Les Misérables

By: Victor Hugo, Lee Fahnestock, Norman MacAfee

Narrated by: Mark McKerracher

It is hardly surprising that Victor Hugo's 1862 masterwork should have inspired one of the most phenomenally successful musicals in the history of the Broadway stage. 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.

We experience the desperation of the prostitute, Fantine; the amorality of the rogue, Thenardier; and the unquenchable desire of all human beings to be genuinely free.

Hugo saw Les Misérables as a means of dramatizing his bitter criticism of French society, but the novel that resulted transcends its own time and place. It's an ever-fascinating story, a sweeping spectacle that dazzles the senses as it touches the heart, and this audio edition captures its lasting greatness.

©1987 Lee Fahnestock and Norman MacAfee (P)1992 Penguin HighBridge Audio

My Favorite Book

I saw the movie, the play, so finally I read the book. This is so great, I love it, it better then the play and add more background, this is probably my favorite book in the whole world.

Different from the movie

Although different from the movie the basic storyline remains the same. A great story to listen to.

Best Fiction Ever Written

Would you listen to Les Misérables again? Why?

I love it, and listen to it over and over, more than once a year.

What did you like best about this story?

Struggle of characters to do what is best, vs. what is easiest

Have you listened to any of Mark McKerracher’s other performances before? How does this one compare?

No, haven't heard him before, but LOVE his performance.

Was this a book you wanted to listen to all in one sitting?

No. It's long and involved.

Any additional comments?

BEST BEST BEST !!!

MARVELOUS

loved it. this book is amazing. it feels like your in the book like your the characters.

Loved it!

With the French names it was hard for me to keep up with all of the characters so it would have helped if I took notes since the author left characters for long periods of time and they would return. Great nevertheless.

Classic

Les Misérable is a classic in all perspectives. It truly has something for everyone. It has action, it has romance, it's sad, it's happy, it's everything! If you have the time truly listen to this one.
You won't be disappointed!

shortened or not, Les miserables is always great!

Kids nowadays don't read long stories. This one is worth reading. One of the best books ever written. I read it when I was was a 14, At 60, it still made me cry. Read it!

Didn't know it was Abridged

The narrator of the story is good, and the story itself is good, but when I bought this book there was nothing telling me that it was abridged. I only found out after I had finished the story.

Abridged version

Looking back at the description I don't see anything that indicated that this was an abridged version of the book. Maybe it is there and I just missed it. I suppose I should have ascertained this by its short length. I listened to the sample in order to find a voice that was the least annoying for me and this one won in that regard. But yea, had I known that it would be leaving out so much of the stuff that separates the book from the movie I wouldn't have bought it. This book seems to run parallel to the movie. I can't stress that point enough. Don't expect any more details from this than you saw in the movie.

too short

this abridged version is too short, you might as well just see the play or watch the movie. buy a longer version to get a better sense of the original writing.