Catherine Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 OK, I finally saw the movie last night. I've seen the stage version twice, and read the first several hundred pages (so just the beginning LOL) of the Fahnestock\McAfee translation, which the book notes is based on the Wilbur translation. Is this a good one? I may get the kindle edition, just because the book is a bit unwieldy. Recommendations please? And I am not opposed to an abridgement, if it's a good one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duckens Posted January 27, 2013 Share Posted January 27, 2013 Whatever you choose, I would also check out Cliffs Notes for the book. I thoroughly enjoyed the book when I read it in my early 20s, but I also had the Cliffs Notes to help me through it. Usually, I would do a portion of the reading, and after, read the comparable commentary. Then I got to the part where Victor Hugo spent 5 chapters describing the French sewer system. :ohmy: Checking the commentary reassured me that I wouldn't miss anything important if I scanned the rest of that section. It saved me. I also remember the description of the denouement being particularly good, and I have shared it with other lovers of the book to explain how Hugo would cross-tie all of his characters. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Catherine Posted January 28, 2013 Author Share Posted January 28, 2013 Thank you! That is very helpful-study guide. Anyone else? Which translation? Or does it matter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Matryoshka Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 I compared them all a while back, and vastly preferred the Denny translation (I think that's Penguin Classics?). I found the Wilbur to be a bit unwieldy to get through, and the one "based on" the Wilbur - well, that's kind of one more step removed from the source language. The newest translation (Rose) seemed to be trying overly hard to be "modern" - no big words (causing the text to sometimes be longer than the French! :svengo: ), and used what I found to be some very anachronistic "hip" language. Ew. The Denny was clear and readable - the language didn't get in the way of the story. And the sewer chapters have been relegated to an appendix - so you can go read them if you want, but if you'd rather not, it's easy to skip them. The text is otherwise unabridged. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Candid Posted January 28, 2013 Share Posted January 28, 2013 Here's the abridged version Tapestry uses: http://www.amazon.com/Miserables-Enriched-Classics-Victor-Hugo/dp/141650026X/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1359382268&sr=8-1&keywords=9781416500261 They don't use many abridgements beyond the Norton Anthologies but this is one they use. You might also check on the high school forum, someone posted looking for this same thing and another person posted their personal "good parts" version. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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