Announcing Our Summer Readalong

We're taking you to France for a BIG summer recap series

Readers, we are thrilled to announce our Big Book for Summer 2024! This summer, we’re reading Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. This French classic in translation follows Jean Valjean, a reformed criminal turned politician, who is hunted by the villainous police inspector Javert and forced to decide between survival and self-sacrifice. Obviously, this is a teeny tiny summary of the over 1000 page tome. As we read, we will encounter other iconic characters and heaps of historical detail on 19th century France and the French Revolution.

Just like our readalongs for The Odyssey and The Custom of the Country, you can expect exclusive Patreon content to guide you through this ginormous classic.

A Guided Reading Experience

Les Misérables is conveniently split into five sections, which we will recap over the summer for patrons in the $10 Literature Scholar tier. You can anticipate plot summaries, close reading, character analysis, and theme tracking in each recap as we guide you through this hefty novel. In addition to our recap episodes, you will find a vibrant community of nerdy readers eager to discuss their experiences along the way. In our Patreon Discord community, we share discussion prompts to go along with each recap episode. We’re busy planning exciting bonus episodes, classes, and book club events across the summer season, too!

On June 12, join us for a class on Tracking Themes Through LONG Novels. This will be an excellent primer full of practical tips to help you get the most out of our Les Misérables readalong.

On July 10th, we will provide an Introduction to Classic French Literature in order to place Les Misérables in its historical, cultural, and literary context.

Our August class is in the works, and we will let you know as soon as it’s cemented on the calendar.

You can find a complete recap schedule, including book club dates on Patreon.

Recommended Editions

Whatever copy of Les Misérable is most accessible for you is the best copy. In our Novel Pairings community, we love discussing differing versions, contrasting translations, and varied reading experiences. That being said, we always get the question: which version should I get? Here are some recommendations (including affiliate links).

• Sara and Chelsey will be working from the Penguin Classics edition translated by Christine Donougher.

• There’s also a beautiful hardcover Penguin Clothbound edition translated by Norman Denny.

• Or you could go the Signet Classics route for a more compact paperback, translated by Lee Fahnestock.

• If you feel short on reading time this summer, we also encourage you to join in with the abridged version. Because our recap episodes are broken up by section rather than page count, you can easily follow along with a slightly shortened version.

Let us know if you have any questions about our summer season, this big book readalong, or joining our Patreon community in the comments or send us an email at novelpairingspod@gmail.com.

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We will be back soon with resources and links to pair with our The Importance of Being Earnest discussion episode. Until then, we declare after all, there is no enjoyment like reading. How much sooner one tires of anything than of a book!

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