Les Miserables: The Classic Story of the Triumph of Grace and Redemption, Adapted for Today's Reader - Softcover

If you are like me and have wanted to read this Very Important Book but have been scared off by its behemoth size then you are in luck. This version, offered by Barbour Publishing s Shiloh Run Press, is not only condensed but translated especially for today's American reader. However, that does not mean that the book will be an easy read, just easier than previous editions.
Skip the movie and read the book. Its not necessarily an easy read but how many truly wonderful and exceptional things in life are easy? You get what you put into things and Les Miserables pays you back in spades.--Darian Burns"Darian Burns Blog" (01/10/2014)"

Do you ever come across a book that seems like everyone but you has read? It's received rave reviews and you half-heartedly add it to the to-read list but you don't consider it high priority. You'll get around to it...eventually. Well that's the way I have felt about Les Miserables. And to be honest, when I see the majority going googly-eyed over a book I tend to avoid it as it usually isn't my cup of tea. However when the opportunity presented itself to read this French classic in the form of an abridged edition I jumped at the chance. And I have no regrets. While there was no doubt a good deal that I missed out on I found this modern edition of a timeless story very well done. Very few classics I come across fall under the "page-turner" category but in my own humble opinion Les Miserables was excellent. It reveals the triumphs and fall of mankind and how one decision can set into motion a whole series of incidents that have both positive and negative effects.--J. Burdette"Reet Champion Book Reviews" (03/13/2014)"

Here’s the epic story that spawned Hollywood films and Broadway musicals—in a condensed and updated version perfect for the twenty-first century reader seeking its redemptive message. Born of the unrest that pervaded France after the failure of its eighteenth-century revolution, Les Misérables follows the journey of Jean Valjean from depravity and corruption to grace and redemption. The eclectic cast of characters accompanying Valjean causes us to empathize with the condition of the human spirit—from Fantine, the desperate single mother, to the cold justice of Javert, to the passion of Cosette, to the revolutionary spirit in Marius. This retelling of Hugo’s epic 1862 novel retains the richness that is Les Mis, in approximately one-fifth of the original wording.