Why do I see a lot of teen girls praising this book on Booktube

You only want to talk about carli claire m8

>>9146408
because le musical (aka le movie)

>>9146419
This, none of those girls have read it. They saw the movie and maybe read the script to the musical. Some of them probably don't even know it's a book, or who wrote it.
Keep it on your list next to W&P.

This is the Carli thread, new video is up.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=X_mvwAwdEJA

>>9146419
>>9146437
maybe they have read it

Over the years I've given this book many chances and end up quitting after maybe 100 pages or so each time.
I just don't get why people pretend to like this book. I know the musical and the movie adaptations of that musical are very popular. But the book itself is pretty inscrutable, I would have to imagine, especially for the average american reader.

>>9146767
If they have, why don't they ever have anything to say about it that I haven't heard already? Not even a wrong or a confused opinion or something they misread. It's always by-the-numbers regurgitation of other people's summaries and takeaways.

>>9146408
The work is a sentimentalist novel in the Romantic tradition. That said it has strong religious overtones and massive tangents as well as complex subtext regarding gender, roles within that gender (madonna, virgin, whore) and models of masculinity (the just, the righteous, the youth, the fanatic, the pious). It also happens to have extremely strong characters and a compelling story.

So no, it is not a YA novel, but if you watch the musical, and read the wikipedia, you get the gist well enough, minus information on the paris sewer system and the battle of waterloo.

>>9146785
Do you like other 19th century sentimental novels, by Thomas Hardy, Zola, and Stendahl? I am not pretending that I liked the book, and had some tears reading the last chapter.

>>9146848
Stendahl is more of a realist than a sentimentalist, wouldn't you say?

>>9146867
Perhaps in plot outcome, but the actual characters dictate their action by feeling rather than rationality. I suppose the argument can be made that [(sentimentality+actions based on feelings)=tragedy]=realism

>>9146885
or Romantic Cynicism?

The difference between Les Mis and The Red and the Black is that Val Jean's sentimental actions lead to triumph, where as Julian Sorel's lead to perdition.

>>9146408
It's the height of Romanticism. Chicks dig Romanticism.

Plus there's extremely overt social commentary.