Les Miserables

Hope everyone has enjoyed the holidays. I love the holidays for a plethora of reasons but one of the things I always look forward to are the movies that release on Christmas. This year I waited with growing excitement for Les Mis! I confess I went in with high expectations and I am so happy that it was worth the wait. These actors brought to life Fantine, Javert, and Jean Valjean in a way I wasn't expecting.

I've been asking my readers on Facebook what their favorite classical books are. But I guess the better question to ask is "have you ever read a classical?" Les Miserables is a very long and extensive read (over 1100 pages) and yet I was not tempted to skip or gloss over any of it as Victor Hugo's writing is/was so amazing. Today you'll be hard pressed to find an author that 1) can write with so much depth, but 2) be allowed the word count Hugo enjoyed in order to tell a story. Authors like Jane Austen didn't write expansive stories and yet her books are amazing, as she's managed to capture and share a time with readers that no longer exist. So why does it seem that writing today doesn't seem as intense or even expansive as writes of yesteryear?

Books such as War and Peace, North and South, Les Miserables, or even Gone with the Wind seem to be a thing of the past. Publishers don't want the extensive word count, perhaps thinking readers today don't have the attention span or desire to read epic stories. In my opinion this is a sad thing. I love taking a long journey with characters, experiencing their trials and successes.

So I'll ask this...as a reader to you prefer the short read or a long in depth read?