Victor Hugo: A Biography

Rating:
Summary: One of the best biographies ever written!
Review: Graham Robb has done us all a great service with this admirable biography of Victor Hugo. Indeed, this volume is a shining example of how to write the story of a complex, and even amazing, life.

Victor Hugo is, and was, a figure of great importance, to the French nation and to the world. When he died, in the 1880's, over two million people came to his funeral; that's actually more than the population of Paris at that time! He was a man almost universally adored for his immense literary gifts; he was the prophetic soul who spoke for the entire French people and explained their own tumultuous history to them, especially in his huge,sprawling masterpiece, "Les Miserables," which Baudelaire dubbed "the legend of the 19th century."

Yet the man himself was quirky, and full of contradictions, which Graham Robb is at pains to explore in this lucid and compelling biography. Hugo was the son of a pro-Napoleonic father and an anti-Napoleonic mother, so Hugo's childhood was cleft by the immense chasm which divided the French nation (and Europe) during the nineteenth century. He was brought up by his mother, and, as the child of divorce, he came to value stability enormously. He began his literary life as a monarchist, and continued in that direction for a number of years. As a member of the French Assembly, he took it upon himself to attack (!) the barricades during a Parisian riot -- the very same barricades which he later made immortal in "Les Miserables!"

When Hugo finally came out on the side of freedom and liberty, and in opposition to that horrible, sneaking non-entity Louis Napoleon (whom he promptly dubbed "Napoleon The Little"), he found himself forced into exile from his beloved France. He lived on the islands of Guernsey and Jersey for many years, beginning an entirely new literary career there, and publishing many books which sold immensely well. When he finally returned to a free France,he was welcomed as a conquering hero. It is very difficult for us to understand how popular and revered he was: think of the Beatles during the Sixties and you are probably getting close.

In his youth, he was somewhat timid and full of middle-class fears; later in life he became an insatiable womanizer, whose secret diaries are full of references to appointments with famous actresses, courtesans, and ladies of the street. In his home on Jersey, he participated in spiritualistic seances, and had conversations with Jesus, Moses, the Sea, and Infinity. He is certainly one of the greatest French poets who ever lived; even those who grew to dislike him could never get away from his influence. (Gide was once asked who had been his greatest influence, and responded, "Hugo, alas!") To this day, he is one of the patron saints of the Cao Dai religion in Vietnam.

This book gets my highest recommendation!!!

Rating:
Summary: One of the best biographies ever written!
Review: Graham Robb has done us all a great service with this admirable biography of Victor Hugo. Indeed, this volume is a shining example of how to write the story of a complex, and even amazing, life.

Victor Hugo is, and was, a figure of great importance, to the French nation and to the world. When he died, in the 1880's, over two million people came to his funeral; that's actually more than the population of Paris at that time! He was a man almost universally adored for his immense literary gifts; he was the prophetic soul who spoke for the entire French people and explained their own tumultuous history to them, especially in his huge,sprawling masterpiece, "Les Miserables," which Baudelaire dubbed "the legend of the 19th century."

Yet the man himself was quirky, and full of contradictions, which Graham Robb is at pains to explore in this lucid and compelling biography. Hugo was the son of a pro-Napoleonic father and an anti-Napoleonic mother, so Hugo's childhood was cleft by the immense chasm which divided the French nation (and Europe) during the nineteenth century. He was brought up by his mother, and, as the child of divorce, he came to value stability enormously. He began his literary life as a monarchist, and continued in that direction for a number of years. As a member of the French Assembly, he took it upon himself to attack (!) the barricades during a Parisian riot -- the very same barricades which he later made immortal in "Les Miserables!"

When Hugo finally came out on the side of freedom and liberty, and in opposition to that horrible, sneaking non-entity Louis Napoleon (whom he promptly dubbed "Napoleon The Little"), he found himself forced into exile from his beloved France. He lived on the islands of Guernsey and Jersey for many years, beginning an entirely new literary career there, and publishing many books which sold immensely well. When he finally returned to a free France,he was welcomed as a conquering hero. It is very difficult for us to understand how popular and revered he was: think of the Beatles during the Sixties and you are probably getting close.

In his youth, he was somewhat timid and full of middle-class fears; later in life he became an insatiable womanizer, whose secret diaries are full of references to appointments with famous actresses, courtesans, and ladies of the street. In his home on Jersey, he participated in spiritualistic seances, and had conversations with Jesus, Moses, the Sea, and Infinity. He is certainly one of the greatest French poets who ever lived; even those who grew to dislike him could never get away from his influence. (Gide was once asked who had been his greatest influence, and responded, "Hugo, alas!") To this day, he is one of the patron saints of the Cao Dai religion in Vietnam.

This book gets my highest recommendation!!!

Rating:
Summary: A thorough accomplishment that gives life to the legend.
Review: Graham Robb is one of that rare breed of scholars, who write what they want to, unfettered by institutional constraints, and write to an intelligent, literate audience that genuinely wants to learn. Much of Victor's Hugo's work is inaccessable to the English language audience. Robb's presentation and interpretation of many different aspects of his literary career show how much he enjoyed the Hugo's work, and his enthusiasm excited this reader. He did a masterful job of integrating history, the stange personal life of Hugo, and his massive literary output. This will become a classic source of information about Victor Hugo.

Rating:
Summary: Some Background Required
Review: Graham Robb's magnificent bio of Victor Hugo has won numerous awards, and deservedly so; Robb has steeped himself in Hugo's works and life. It's all there - Hugo's greatness, his megalomania, his politics, his poetics, his personal life - stripped of the many false accretions of previous biographies. Robb sees Hugo clear, and he sees him whole. My only reservation - and I think it is a fairly significant one - is that Robb assumes that his readers are already familiar with Hugo's immense literary output (not just Notre-Dame de Paris and Les Miserables, but dozens and dozens of other books of poetry, novels, biography, politics, etc.). And Robb also assumes that his readers know something about the tortuous and very complicated course of 19th century French politics, from the Revolution to the Third Republic. This is a lot of background to assume of the general reader, and so - by all means get the book, it's the best existing biography of Victor Hugo, but be prepared to do some additional reading if necessary, to fill in the background that Robb takes for granted.

Rating:
Summary: Tremendously enjoyable -- reads like an adventure novel!
Review: This is the most enjoyable biography I've ever read, portraying someone who truly was larger than life. It's as complex, entertaining, and riveting as the man himself. Bravo! Now, how can we get Hugo's complete works translated into English?

Rating:
Summary: Tremendously enjoyable -- reads like an adventure novel!
Review: This is the most enjoyable biography I've ever read, portraying someone who truly was larger than life. It's as complex, entertaining, and riveting as the man himself. Bravo! Now, how can we get Hugo's complete works translated into English?