my 2 favourite reviews of the brick from the past month
somehow makes it sound like this 1,400-page epic historical novel is a bland self-help book ("practical"?)
honestly, contender for funniest sentence of all time: "it feels as though the author has no definite opinion on politics, religion, or even the central plot of the story."
VICTOR HUGO???
NO OPINION?
bonus runner-up, because i like how it makes it sound like javert is the one droning on about the sewers:
"The magic system is never fully explained" yeah that's how life works. Imagine having a story set in modern day America and the characters have several pages of exposition on combustion engines and telecommunication networks before we get to the plot
i think this is absolutely correct and good writing advice but also victor hugo would like to have a word with you about the parisian sewer system circa 1832
I still subscribe to Actors Access even though I haven't considered auditioning in years, because sometimes it's fun to see what's out there. For example, apparently there's a new Les Mis movie in the works?
This is a modern adaptation of the iconic novel Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. Our screenplay is built on a strong foundation of classical dramaturgy, and adaptations of this work have always achieved great success. All roles in this story are complex and compelling, with each character having a powerful dramatic arc. This is a low-budget film with strong potential for success, featuring beautiful locations and driven by a solid script and an award-winning director.
Storyline: A young student, Tina Morgan, falls into a relationship with the wealthy and influential Felix Trask, only to be abandoned when she becomes pregnant and refuses his offer to erase the problem with money. Left alone with her newborn daughter Colette, Tina spirals into poverty, exploitation, and desperate choices, including selling her body online, until a violent encounter with a client leads to her arrest. Saved by the mysterious Madden—an ex-con seeking redemption—Tina tries to rebuild her life, finding hope with the idealistic law student Marius, but her past resurfaces when explicit content is leaked and weaponized in a political scandal tied to Felix’s senatorial campaign. As powerful forces close in, including Detective Jarrett and Felix’s legal machine, Tina must fight to protect her child, her dignity, and the truth, while the hidden connections between Felix, corruption, and manipulation threaten to destroy her completely.
The notice included breakdowns for two characters:
[ TINA ]
20 to 27 years old; Hispanic, Mixed Ethnicity, White; woman. A fragile and beautiful young woman. Tina Morgan is a resilient yet vulnerable young woman whose life is shaped by love, betrayal, and survival. Once a bright and hopeful student, she is drawn into a relationship with a powerful man who ultimately abandons her, leaving her to face pregnancy, poverty, and social isolation alone. Driven by her fierce devotion to her daughter, Tina is forced into morally difficult choices to survive, but beneath her hardship lies strength, dignity, and an unbreakable will to protect her child and reclaim control over her life. This is a complex dramatic role featuring a powerful character transformation. For the period in which the character has short hair, a wig will be used. INTIMACY: The role includes kissing scenes with her boyfriend Marius and her ex-boyfriend, the antagonist Felix. There is also a scene in which she appears in underwear in front of a webcam while trying to earn money in a desperate situation to support her six-month-old daughter. This is intended as a powerful and heartbreaking moment, not exploitative. Additionally, there is a scene where a man attempts to assault her; however, the act does not progress. He pushes her onto the bed, she resists, hits him, and escapes. She is fully dressed in this scene. This moment is important for the character’s dramatic arc, as it leads to her arrest and ultimately to Madden helping her. All scenes will be handled with sensitivity, and details can be discussed to ensure the actor’s comfort. There will be an Intimacy Coordinator present.
[ MADDEN ]
35 to 45 years old; Mixed Ethnicity, White; man. A handsome and imposing man with a deep, penetrating gaze that conceals the secrets and pain of his past. Madden is a quiet, enigmatic man with a troubled past and a strong moral code forged through hardship. A former convict who reinvented himself, he now runs a foundation helping vulnerable women, seeking redemption by giving others a second chance. Beneath his calm and controlled exterior lies a man capable of both compassion and intimidation, willing to confront powerful enemies to protect those under his care, especially Tina and her child.
I found the project on Backstage, with only the Madden breakdown, but also a PDF of some of his scenes. Plus, an AI-generated poster with the accent facing the wrong way!
Definitely no inspiration taken from the 2012 "Fight. Dream. Hope. Love." poster, nope!
new Les Mis spinoff novel "Theodule Does Nothing" , just following around Marius' cousin while he buys some moustache wax, gets his uniform repaired, flirts in the least intrusive way possible , and has a nap
meanwhile 19C France happens in the background but he's not really involved in all that. There's a missing button on his uniform!
he’s such a peculiar forgettable yet unforgettable guy. idk. for some reason I always thought he was Hadley Fraser’s character in 2012 but no. he was just. not there. guy of all time
“I didn’t think you of all people would be so squeamish,” Jehan tells Combeferre. “Aren’t you a man of science? Don’t you dissect things all the time?”
“Well but I do not RUB BLOOD ALL OVER MY FACE ON A REGULAR BASIS,” says Combeferre. “WAS THAT REAL BLOOD, JEHAN? IT SMELLED LIKE REAL BLOOD. WHERE DID YOU GET A REAL HEART?”
Happy Valentine’s Day, guys! Hope your lives are going well and everything is wonderful! Please insert your own morbid final punchline about the lack of festivities on February 14, 1833 here u__u
Rating some uncommon Les Mis covers - part 2 (French editions 2010-2026)
Createspace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014
HUH?? IS THAT BLOOD?? why is it so. UH????
2/10 would accept this as a cover for Dracula
Createspace Independent Publishing Platform, 2014
F O R E H E A D
11/10 (the size of his forehead)
GALLIMARD JEUNE, 2018
LOVE this one! The colors are so satisfying. I like that Valjean has his back turned to the viewer. Baby Cosette looks slightly demonic - at first glance I thought her eyes were all black and the bucket handle was her tail.
10/10 it's perfect, I just wish they had their canon hair colors
LELIVRESCOLAIRE, 2024
yeah!! there's cosette, a lark, and two candlesticks! with a funky spin!! excellent
10/10 excellent graphic design here
Infinity Spectrum Books, 2025
That is Anne of the Green Gables.
I'll accept it- OR NOT. IT IS AI ANNE
Createspace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016
0/10 you used AI and it doesn't even look relevant to the book??? Get real
Despite the title, that is not Fantine.
3/10 false advertising.
Createspace Independent Publishing Platform, 2016
The giant "MORT" in the background? damn at least put a spoiler warning on it
she was at the club. it didnt change anything. it didnt save anyone. there were just too many forces against it. but it still matters that she was at the club.
over 50k words of crossdressing eposette slow burn…..waow
Chapters: 14/14
Fandom: Les Misérables - Victor Hugo, Les Misérables - All Media Types
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Relationships: Cosette Fauchelevent/Éponine Thénardier, Minor or Background Relationship(s), Cosette Fauchelevent & Jean Valjean, Éponine Thénardier & Jean Valjean, Javert & Éponine Thénardier, Azelma Thénardier & Éponine Thénardier
Characters: Éponine Thénardier, Cosette Fauchelevent, Jean Valjean, Javert (Les Misérables), Azelma Thénardier
Additional Tags: Canon Era, Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Slow Burn, Crossdressing, Identity Issues, Gender Confusion, archive warning for Major Character Death bc I did manage to kill one of the only characters, who doesn’t already die in canon, (R.I.P. Marius), Falling In Love, Background Javert/Jean Valjean
Summary:
Éponine, dressed as a boy, is Montparnasse’s reluctant accomplice for a night of criminal business. When their attempted robbery goes wrong, Montparnasse flees and leaves Éponine in the hands of their would-be victim. But the old man is merciful, as it turns out: he offers to help her, to give her a home and send her to school. Éponine knows he would surely rescind the offer if he found out her real identity: not only a girl, but a Thénardier. So when she accepts, she knows what it will cost her: she is no longer Éponine, but Émile, a boy. After settling in at the house on Rue Plumet, though, Éponine finds herself increasingly drawn to her rescuer’s daughter, Cosette, who knows her only as a young man…
i am proud to announce that i have reached the SEWER DIGRESSION in my inaugural unabridged reading of les mis! in honour of this momentous acheivement, i am reblogging this old masterpiece.
Les Miserables / Arai manga readalong - Volume 1 : Fantine - Book 1 : A just man
With the end of the first book in the @lesmisletters calendar (yay !) it's time to see how this one is adapted in the Arai manga !
This fist book is extremely interesting, because the Bishop is one of the few characters in the Brick to get a really, really long introduction, with an entire book dedicated exclusively to him - and in Arai's version this amouts to almost 30 pages used only to characterise him, in what is actually the first part of the second chapter in the manga. Proportionally, I think overall this is a very good adaptation mostly because Arai did a nice job at giving events and characters the same importance as in the Brick, with chapters long enough to show the main episodes (with some exceptions) and how the characters react to them.
However, the way Myriel is introduced is very different in both versions : the manga actually opens with Jean Valjean's story, which means the Bishop only appears 90 pages in - and we already know who Valjean is when he arrives in Digne. This also makes for a very abrupt transition from Valjean getting out of prison to Myriel's daily life, and we don't immediately see how he is going to fit in the story - which also works since it is a very Hugo-like way to pause a character's story to introduce a new character. Moreover, it means there is a going back in time, with this chapter beginning in 1804 with Myriel's arrival in Digne (according to the manga's timeline).
Unlike in the novel, the manga doesn't offer any mention of Myriel's story, his past or how he got appointed as a Bishop : we only get to witness his arrival in Digne with his sister through the eyes of Magloire. This allows Arai to get around the difficulty of having no narrative voice and reveal the way some aspects of Myriel's behaviour may at first seem "out of place", by showing the obvious surprise of Magloire when it comes to his first decisions as bishop.
This first decisions are kept for the most part in the manga : the exchange between the episcopal palace and the hospital, and the way Myriel settles his household expenses - shown, again, through the eyes of Magloire, which emphasises the unusual aspect of the attitude for a Bishop : in the Brick it is said that she "grumbled a little" about the expenses, but here she openly expresses he disagreement by talking about the silverware, the small garden... and in the same page we have the first mention of the candlesticks !! Foreshadowing !!
Interestingly enough, the third action we see on Myriel's part is his going to the synod - where he is immediately met with disdain and anger by the other bishops : when he comes back, he seems shocked by their attitude and display of wealth, which leads him to the decision of always keeping his door open at night, for anyone that might need him. In the Brick, this habit of him was also mentionned (foreshadowing !!), but no particular background story was given to justify it.
The manga also takes some time to really give us an insight into Myriel's daily life, the way he behaves and thinks : he appears mostly as a dreamer, who spends a lot of time in his garden (which is highlighted in many parts of the Brick) and seems to display a lot of humility and be a rather easy-going man. The manga especially chooses to keep the "My greatness does to reach as far as this shelf / tree" joke, which allows for great characterisation of him as a light-hearted character. However, due to the different medium for telling the story, Myriel also seems to lose some of his depth as a character : in the Brick he is shown as very eloquent and gives a few speeches to express his ideas, and it is mentionned many times that he loves reading, which doesn't appear at all here. Another very really interesting aspect of this character in the novel revolves around his political opinions and the way he defines himself as a royalist : since his opinions aren't mentionned at all in the manga, the episode of his visiting "G" is also taken out completely. The manga actually seems to focus more on his religious role and his generosity, which are what will matter when he encounters Valjean.
Finally, a last insight into the Bishop's life is given to us through the eyes of his own sister, Baptistine, in a letter she writes : this letter also exists in the Brick (chapter IX) but the manga makes it longer and more centered around Myriel's character. Baptistine narrates two other important episodes that took place in his life as a bishop : the first one is about meeting the brigands in the mountains, who willingly give back to Myriel the treasure they had stolen from a cathedral - and Myriel is then shown facing the dilemna of who this treasure should go to. The second episode is the night he spent beside a man condemned to death and the impact his execution the next morning had on him : Myriel is portrayed as someone generous who believes in the goodness of man, and doesn't believe in a violent punishment (this episode is important for both Myriel and Hugo himself, who was openly opposed to the sentence of death).
Baptistine's letter ends with a praise of her brother's generosity, and her highlighting that he believes there is good in everyone and his effort to save all those who can be (which !! foreshadowing !!).
With the last drawing that concludes this sequence of the manga, the Bishop's introduction really appears like a peaceful interlude in the middle of Valjean's story, that has already been defined through anger and violence - the same way it will seem to Valjean that he has found a very peaceful place to stay when he enters Myriel's house.
All in all, the Arai manga does rather good job at introducing Myriel's character : taking enough time to make us understand he will have an important role, while also managing to flesh him out as his own character in the story, through his generosity and willingness to save people (and that's just my opinion, but I really like this design for him !!)
prguitarman
areudirty
snowghoul
romaincrisis
andulkaphoto
tangentwithtanner
vaporwave
discoholicmusic
