Novel of the Century

Novel of the Century - Paperback

$23.99
$23.99
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Novel of the Century
  • Novel of the Century
Novel of the Century - Paperback

Novel of the Century - Paperback

by David Bellos
$23.99
$23.99

Book Overview

A New York Times Book Review Editors' Choice
Winner of the American Library in Paris Book Award, 2017

Les Misérables is among the most popular and enduring novels ever written. Like Inspector Javert's dogged pursuit of Jean Valjean, its appeal has never waned, but only grown broader in its one-hundred-and-fifty-year life. Whether we encounter Victor Hugo's story on the page, onstage, or on-screen, Les Misérables continues to captivate while also, perhaps unexpectedly, speaking to contemporary concerns. In The Novel of the Century, the acclaimed scholar and translator David Bellos tells us why.

This enchanting biography of a classic of world literature is written for "Les Mis" fanatics and novices alike. Casting decades of scholarship into accessible narrative form, Bellos brings to life the extraordinary story of how Victor Hugo managed to write his novel of the downtrodden despite a revolution, a coup d'état, and political exile; how he pulled off a pathbreaking deal to get it published; and how his approach to the "social question" would define his era's moral imagination. More than an ode to Hugo's masterpiece, The Novel of the Century also shows that what Les Misérables has to say about poverty, history, and revolution is full of meaning today.
ISBN9780374537401
Author David Bellos
PublisherFarrar, Strauss & Giroux-3pl
GenreBiography and Literature
FormatPaperback
PublishedMarch 2018
LanguageENG- English
Pages336
Weight1.0 lb
Target AudienceAdults
Print SizeStandard Print

Related Subjects

Biography & Autobiography Literary Criticism Nonfiction

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About David Bellos

David Bellos is the director of the Program in Translation and Intercultural Communication at Princeton University, where he is also a professor of French and comparative literature. He has won many awards for his translations of Georges Perec, Ismail Kadare, and others, including the Man Booker International Translator's Award. He also received the Prix Goncourt for George Perec: A Life in Words.

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