Focus on the Family Radio Theater’s Les Miserables brings the characters from Victor Hugo’s classic book to life.  The drama and sound effects are well done and help the listener to follow the life of Jean Valjean, his encounters with Javert’s ‘justice’ and his love for Cosette.  You encounter Jean Valjean’s repeated sacrifice for others throughout the story and grasp the redemptive nature of the message carried throughout the book.

The story is highly abridged and condensed into about three hours.  Some purists may find that the drama cuts out key elements of the plot, but given the abbreviated nature of an audio book drama, the producers did a good job.  The only thing missing was the classic sound track from the play, which likely was cost prohibitive to license.

Note: I received a free copy of the CDs from the publisher in exchange for an unbiased review