image via paste magazine
I went to see Les Miserables with my son and husband last week. I knew of the musical, but had never seen it before and didn’t know the story line before going to the movie. The musical is based on the historical novel Les Miserables written by Victor Hugo in 1862. I wondered why my son had taken a keen interest in seeing it, that is until I realized it takes place during the French Revolution. He loves history, especially European history. The story is about redemption, among other things and is incredibly moving. I went through a whole mini pack of tissues which is pretty easy for me to do in any movie involving death. From the previews I was under the impression Anne Hathaway’s role was a large part of the movie. While her role is important in the story line, the main characters are played by actors Russell Crowe and Hugh Jackman. The acting is superb and I highly recommend it. My son liked it too, but commented that there was a lot of singing. Be prepared, it is a musical after all. For being big and burly sort of men, Crowe and Jackman have excellent singing voices.
Les Miserables got me thinking about how I love reading historical fiction. I found history boring when I was in school because we mostly just read from a textbook. There are several historical fiction books that I’ve enjoyed. I feel like I’m not only reading for pleasure, but learning something as well.
Some of my favorite reads are:
- The Other Boleyn Girl- by Philippa Gregory
- Madame Tussaud- by Michelle Moran
- Nefertiti – by Michelle Moran you can read my review here
- The Red Tent- by Anita Diamant
- One Thousand White Women:The Journals of May Dodd- by Jim Fergus
- The Pillars of the Earth- by Ken Follet
- Snowflower and the Secret Fan- by Lisa See
- Peony in Love- by Lisa See (this is a follow up book to Snowflower)
Do you have a favorite historical fiction book? Please share in the comments.
We didn’t know the story either before seeing the movie and have
read several comments since then. Powerful words describe
it; love, forgiveness and redemption which I believe we could all
use today in our society. Loved it and the tears freely flowed.
Well said Cindy. I’m glad I wasn’t the only one crying. I got to spend time with Emery in the nursery today. She is a strong and happy little girl.
Dawn, I have read every book but Madame Tussaud…enjoyed them all!
It looks like you and I enjoy the same kinds of books!
Kathy
http://gigglingtruckerswife.blogspot.com
Dawn – I watched Les Mis in French class every year from 7th grade to my sophomore year. Terry and I went to see the musical and I loved it, and can’t wait to see the new movie.
Redeeming Love by Francine Rivers is one of my favorite books every!
Becky, I’m embarassed to say you gave me Redeeming Love a few years ago and as is the case with a lot of my books I still haven’t read it. It’s as if I’m trying to save it for a special occassion. I will make it a point to read it in the next month. I can’t wait.
The Other Boleyn Girl is one of my favorites. I just remember staying up into the very early morning reading it and could not put it down. Les Miz was fantastic. Very powerful story and I kept singing Ann Hathaway’s song for days!
If you loved Pillars of the Earth (one of my favorites), you have to get Fall of Giants. It is the first in a trilogy by Ken Follett. Fall of Giants is about WWI. LOVED IT! Another great book that your son may enjoy is Unbroken, by Laura Hildebrand. Our book club ranked it high. It is a true story about a man who was an olympic runner who was shot down in his plane during WWII and held captive. A lot of interesting history leading up to the war, but also about the olympics, too. Very interesting.
I much preferred the many Les Mis productions shown on PBS over the big screen version…..sorry.
Thanks for the book suggestions Angela. I hadn’t heard of Fall of Giants and I’d heard Unbroken was good so I will add these to my long reading list. The movie was my first Les Mis experience so I didn’t have anything to compare it to, but good to know. I hope it comes on stage here soon. I just love all of your comments.