Cosette: The Sequel to Les Miserables

This book held my attention until I finished it. Smooth transition from Hugo's "Les Miserables"...it satisfied my addiction to this musical.

Despite some of the reviews I've read on this book, I found it to be one of my favourite books of all time. I loved how the characters blossomed, and how easily she encorporated the the new characters. I may not have the experience or knowledge of some of the "reviewers" in books, but I thought she did a wonderful job of carrying on Victor Hugo's tragic story, and have some optimism result from it. All though they lived in a tragic era I'm sure there was some happiness for people. Depicting someone elses feelings and words is not alwayse the easiest thing to do and she did a pretty good job. I fell in love with all the characters "good" or "evil," and found myself reading hours past my "bed time." For me it was finally a conclution to a story which had no end. It was nice to see that not aspect of life is negative, and that even though we go through hard times, things do get better.

Okay, so maybe it's not *Les Miserables*, there is only one *Les Miserables* (actually, two, if one counts the musical, now in its thirteenth year in the West End and its eleventh year on Broadway. But,Laura Kapakian did a pretty good job continuing Cosette's saga. I mean, didn't you want to know what ahppened after Val Jean died? Didn't you want to know if Marius and Cosette lived happily ever after? I loved the book and the musical, but it was just too much suspence, not know what happened. Thank You, Laura Kalpakian, for satisifying my curiousity. So maybe it's not what Victor Hugo would have written, but hello, he's dead. Although I hardly doubt he's spinning in his grave, or crypt, or moseleum. He's probably flattered.

"Cosette" by Laura Kalpakian is by far the best novel I have read in years. Ms. Kalpakina does a spectacular job of illustrating what happened to the waif-orphan Coosette from Victor Hugo's "Les Miserables", beginning at the barricade battle and going far beyond where Monsuier Hugo left off. Ms. Kalpakian beautifully tells cosett's tale, interweaving actual historical figures with her own brand of unique fiction. I laughed, I cried (okay, majorly cliche, but so what?). I felt Cosette's pain, joy, sadness, and tears with every heartwrnching word written. In reading "Les Miserables" I found Cosette not entirely interesting, although she is the centerpeice of the novel, next to Jean Valjean that is. However, after reading "Cosette", she has become my most beloved character. Kudos to Laura!

Cosette was wonderful. I read Les Miserables first & found it challlenging to follow the story line with all of Hugo's political statements intertwined with the main action. Hugo's book is a classic which Cosette illuminates on and makes his story more understandable. I always wondered what happened to all the characters afterwards and I thought Laura Kalpakian's telling of this tale was true to Hugo's thoughts and made for a fitting conclusion for the characters we know well and love.