A book review by Shoshana Patocka
Manga Classics: Le Miserables
The Manga Classics book started out with a great little introduction on how to read manga panels which I found to be very helpful since I had never actually read manga cover to cover before. I’m a librarian and I work with manga all the time. I just rarely have the time to sit down and read one before. And no – librarians do not just sit around and read all day. Ha! Also, spoiler alert! (Okay, not really) There is a nice section in the back where the author and the illustrator talk about their process and how they went about adapting such a huge book into the manga style.
I thought that the illustrations were beautifully done throughout the book. One of my fears was that sometimes manga illustrations can be a little “overdone” stylistically, and I thought it might take away from the story. No worries though, I always had a lovely Victorian/Parisian feel from all the details and never once was it distracting. One style choice that I thought was amazing was that the buffoonish bad guys that keep popping up in the story were done in a slightly cartoonish way compared to everyone else. Nice touch of storytelling there without using any words.
As I had mentioned before, Hugo’s original story is massive. My own paperback copy tops out at over 1,400 pages, so it had to be no easy feat to adapt it down to just over 300. (Especially when there has to be so little text on the page.) If you have read Les Miserables before, it sticks to the basic narrative pretty well. However, I feel that the text been adapted down too much in places. Manga Classics are intended for a young adult audience, but I gave it to my 11-year-old niece and she had no problem understanding and following the plot.
All in all, I did enjoy Manga Classics: Les Miserables and I would recommend it to anyone who has never read “Les Mis” before. I especially think the Manga Classics series would be great for those older kids who are reluctant readers.
Pros:
- Illustrations are awesome
- Quick and easy read
Cons:
- Plots where pared down too much
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