I finally marathoned through this one. I was prepared, and made it through all the diversions—the battle of Napoleon, the history of the sisters of Benedictine, the history of the sewers of Paris. It was actually worth it in the end.
I am very familiar with the musical, and so have been meaning to get to this for years. The plot of the musical is pretty similar to the book, but is definitely an “abridged” version (e.g., we’re a couple hundred pages in before we even meet Jean Valjean.) Even though I knew what would happen, I was on the edge of my seat. E.g., following Valjean to Arras to see if he would conceal his identity or declare himself to be Jean Valjean. I can see why this is a classic.