Reading the Chunksters discussion

Hello, dear friends. In our run-off poll, there were 24 people who voted for this novel. It is a chunkster worth reading and discussing, so I am trying to organize a side-read but with the schedule and individual posts per each section. To do this, we need a company of very committed readers, reliable readers, who truly want to read the books and will grasp this opportunity to discuss this novel in the company of reading soul-mates. Besides, the book is free in all major ebook selling stores. Free book in an excellent company is a dream come true:-)

Count me in!

I would love to participate.

Yup! I'm in too

I'm in.

I will try to be in, if the pace isn't too fast, but I'm moderating a discussion on another board starting in January, and that will have to take first priority. So count me as a "want to, will try to, but can't absolutely guarantee."

I'll join you!

Greetings, Zulfiya!

Thank you so much for the heads-up PM, it is greatly appreciated. I think it's a great idea to have an official sign-in thread, dedicated for us determined readers of Le Miserables. You can count me in, for sure! I'm a part of another group that plans on reading it as a buddy read sometime in 2014, as well.
I don't have a copy yet, but will be on the lookout soon.

Everyman wrote: "I will try to be in, if the pace isn't too fast, but I'm moderating a discussion on another board starting in January, and that will have to take first priority. So count me as a "want to, will try..."

I hope to see you there, Everyman!

count me in!

Dustin wrote: I don't have a copy yet, but will be on the lookout soon. "

At some point (fairly soon so those who don't have a copy yet can have the information to help make a buying decision if they want to buy rather than use the free Goodreads ebook copy, which is likely to be an onder translation) we should discuss translations. But I'll wait for Zulfiya to say whether she wants to use this thread for that, or whether she wants to reserve this thread for the dashboard for signing in, and prefers to set up a separate thread to discuss translations.

I will give a couple of days for people to sign in and then we can discuss the translation. I am tempted to use my Audible credit to buy an audiobook; on the other hand, there are three books I want to buy using my two monthly credits. I hope Santa will be nice to me and bring some credits as presents :-)

Zulfiya wrote: "I am tempted to use my Audible credit to buy an audiobook;"

Check first to see whether your library offers the audio version for you to download and borrow for free. My little library does, and I downloaded it, read by Frederick Davidson who I really like as a reader. I get audio books in WMA format (much more compact than MP3 but just as good for audio use), and I have a little Sansa Clip which is cheap and plays just fine (and has the benefit that the book doesn't disappear automatically after the lending period, which it does on a ipod, so I can listen for as long as I need to). (Actually, I have two clips, one for the house and one in my jacket to listen to on my daily walk.) The Clip costs no more than buying one or two books from Audible, which I used to use a lot before my library got the online system.

Thank you, Everyman. I have just checked - yes, it does have an audiobook, and I am user 1 out of 1 on the waiting list. If it was borrowed today, I might get it in two weeks:-)If someone borrowed it earlier, than it might happen earlier. Meanwhile, I will find a free ebook to work on a schedule:-)

I would like to participate in this group read.

10 people and counting ...

I'll join!

I'm in!

Everyman wrote: "Dustin wrote: I don't have a copy yet, but will be on the lookout soon. "

At some point (fairly soon so those who don't have a copy yet can have the information to help make a buying decision if t..."

Thank you for the input.:)

I'm in.

Zulfiya wrote: "10 people and counting ..."

Yay!!!

Depending on how rigorous the reading schedule is between the two books, I may try to join in on this read as well. I feel like I shouldn't pass up this opportunity to read such a monumental classic that I might not otherwise attempt.

Linda wrote: "Depending on how rigorous the reading schedule is between the two books, I may try to join in on this read as well. I feel like I shouldn't pass up this opportunity to read such a monumental class..."

Hopefully you're able to read it, Linda.

In!

Hope I can keep up this time.

Welcome, Kara, I'm glad to see in the Le Mis read!

I'll read along. Starting the New Year with a bang! :)

Great! it looks like this side read will have a bigger company than the main classic read! I will post the reading schedule between Christmas and New Year! Let's tackle the big one.

I just read this one earlier this year, but I will be joining in on the discussion. This book is amazing and one of my all time favorite books. I loved every word of this huge work.

Any suggestions on the translator? I would like to look for this book over the holiday break and I saw a couple of copies of the version posted here (the Lee Fahnestock and Norman MacAfee as translators) at the used bookstore recently. If this is the version people recommend then I would like to pick up a copy soon. I don't know how many different versions there are to begin with.

We can use an approach when we use different translations. With my other group, we are reading the Zola cycle, and some of us are reading it in French, others are using one of the latest translation, and some are using the free translation that is available in any ebook store as a free book. We just comment on things that are not clear or might be different in different versions. I think we might have Everyman because he has already read it.

Everyman, any recommendations here? Did you read it in French or if no, what translation did you use?

I already have a copy of this book, so regardless of what translation is "officially" chosen, I'm going to read the one I already own. No sense in getting another copy of the same book. As long as the breaks are chosen at logical markers and not reliant on page numbers (which change per edition) we should be fine. And i agree with Zulfiya - having different translations being read simultaneously could make for more interesting discussions!

I have the Norman Denny translation that is published by Penguin and I've heard great things about it. So naturally, that is the edition I will be reading.

Zulfiya wrote: "Everyman, any recommendations here? Did you read it in French or if no, what translation did you use?"

I agree that a group using different translations can benefit from comparing, in questionable passages, how different translators have approached it. Or something as simple as one translator using one title and another using another title for the same official can lead to a discussion of exactly what the official did and why there is no exact comparison with English or American titles.

That said, I used the Rose translation when I read it a while back for a GR discussion. But I also have the Fahnestock and MacAfee translation "based on the classic C.E. Wilbour translation," and find it a bit different but still quite readable. (And I will probably try to use the Hapgood translation on Goodreads for any quotes longer than a few lines since that will allow cutting and pasting.)

As an example of differences, Hapgood translates the first two lines as

In 1815, M. Charles-Francois-Bienvenu Myriel was Bishop of D—— He was an old man of about seventy-five years of age; he had occupied the see of D—— since 1806.

I understand that the D___ is used in the original French. However, both Rose and Fahnestock and MacAfee write "In 1815, M. Charles-Francois-Bienvenu Myriel was Bishop of Digne." This is because, the note to Rose says, Hugo based his character on the actual bishop of Digne. So already both translators differ from a strict translation.

For the second line, Rose translates "He was an elderly man of about seventy-five and he had occupied the seat of Digne since 1806." Fahnestock and MacAfee translate "He was then about seventy-five and had presided over the diocese of Digne since 1806."

Did Hugo call him "old" or "elderly"? Did F&M drop that out? Or did R and H add it in?

I there any subtle difference between "occupying the see of," "presiding over" and "occupying the seat of"? Does occupying a seat imply a less active bishop than presiding over?

Subtle differences! But in just the first two lines. When we get to major points, will differences of translation become significant?

The one key thing is to avoid abridged translations! There are some out there, translators or editors who think certain sections can be skipped (as some editors drop the much of the cetology out Moby Dick, to the significant detriment of the book.)

I think most translations published in the last thirty or so years are likely to be quite acceptable, since with translations already in print a publisher would be unlikely to invest in a translation that was noticeably inferior.

I am willing to try and read this. I am seeing a live theater production of this in early January and been meaning to read it. It just looks daunting sitting on my shelf, so I am hoping to read it and comment on this chunkster. I've been waiting to get on the discussion board with the group, but wanted to start out when everyone else is starting out.

Everyman wrote: "Zulfiya wrote: "Everyman, any recommendations here? Did you read it in French or if no, what translation did you use?"

I agree that a group using different translations can benefit from comparing,..."

Thanks for the helpful post. Indeed, the differences may be small and possibly significant. If anything, those differences give a different feeling while reading - "old vs elderly vs no adjective at all".

I have already read this one not too long ago, so I don't think I'll read it all again already. It's a wonderful book, though. One of my favourites, so I probably can't stay away from the threads. I'll pop in from time to time, but don't count me in as a committed reader. At least, I don't think I will be, but the discussions may draw me in...:)

How's that for ambiguity:)

Just to add to Everyman's comments: I have the Wordsworth Edition, and here the Bishop is neither "old" nor "elderly", and what he occupies is not the see or diocese - it opens like this:

In 1815, M. Charles Francois-Bienvenu Myriel was Bishop of D-. He was a man of seventy-five, and had occupied the bishopric of D- since 1806.

Okay, count me in:)

I have posted the reading schedule. I hope everyone who has signed in will be able to participate. I am uber excited about it.

I am so excited to begin this. I am trying really hard to finish up a couple of other reads and so not not allowed myself to begin this one yet, but I'm not sure I'm going to be able to hold off until Jan. 1. :)

Totally in for this read! Very excited :)

Hello and welcome, everyone!!:)

I'm up for it, although I may be slightly behind. It's worth a re-read for sure! Great book!

Welcome, Alana!:)

Marlene wrote: "Super excited. I downloaded a free copy of the book. I hope I can finish this with you guys!!!"

Welcome, Marlene!!

Guess what, everyone!? My B&N order has officially been placed for Les Mis!!

We shall start in a day:-)

I've already gotten sucked into it. I'm on page 114. :)

Linda wrote: "I've already gotten sucked into it. I'm on page 114. :)"

Wow, sucked into it this early into it, Linda? That's very encouraging, I'm so happy to hear it!

Zulfiya wrote: "We shall start in a day:-)"

Eek! I have to up my reading pace!!

I'm patiently awaiting my order's arrival.:)

I've been meaning to read les Mis for a while... I am hoping I'll be able to participate with this book as well...