Edited and Abridged by Matthew Larsen
173 pages
Kindle edition
From the Publisher:
The classic tale of Les Miserables abridged for a ten year old child.
Review:
I was pretty excited to read this book. It’s edited and abridged by a friend our ours. Our family met the Larsen family about 9 years ago in medical school. They are one awesome family! (His wife is amazing!) It’s fun to keep up with them and see their family grow. Honestly, I have no idea how people have time in their life to write (or edit) books, but he did it, and I really wanted to be supportive and read this book. I love the movie versions of Les Miserables. And here is my dirty little secret that I’ll admit right now, I cannot honestly remember if I’ve ever read the real long version of the book. Maybe a long time ago, but I just can’t remember. I know we own a couple different copies.
The book is a great little kindle book that is a children’s version of the longer book. I believe the targeted age is about 10 and older, but don’t let the word “children” fool you…I think anyone, any age could read and enjoy this book! That being said, I think that Larsen did a great job at taking some deeper plot issues and making them easier to read and understand for a 10 year old. Fantine, for example was done really well. I think my kids could read this section and understand the sacrifice that she was making, without having to know some of the nitty gritty details.
I found the book easy to read and was able to enjoy the book in about a day. There is no way I could do that with the original version. The book was a great little escape into a classic book, that allowed me to dive into it and feel the story, without having to commit to the time it would have taken to read otherwise.But at the same time I really felt this didn’t lack on the plot lines or character development. By the end of the book I was pretty emotionally tied to the characters. I love when a good book does that to me. It leaves me thinking about the book for days.
If you are looking for a classic to read, or wanting to introduce some classics to your children, this is a great version to start with. I found it a perfect summer read that I could start and finish in a short time.
The book is available only on Amazon in the kindle store, click here for the link. But you don’t have to have a kindle to read the kindle version. You can download a kindle app on your phone, computer or tablet.
Final Score: (but keep reading for a giveaway!)
Post a comment below with your favorite classic book, or visit my Facebook page (and share it if you want!). The contest will run all week and I’ll announce the winners next Monday during my Weekend Wrap Up post. I’ll email the two winners their own kindle edition copy of the book!
