What to read, watch, and listen to if you lovedLes Misérables
Ladj Ly · Film · 2019
If you loved Les Misérables, start with Les Misérables (Victor Hugo, 1987) — a book from the same story. Below: 4 books, 4 series and 2 podcasts, each matched to Les Misérables across media.
You were drawn to the way Les Misérables unflinchingly exposes how systemic inequality traps individuals within cycles of institutionalized violence.
Start with the source
Adaptation
Les Misérables
Series · 2018
Books on the same thread
Brotherhood
Mohamed Mbougar Sarr · Book · 2021
Explores: tyranny, grief, resistance.
Like Les Misérables, this narrative explores the intersection of personal grief and political resistance, showing how ordinary people fight back against the crushing weight of an oppressive, tyrannical regime.
Just Mercy
Bryan Stevenson · Book · 2015
Shares a thread with Les Misérables: systemic inequality.
This account mirrors the urgent social critique found in Les Misérables, providing a sobering look at how systemic inequality and legal structures disproportionately affect the most vulnerable in society.
The Message
Ta-Nehisi Coates · Book
Explores: systemic injustice, media criticism, geopolitical narrative.
Just as Les Misérables challenges the official narratives of the powerful, this investigative work pulls back the curtain on the dissonance between ground-level reality and established political storytelling.
Millennium
Stieg Larsson, David Lagercrantz · Book · 2005
Explores: Corruption, Journalism, Misogyny.
This thriller captures the same spirit of exposing deep-seated corruption as Les Misérables, following individuals who risk everything to uncover uncomfortable truths hidden by those in positions of power.
Series on the same thread
When They See Us
Ava DuVernay · Series · 2019
Shares 2 threads with Les Misérables: Police brutality, Loss of innocence.
This series echoes the themes of police brutality and systemic racism depicted in Les Misérables, focusing on the devastating consequences when the justice system fails the innocent and marginalized.
Lupin
George Kay · Series · 2021
Explores: Social Injustice, Framed for a Crime, Underdog.
If you appreciated the underdog struggle against an unjust status quo in Les Misérables, you will find a similar sense of righteous rebellion here as the protagonist seeks justice.
The Bureau
Éric Rochant · Series · 2015
Shares a thread with Les Misérables: Moral Ambiguity.
This series explores the moral ambiguity and tension inherent in institutional systems, reflecting the complex, high-stakes environment where characters in Les Misérables navigate their conflicting duties and personal ethics.
Mare of Easttown
Brad Ingelsby · Series · 2021
Shares a thread with Les Misérables: Police Procedural.
This procedural captures the gritty, localized tension seen in Les Misérables, illustrating how personal trauma and community dysfunction can spiral when examined through the lens of a failing system.
Podcasts on the same thread
1619
The New York Times · Podcast · 2019
Explores: systemic racism, national identity, legacy of slavery.
This series provides the historical context for the systemic racism explored in Les Misérables, mapping how institutionalized injustice persists through generations and shapes our modern national identity and reality.
Nice White Parents
Serial Productions & The New York Times · Podcast · 2022
Shares a thread with Les Misérables: systemic inequality.
Much like the social landscape of Les Misérables, this series exposes how privilege and power dynamics maintain systemic inequality, specifically within the structures we trust to serve the public.
Keep exploring
Common questions
Is the 2019 movie Les Misérables a direct adaptation of the Victor Hugo novel?
No, the 2019 Les Misérables directed by Ladj Ly is not a direct adaptation of the 1862 book. It is a contemporary drama set in the same Montfermeil location where Victor Hugo set his famed novel, focusing on modern tensions within the Anti-Crime Squad.
How does the 2019 Les Misérables relate to the original setting of the book?
The 2019 film Les Misérables takes place in the suburbs of Montfermeil, France. This is the same geographical setting used by Victor Hugo for his original novel. The film explores modern social conflicts in this specific location rather than adapting the historical plot of the book.
Should I watch the 2018 Les Misérables TV series before the 2019 movie?
You do not need to watch the 2018 Les Misérables TV series before seeing the 2019 film. The 2018 series is an adaptation of the original book, while the 2019 movie is a separate contemporary story that uses the historical setting as a thematic backdrop.
Is the 2019 movie Les Misérables connected to the 1987 book version?
The 2019 movie Les Misérables is not a sequel or a direct adaptation of the 1987 book version. The film tells an original story about a police squad in modern-day Montfermeil, sharing only the title and the location with the literary work.