Les belles images vs Les Misérables: Which Should You Read?

Both live on shelves: French fiction, Continental european fiction, Fiction

Les belles images Simone de Beauvoir · 1966 ★★★★☆ 3.8 174 pages · ≈ 3 h 13 m · Moderate

"Non ; elle a crié tout haut. Pas Catherine. Je ne permettrai pas qu'on lui fasse ce qu'on m'a fait. Qu'a-t-on fait de moi ? Cette femme qui n'aime personne, insensible aux beautés du monde, incapable même de pleurer,…

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Les Misérables Victor Hugo · 1862 ★★★★☆ 4.2 464 pages · ≈ 8 h 36 m · Demanding

In this story of the trials of the peasant Jean Valjean--a man unjustly imprisoned, baffled by destiny, and hounded by his nemesis, the magnificently realized, ambiguously malevolent police detective Javert--Hugo…

1 film adaptation

Ex-convicts Poverty Literature and fiction Social conditions

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Side by side

The verdict

Readers rate Les Misérables highest: Les Misérables 4.2 · Les belles images 3.8.
Les belles images is the quickest read — about 3 hours vs 8 for Les Misérables.
Les Misérables has the widest readership — 860724 ratings behind its score.

How to choose

Want a one-evening read? Les belles images ≈ 3h vs 8h for Les Misérables Want the crowd-tested pick? Les Misérables 860724 ratings vs 4052 for Les belles images Just want the better-reviewed one? Les Misérables 4.2 vs 3.8 from readers New to the genre? Les belles images Moderate vs Demanding for Les Misérables

Scores by source

	Les belles images	Les Misérables
Goodreads	3.9 (4052)	4.2 (860724)
Hardcover	3.8 (4)	4.2 (735)
Google Books	—	4.5 (5)
Apple Books	—	4.5 (125)

Reception

	Les belles images	Les Misérables
Ratings	4052	860724
Editions	41	526
Citations	14	—
Film adaptations	1	1
Want to read	4405	1080411
Reading it now	190	77
Written reviews	347	26998
Wikipedia attention	251	62074
Pages	174	464

Questions readers ask

Which is rated higher: Les belles images or Les Misérables?

Les Misérables has the higher combined reader rating across sources (Les Misérables 4.2/5, Les belles images 3.8/5).

Which is shorter to read: Les belles images or Les Misérables?

Les belles images is the quickest read. Estimated at 225 words per minute: Les belles images (174 pages, ≈ 3 h 13 m); Les Misérables (464 pages, ≈ 8 h 36 m).

Which is harder to read: Les belles images or Les Misérables?

Estimated difficulty, based on era, reader shelves and length — Les belles images: Moderate; Les Misérables: Demanding.

Have both books been made into films?

Les belles images: no film adaptation on record; Les Misérables: 5 film adaptations.