Product Description

The classic novel--and hit Broadway show--about escaped convict Jean Valjean

has been adapted with easy-to-read text, large type, and short chapters. This

engaging adaptation of the timeless tale is ideal for reluctant readers and

kids not yet ready to tackle the original.

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #52125 in Books
• Published on: 1995-03-14
• Released on: 1995-03-14
• Original language: French
• Number of items: 1
• Binding: Paperback
• 112 pages

Features

• ISBN13: 9780679866688
• Condition: NEW
• Notes: Brand New from Publisher. No Remainder Mark.
• Click here to view our Condition Guide and Shipping Prices

Review
“Rich and gorgeous. This is the [translation] to read… and if you are flying, just carry it under your arm as you board, or better still, rebook your holiday and go by train, slowly, page by page.”
—Jeanette Winterson, The Times (London)

“[A] magnificent story… marvelously captured in this new unabridged translation by Julie Rose.”
—The Denver Post

“A new translation by Julie Rose of Hugo’s behemoth classic that is as racy and current and utterly arresting as it should be.”
—Buffalo News (editor’s choice)

“Vibrant and readable, idiomatic and well suited to a long narrative, [Julie Rose’s new translation of Les Miserables] is closer to the captivating tone Hugo would have struck for his own contemporaries.”
—Diane Johnson

“A lively, dramatic, and wonderfully readable translation of one of the greatest 19th-century novels.”
—Alison Lurie

“Some of us may have read Les Miserables back in the day, but… between Gopnik and Rose, you’ll get two introductions that will offer you all the pleasures of your college instruction with none of the pain.”
—The Agony Column (trashotron.com)


From the Hardcover edition.

From the Inside Flap
The classic novel--and hit Broadway show--about escaped convict Jean Valjean has been adapted with easy-to-read text, large type, and short chapters.  This engaging adaptation of the timeless tale is ideal for reluctant readers and kids not yet ready to tackle the original.  

About the Author
Victor Hugo (1802-85), novelist, poet, playwright, and French national icon, is best known for two of today’s most popular world classics: Les Misérables and The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, as well as other works, including The Toilers of the Sea and The Man Who Laughs. Hugo was elected to the Académie Française in 1841. As a statesman, he was named a Peer of France in 1845. He served in France’s National Assemblies in the Second Republic formed after the 1848 revolution, and in 1851 went into self-imposed exile upon the ascendance of Napoleon III, who restored France’s government to authoritarian rule. Hugo returned to France in 1870 after the proclamation of the Third Republic.

Julie Rose’s acclaimed translations include Alexandre Dumas’s The Knight of Maison-Rouge and Racine’s Phèdre, as well as works by Paul Virilio, Jacques Rancière, Chantal Thomas, and many others. She is a recipient of the PEN medallion for translation and the New South Wales Premier’s Translation Prize.

Adam Gopnik is the author of Paris to the Moon and Through the Children’s Gate, and editor of the Library of America anthology Americans in Paris. He writes on various subjects for The New Yorker and has recently written introductions to works by Maupassant, Balzac, Proust, and Alain-Fournier.


From the Hardcover edition.

Customer Reviews

Great Introduction to a Wonderful Classic
We have the soundtrack for Les Miserables, and my children (1st & 2nd grade) were extremely interested in the storyline. My son was fascinated by the idea of social injustice, of a Bishop actually lying/sinning to save Jean Valjean and turn him into an honest man, of poor little Cosette's misery, of Eponine's unselfish love for Marius, of the student rebellion on behalf of the misery of the masses, of what could have possibly motivated Javert to kill himself, etc... He asked so many thoughtful questions, trying to understand this story. He actually pulled down my 1000+ pages, unabridged version of Les Miserables and tried to read the first few pages!

I promised him I would try to find a version of the story just right for a 2nd grader, although I said it was very unlikely. Then I searched Amazon and found this little gem of a book. He absolutely loved it and read it several times the first day it arrived. As you can imagine, much IS lost by transforming a 1000+ page, tiny font book into a 100 page, largish font book. However, there is no way a 2nd grader can possibly appreciate the original, and he thoroughly enjoyed this version, so he and I are completely satisfied by this Stepping Stone book.

Jessie Wise Bauer (Well-Trained Mind) maintains that introducing children to adapted classics is a good idea, because then they grow to love the stories and are not intimidated by the original works when they are older. If this idea appeals to you, then I also highly recommend the series of Odyssey books by Mary Pope Osborne (Magic Tree House author).

A Great Story Retold by a Great Author!
My 3rd grader read this book for a homeschool assignment. We try to introduce the classics whenever we can. I was so impressed by this book, I've told all my homeschool girlfriends about it. The raw emotion and suspense is captured in this book, but the negative elements (prostitution, for example) are left out, making this very suitable for an elementary student. My reluctant-to-read child couldn't put it down! I love Monica Kulling's work- we own several of her retold classics. HOMESCHOOLERS: READ MY OTHER REVIEWS!

An 8-Year-Old's Review
Les Miserables is about a man named Jean Valjean who lived in France in the late 1700's. He was so poor that he had to steal a loaf of bread for his sister's child because the child was about to die from hunger. The police caught him and put him in jail for 19 years. Jean Valjean was very angry and hated the world when he left the jail. He stole silver from a kind bishop, but the bishop did not turn him into the police and even gave him more silver. After this, Jean Valjean changed his life and showed love and kindness to everyone around him. He even risked his life several times to save people.

I like this book because it teaches you to be kind and to have mercy on people. It also shows you how people lived during the time of the French Revolution. This is one of my favorite books ever. It is sad but cool, and you should read it. (I read the whole book in 2 hours straight!)