The Toilers of the Sea (Modern Library Classics)

In his Preface to Les Travailleurs de la mer (The Toilers of the Sea, 1866; translated by James Hogarth for The Modern Library, 2002 with an Introduction by Graham Robb; 480 pp.) Victor Hugo (February 26, 1802 – May 22, 1885) states, “Religion, society, nature: such are the three struggles in which man is engaged… In Notre-Dame de Paris the author denounced the first of these; in Les Misérables he drew attention to the second; in this book he points to the third.” Coming near the end of his literary output, The Toilers of the Sea is an incredible work from a genius of literature.Hugo’s title for the novel is a bit misleading as there is a small cast of characters and certainly no ship’s crew at sea. The human focus of the novel is upon a single man, Gilliatt—certainly among literature’s most incredible creations. Brought up in isolation by his mother on Guernsey following the French Revolution and living in a house, Bû de la Rue, alleged to be haunted, Gilliatt lives a lonely life following his mother’s death and is not liked by those among his parish. His solitary life, his perceived ill-nature, and superstitious rumors about his birth all lead to his alienation from the villagers. Hugo writes of the man’s rugged appearance, “You cannot brave the ocean, storms, and night with impunity: at the age of thirty he looked like a man of forty-five. He wore the somber mask of the wind and the sea.” Still, Gilliatt proves to be “a born pilot,” a fisherman of incredible skill and knowledge; “a carpenter, a craftsman in iron, a wheelwright, a boat caulker, and even a bit of an engineer.” He thinks a lot alone in his seclusion and is of quite a generous nature to others—all of which win grudging respect of the people of Guernsey, but not their friendship despite being “a great spirit.”The plot of The Toilers of the Sea is a simple one. Mess Lethierry, a successful seaman and ship owner, is the first man on Guernsey to build and man a steam-powered ship to the Channel Islands. Because of the speed of the craft he easily begins to attract more and more customers away from the standard sailing ships, leading to him and his twenty-one-year-old daughter, Deruchette, becoming quite financially secure. As Lethierry ages and becomes less physically active, he entrusts the ship to another most capable man renowned for his integrity, Sieur Clubin. The ship, the Durande, however is wrecked at sea in a dense fog, wedged between two rocky islets. Gilliatt, having been swept off his feet by Deruchette (although he has never spoken to her), seizes the opportunity to win her hand by trying to recover what remains of the ship and its precious engines, a sure-to-be almost impossible feat for anyone, let alone a man acting on his own.In his Introduction to the novel, Graham Robb states one experiences “the great outdoors of an inexhaustible imagination” in The Toilers of the Sea. Hugo’s writing style in The Toilers of the Sea is that of a meticulous literary master and not a mere storyteller. Because of his political activism against Louis-Napoleon, Hugo fled France in 1851 and “spent the next nineteen years in exile, most of them in the Channel Islands, first on Jersey and then on Guernsey” according to Robb. While living on Guernsey, Hugo wrote The Toilers of the Sea and opens the novel with an encyclopedic description of the islands. There isn’t a single aspect of life on the islands: its history, people, customs, traditions, geography, etc. on which Hugo doesn’t examine in depth for over fifty pages before there is a hint of a story. Even then, Hugo continually interrupts his plot for further reflections upon the islands and when he introduces characters, the characters are given equally exhaustive descriptions and backgrounds.At times Hugo also interrupts his narrative with ruminations of a philosophical nature, some very witty quips (often aimed at religion), and pointed, factual statements. To say portions of The Toilers of the Sea is that of an opaque novel is probably an understatement. The minutia to be found throughout the novel is fascinating and precise but is far from fashionable reading for many today. Readers must be in the mood for and persistent while reading The Toilers of the Sea or are likely to find the work insufferable. In an age when more and more readers appear to be rejecting works with too much description and when Herman Melville’s masterpiece, Moby-Dick (1851) is often cited as “unreadable” (something with which this reader would totally disagree), The Toilers of the Sea is not for everyone—which is unfortunate. A greater man vs. nature novel one is unlikely to discover.Hugo writes, “The logic of disaster escapes us,” and rather than depict nature as indifferent to mankind as most writers do, Hugo frequently personifies nature as a vengeful and powerful tyrant purposefully aiming its fury on Gilliatt as would a savage, predatory beast.On his mission to try to rescue what remains of the Durande pinned as it is between the two jagged, towering rocks of the Douvres, “a palace of death,” Hugo’s Gilliatt pits his knowledge, skill, experience, dreams, and commitment, risking his life every moment against the very worst nature offers: treacherous seas and tides, winds and storms, deadly reefs and rocks, cold and rain, and one particular horror that dwells under the water. He must also deal with physical exhaustion, hunger, thirst, loneliness, tattered clothing, lack of proper shelter and sleep, physical injury, nightmares and day dreams, a lack of assistance from any other human being, numerous losses, and a lack of appropriate tools. There are times when readers are bound to recall to mind the struggles of Hemingway’s protagonist, Santiago, in The Old Man and the Sea (1952) and wonder whether or not Gilliatt’s struggles will meet with the same kind of defeat. The obstacles with which Santiago must contend, however, pale in comparison to Gilliatt’s. When Hugo focuses attention upon Gilliatt’s struggles it is white-knuckled, suspenseful, heroic adventure at its best.As readers work their way through the pages of The Toilers of the Sea, best sipped like a fine wine, very little can prepare them for the novel’s staggering conclusion and Gilliatt’s final destiny after spending two months at his titanic labors. The novel, its conclusion, and the character of Gilliatt, are both unforgettable and the work of a phenomenal artist. [NOTE: The Modern Library edition of The Toilers of the Sea includes five of Hugo’s own brown ink drawings which “though not specifically created to illustrate the text… were nonetheless in such perfect harmony with Hugo’s novel of sea, storm, and shipwreck that he pasted them into the manuscript to illuminate particular passages and scenes” according to Graham Robb.]

This is an excellent novel by Victor Hugo about a man living in the Channel Islands and his situation.And that of others, of course. An early steam-powered side-wheeler, a trusted captain who turns out to be a villain, a young lady -- all of these figure in the story.For me, this ranks right up there with /The Hunchback of Notre Dame/. Which (so far) is second only to /Les Miserables/.The edition I bought for Kindle had some drawings done by Hugo and the introduction, which explores the Channel Islands in considerable detail before telling the actual story. That is the edition I am recommending, not one that omits the first part, as some apparently have in the past.

Hugo is the master of the aside - which goes on for pages and pages. The story is typical romantic Hugo, and is lovely and exciting. The history is interesting even when it is something that Hugo made up. But after getting through most of the book his diversions get to be irritating. A lovely book, and well put together. But you had better love Hugo to get through it all.

Set on the island of Guernsey in the Channel Islands. The story is about a Guernseyman named Gilliatt, a social outcast who falls in love with Deruchette, the niece of a local ship owner, Mess Lethierry.In typical Victor Hugo style, if you can get past the beginning description of every rock, tree, beach, cliff, tide, weather and geology of the area Toilers of the Sea becomes a book you can't put down. I found The Toilers of the Sea to be my favorite book by Hugo and indeed one of my favorite all time reads.

Brilliant book, great story, although to be fair I shouldpoint out that i am a guernseyman. And I apparently need four more words. Happy now?

This item is what I ordered and I am a very satisfied customer

The first 30% of Toilers is an almanac of the English Channel island of Guernsey and its British/French people. We learn all about the geography and culture. We're not introduced to the players of the story until Book Two.In this the things we do for love tale, our hero will attempt to rebuild a shipwreck--kind of boring--by himself, brave the storm, and fight a giant devilfish.Hugo is excellent on character development; he earns our sympathies.I'd rate Toilers the maximum but it has a what the hell? sucker punch ending.

buy it, read it, enjoy it, share it ...good font size. good paper quality

This is one of the best stories I’ve ever read. I’m surprised by the translation being this good. It took a while to get into it but the information that leads you into the main story is important for your understanding. I’m new to Hugo’s work but I can say I am a believer.

The translation is a joy to read and the text flows easily. I’ve found neither typos nor grammar/syntax problems BUT, THERE IS A TECHNICAL GLITCH that makes this Kindle download worth of only 3 stars.The problem is that the book contains exactly 216 “translator’s notes” WHICH ARE NOT easily accessible using the Kindle. Normally, you would scroll to the number, click “follow note” and then you would be taken to the matching note at the back of the book (easy-peasy). This doesn’t work with this Kindle version. Instead, you have to choose “Go to…”, then choose “table of contents”, then scroll through the table of contents until you come to “Notes”, AND THEN, FINALLY you will need to flip through the note pages to find the note you’re looking for.IT ISN’T CONVENIENT AT ALL AND IS HORRIBLY FRUSTRATING. For this reason, and I hope the person(s) who uploaded this technical travesty are listening, I can only give 3 stars.Amazon does an EXCELLENT job of NOT editing or proofing what they sell online. It’s something I would personally feel completely ASHAMED of if I were the author. Why this issue hasn’t been addressed in other reviews, is mind boggling. Why it hasn’t been fixed by Amazon or the uploaded is just UTTER STUPIDITY.

Got this book as a Sunday School prize aged 13 circa. 1950. Can't believe I actually got through it then! It's heavy going in places, Victor frequently leaves the story line to describe unrelated but historical and interesting events. Well it's Victor Hugo, and who am I to judge! Would I recommended it ? Well only to a fan of Victor!

A bit heavy-going, but a very fine literary work.