woman and children a little weird coming from a mature and deep male voice box, but not distractingly so after one gets used to it. In places the pauses for breath a little inappropriate. 60 hours of good listening - I wouldn't want the abridged version.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Kenneth
- 09-06-11
Amazing story but...
Hugo tells an INCREDIBLE story. It was a beautiful mix of romance, action, and familial love. It's a story I'd love to hear over and over again. I was truly enraptured with the characters and the plot. However, I think he was absent the day they taught economy of writing. All authors have tangents and some add to the depth of the story but in this case, they became monotonous and had little bearing on the plot. Over an hour describing the minutia of the Battle of Waterloo, another hour on the practices of the nuns, 45 minutes on the construction, cleaning and reconstruction of the sewers in Paris and another 45 minutes on his personal philosophy of revolution. It was a bit much and those are just one ones I remember off the top of my head. I would love to hear and abridged version since these distracted me so much from the lives of the charming and delightful characters he spent so much time developing.
The narrator on the other hand was TERRIBLE! He slurps and smacks all the way through it. I could hear his breathing and it was incredibly distracting. His accent was snobby and I must agree with other reviews who said if an accent was to be used it should have been a French accent not an English one. His singing was cringe worthy: like fingernails on a chalkboard! It's a good thing the book was so good or I'd have given up on it based on the narrator.
One other thing I found to be of interest, not positive or negative: the words "sepulcher" or "sepulchral" were used at least 31 times in this book. I started counting around the 5th or 6th occurrence because it is a word not often heard in our language today so it caught my ear. It was kind of a game I played, listening for them.
I do recommend the book but an abridged version my keep it going a little better.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
1 person found this helpful
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- J. Varner
- 12-16-13
I've Eaten My Vegetables
Would you try another book from Victor Hugo and/or Frederick Davidson?
I am unlikely to purchase another Victor Hugo book, and will try to keep an open mind about Frederick Davidson who may be an innocent casualty of my listening experience.
What was most disappointing about Victor Hugo’s story?
My ignorance may be a factor in this review which reluctantly disparages "Les Miserables." It does appear to be a book written for a distinctly different era in which writers were paid by the word. While Hugo is quite gifted as a writer and thoughtful as an observer, he bored me nearly to death with his pontifications, his tendency to meander away from the meat of the story into lengthy and tedious detail and his predictable and saccharine ending. I particularly disliked the portions that were done in song and in French by Mr. Davidson. Two or three minutes of listening to someone with a poor to average singing voice sing words I could not understand did not add to my listening enjoyment. I finished the audiobook today after pushing myself to listen a little bit every day hoping that I might conclude the book with something good to say. In the end, I concluded I had done the right thing to complete what I had started, but it brought as much joy as one gets when finishing a plate of vegetables you hate but know are good for you. I acknowledge again that my ignorance of Hugo and literature from 1862 may render my critique useless to other listeners, but for average people such as me this book should not be purchased for entertainment or illumination; it should be undertaken as one does any other chore you sense may contribute to character building. At least now I can say I have completed this famous book.
What did you like about the performance? What did you dislike?
There was very little I liked, unfortunately. I disliked most of the book, but especially the parts where Mr. Davidson was asked to sing for several minutes in French.
Do you think Les Miserables needs a follow-up book? Why or why not?
Let's let Les Miserables and Victor Hugo remain an important part of history.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jana
- 04-09-16
Much more humorous than I imagined
Being completely new to Hugo's work, having never read abridgments or seen the movie, I was truly delighted with Wilber's translation and the English turn of phrase common to the 1860s.
Hugo had a fantastic sense of humor that Fredrick Davidson really maximized with a dry, satirical presentation.
The unabridged edition is long. Very long. But the history and commentary on the era sprinkled with humor then masterfully woven into the turn of the plot are worth every minute.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Benjamin
- 04-03-15
Long, but worth it!
Beautiful story, beautiful language! Hugo sure does take off on some side paths to explain details and history before he move on with the story, but it is well worth the time spent. What a great story!
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Jarod
- 10-04-12
Among the greatest books ever written.
What made the experience of listening to Les Miserables the most enjoyable?
Hearing Hugo's marvelous prose come to life.
What was one of the most memorable moments of Les Miserables?
Jean Valjean's inner battle as he debates whether he should free the man how stands to be condemned in his place.
What about Frederick Davidson’s performance did you like?
Great jobs bringing these characters to life.
Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?
It it were possible.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!
-
Overall
-
Performance
-
Story
- Daniel
- 10-29-21
Fantastic story, long digressions
Truly a timeless masterpiece well known for its musical adaptation. The novel breaths depth into the already lived characters. The long digressions and history lessons do make it somewhat tedious, but the overall read is well worth the time.
Something went wrong. Please try again in a few minutes.
You voted on this review!
You reported this review!