19th December 2021

I picked this book up following an aggressive Twitter-based marketing campaign by the publisher, and couldn’t be happier.

While based on the characters and setting of Victor Hugo’s classic Les Miserables, the plot takes a sort of alternate history route, following Eponine through life in the Paris underground.

I had been expecting something more akin to fantasy, as that’s how the book had been described and shelved, but really don’t think this fits that categorisation - it feels more an alternative take on what is now a historical fiction.

I have never read the original works, but can easily see that there’s some variation in character and story, and elements from other works that migrate across. I have however seen/hear various versions of the musical, and there are the occasional references dropped in that I got.

While this novel works totally as a stand alone, I was delighted to learn after reading that two more parts are coming, and I’m really looking forward to them.

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