The Town of Odyssey

Les Misérables, written by Victor Hugo, is a classic, a redemption story of truly epic proportions... and the book that I finished reading two days ago! It's been a journey more than a year in the making (or I should say "in the reading"), but it was well worth it. 1463 pages is a rather intimidating length, particularly for someone without much extensive knowledge of French history, but it gave me such a breadth of understanding of the characters and the time, and was gripping and powerful. It isn't a quick and easy read, but I highly recommend it.

On a similar note, I've had the radio theatre version of Les Mis for a few years now, but decided not to listen to it until after I had read the book (even though at the time I didn't have any immediate plans to read it). I've finally listened to it, and it definitely doesn't do the book justice. It's well-made, of course, like any radio theatre production, but there's too much story to be told well in a mere 2.5 hours, and I felt that (at least) some of the changes that were made lessened the power of the story. Though admittedly, book purist as I am, I probably shouldn't have listened to the day after finishing the book.

Has anyone else read the book, heard the drama, and/or seen the musical or any of the film adaptations?

I've only read part of the abridged version for school. I was supposed to have finished it...but I didn't

I liked the musical.

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I heard the radio Theatre version and LOVED it!It is an excellent story that everyone should at least read.

My school did that play and it was nice.

i want to see the play/musical now! ...after I read the book, that is!

I'm glad you liked the book, Lizzie! I've been meaning to re-read it. I had to read it in college, meaning I did so grudgingly as all assigned reading tends to be, but I really loved the film adaptation with Liam Neeson and Claire Danes. I've also seen a musical version but the themes in the story seem way more poignant to me without the musical element. Anyway, it definitely makes my top 10 favorite movies.

I've listened to the Radio Theatre version and also seen several film adaptions - but I've never read the book. The RT version was well done, and I enjoyed it. Of course, never having read the book, I can't speak to whether it does it justice or not.