Try reading it again. It's worth it, I assure you. It's vastly better than any of the film adaptations or the musical.
As I recall, structurally, the novel is somewhat like The Grapes of Wrath, with expository sections interspersed with sections that directly advance the plot. I quite liked that about the Grapes of Wrath. I'm not sure if I take issue with the exposition/advancement ratio in Les Miserable, or if I feel less of a connection with the period Les Miserables is set in.
For children or not, I certainly won't hold The Princess Bride up as example of greatness. I would claim that the fact that it works as a send-up of a genre, including the alleged abridgement, is illustrative of something.
You have. Hugo takes his time because great artists don't tell you, they take your hand and lead you somewhere so that suddenly you open your eyes and you're in a place you never expected to be.
I understand you, of course. The book is longer than War and Peace. It's huge. When he spends the entire first book just on the Bishop, you're forgiven for thinking, "Why?" That's answered immediately, however. The great scene that follows between Valjean and the Bishop feels utterly natural, rather than stilted or artificial if done another way.
The same is true with Fantine. Her story is light when it starts. Hugo spends a lot of time so that you will feel the lightness of her situation so that he can then turn the lights out, and now you're with her in the dark. She's not some loose woman who should have known better; she's you.
He does this again and again. For the entire novel he doesn't tell you anything, he doesn't even take your hand later but simply grabs you by the collar and shows you, immerses you in these characters. It's the greatest novel I've ever read and I would recommend fully reading it to anyone.
Of course.
> I would claim that the fact that it works as a send-up of a genre, including the alleged abridgement, is illustrative of something.
But it's a send-up of fairy tales -- not great fiction.
He used the sentences to explain why he found it not great. Not every great novel is great to all readers and I found his comments informative.
There was no information to be informative -- it was an admission of the lack of information. If you haven't read the book and don't remember what little you did read, saying you "found it not great" has little value.