Toilers of the Sea Group Read

We'll be starting 2013 with a group read of Victor Hugo's Toilers of the Sea, so place it on your Christmas wishlist if you haven't already. I will be reading the book in its original French, Les Travailleurs de la Mer. I'm a big fan of Victor Hugo and have been loving reading his lesser known works. I'm kind of hoping this one is as dark as his The Man who Laughs.

In any case, who will be joining in?
Are there different translations of this in English?

I will be joining in. I just received my copy today. It is a 2002 translation by James Hogarth. Really looking forward to it, as on the cover is a quote from Robert Louis Stevenson: No character was ever thrown into such strange relief as Gilliatt... here, indeed, is the true position of man in the universe. Stevenson certainly understood adventure, so this should be a good one!

Hi, yes I have jumped the gun and started, I have the kindle version Victor Hugo's Novels (6 in 1).

I also have the James Hogarth translation, the same one Sassy has because it has the same quote on the cover. I think this is the only modern English translation; it is a Modern Library edition.

I'm in, but will not be reading this until the new year......looking forward to it!.

I have a copy I bought used several years ago. It hadn't occurred to me until now to check the translator. It is Isabel Hapgood. I can't find a publication date, but she died in 1928, so this isn't a recent translation. In the online preview of the Hogarth translation, the introducer says that early English translations were "sanitized," so I'll probably order the edition Sassy and Rebecca have.

I'm planning to join in and had downloaded a free kindle version. Looks like its an original English translator from the 1800s, so I will probably use some of the amazon gift card money I received to buy a better, or I should say more modern, translation.

I'm joining in, too, but not till January. Thanks for the heads-up on a modern translation.

Just about to start.....looking forward to this!

I plan to start when I finish the Zola I'm reading, probably this weekend.

Oh my goodness! Barely into it, but Hugo can even make landscape descriptions worth reading....dare I even say thought provoking? I dare!

I'll give this a go - I will start it tomorrow morning but but will be reading it in French which may slow me down a bit. This is the first Hugo I've read so am looking forward to a new author.

If you need any help with some French parts feel free to let me know!

Want to see a Guernsey Lily?

http://www.calyxflowers.com/Floral-Library/Content/Guernsey-Lily.aspx

>14 hemlokgang: Had never heard that common name for it. Around here the common name is usually spider lily. Do you know how it came to be called that?

Per the website.....common names...Nerine, Guernsey Lily, spider lily.....After Nerine, a sea nymph and daughter of Nereus in Greek mythology. Origins was South Africa of all places.

Just started it, and wow, the man can write!

That's great and encouraging. I am about one third of the way through and starting to struggle. I will read on.

How is everyone doing with this? I am about a third of the way through now and am really enjoying it. Even all of Hugo's many extended digressions are delightful.

I unfortunately have yet to start as I'm trying to finish up a tome. I'm incredibly jealous of all those getting to this ahead of me.

Lilisin - I've not started yet either, but I do intend to read it. I'm in the middle of 2 long books and over-committed myself on group reads for January. I'm looking forward to it though.

>14 hemlokgang:->16 hemlokgang: The horticulturalist in me had to find the answer to the common name and I think it. The botanical name is Nerine sarniensis and Sarnia was the Roman name for Guernsey. It seems to have come to the island by way of South Africa and Dutch traders.

I prefer the story that it was left by a little folk prince dressed in green, when he spirited away a young woman, leaving the flower for her mother, but then that's probably not true.

http://www.floralguernsey.gg/floral-heritage/guernsey-lily.aspx

I'm about 12% through. My first ever Hugo, in English or French, I am enjoying the writing, the use of language and the way the characters are being introduced.

I am interested in the large amount of apparently factual explanations of folk culture and social customs and wonder if this is a) true and b) typical of all Hugo's writing or just as a result of his living as an ex-pat (exile) in a foreign environment in Guernsey?

Well, I have now finished this (couldn't put it down in the last part) and have been mulling over what to say about it. Once I write my review, I won't post it here so as not to spoil the novel for those of you who are still reading it, but I'm itching to talk about it!

ETA I've posted a review on my Club Read thread and on the book page. Looking forward to a discussion here when others finish it.

helen -
It is both a and b. Hugo would always do a lot of research on his works and his writing consistently contains these long factual explanations of buildings, and wars and "situations".

As a French person who tends to be familiar with these things already, I tend to really love it. But sometimes I wonder how it is for those who are not familiar with it? I've read a lot on LT about people getting bogged down when reading Les Miserables because of all the descriptive passages. But I've always found beauty in the way Hugo manipulates the reader into being interested in those descriptions.

ETA: I'm 200 pages away from finishing the tome I'm reading. Then I can finally start Toilers. I've been so jealous of everyone reading without me. And especially jealous at rebecca for being already finished!

I am constantly impressed with Hugo's ability to describe a rock, at length, and to hold my attention with his use of language!

I know -- it's remarkable!

Finished it! Loved it! Link to my review:

http://my2013readingjournal.blogspot.com/2013/01/toilers-of-sea-by-victor-hugo.h...

You guys are welcome to start talking about the book if you'd like. I'm afraid if everyone waits till the other is done it'll stifle any potential conversation. I want to encourage everyone to discuss so we avoid just posting reviews.

I didn't love it the way others here did. Actually, that isn't totally true - I loved the digression chapters where Hugo got all philosophical and descriptive, and I loved the part with the tempest and the part with the devil fish. I'm afraid that I ended up skimming over the bits with the tools, and the boat parts, and the nitty-gritty details of how Gilliatt used levers and pulleys and chains. Where did Hugo learn all that? Was he a sailor? Or just a really good researcher?

It's the ending that almost ruined it for me. Are we allowed to discuss the ending yet?

I was also wondering how Hugo learned all that stuff about boats and carpentry and blacksmithing, etc.

I thought he must have been bored while in exile and just set about learning everything he could about his cultural environment.

I stumbled across this French website that has over 150 illustrations of scenes from The Toilers of the Sea:

http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b22001139

I should be finished reading the novel soon.

I've nearly finished! I almost gave up in the long middle section, and certainly skim-read some chapters. But in the end I couldn't bring myself to give up and I am really glad I didn't? The second visit to the cave - and what he found in it - had me on the edge of my chair!

I am struck but the themes of isolation and separation - no character really seems to have a substantial relationship with another - does that reflect Hugo's own sense of isolation in exile?

Great illustrations, Steven. My edition included several of Hugo's drawings, although they weren't drawn specifically for the book.

I finished reading the introduction to Les Travailleurs de la mer. Victor Hugo had originally intended the essay L'Archipel de la Manche as the introduction to the novel, but it in 1866 Les Travailleurs de la mer was published without the introduction. In 1883, two years before his death, L'Archipel de la Manche was published separately. From the early Twentieth century, the two were published together, as originally intended by the author.

At just over 100 pages, L'Archipel de la Manche is a comprehensive description of the archipelago of the Channel Islands, which are described in great detail. In 24 short chapters, Hugo describes the geography, natural history, history, people and their manners of the islands. He points out interesting differences between Guernsey and Jersey in language and manners, as well as different institutions.

Apart from observations, lore and anecdotes, which Victor Hugo may have collected during his fifteen years on the islands, there are sparse references to literature, which suggest that Hugo made comprehensive study to complete the portrait of the islands, one of his sources being a book published in 1558. Still, his description is more poetic than factual, and undoubtedly, since 1866 many archaeological finds and historical facts have been established that would give the contemporary readers a much clearer picture of the history of the islands. However, as a memoir of Victor Hugo's exile and as an introduction to Les Travailleurs de la mer, the essay is a pleasurable read.