Les Miserables (Les Misérables)

“I don't know whether it will be read by everyone, but it is meant for everyone. It addresses England as well as Spain, Italy as well as France, Germany as well as Ireland, the republics that harbour slaves as well as empires that have serfs. Social problems go beyond frontiers. Humankind's wounds, those huge sores that litter the world, do not stop at the blue and red lines drawn on maps. Wherever men go in ignorance or despair, wherever women sell themselves for bread, wherever children lack a book to learn from or a warm hearth, Les Misérables knocks at the door and says: "open up, I am here for you".” -Victor Hugo Les Miserables was published in 1862 by Victor Hugo. It is to date one of the longest novels ever written at 1,500 pages in English and 1,900 pages in French. The author wanted to address the social injustices of his time and believed that “so long as ignorance and misery remain on earth, books like this cannot be useless.” To write this book, Hugo drew on his experiences, for example, once he saved a prostitute from being arrested for assault as his character Monseigneur Madeline does. He visited places like the Battlefield of Waterloo, vacationed in Montreuil-sur-mer, was caught in the crossfire between the barricades and soldiers in Paris, and several years later, helped to smash barricades and suppress revolts. He also traveled extensively, took notes, interviewed people and researched. Les Miserables is a book unlike any other, describing spiritual dilemmas and the nitty gritty of life. The book, though long and full of essays and side stories, revolves around Jean ValJean, a convict sentenced to the galleys for stealing a loaf of bread. Every character, from orphaned Cosette, to the incorruptible lawman Javert, to old Mabeuf, to the weasel Thernardier, and revolutionary Enjolras, is fully explored, their lives tied together in fascinating ways. Hugo uses his work to show that the smallest good or clandestine deed will eventually come to light and affect your life. His characters come from all walks of life, make drastically different choices and come to separate endings, some happy, some less so. There are many lessons that could be gleaned from these pages, so many that they couldn’t fit in this paper. The importance of perseverance is a common theme in this book, meaning, the persistence to do something despite delay or difficulty. Marius shows this consistently, first when he is thrown out of his grandfather’s house and must make it in Paris without financial support, and then later after he sees Cosette. He sees her in the Luxembourg gardens and, despite knowing nothing about her, uses every avenue until he finally finds her. When he learns that Cosette will move to England, he goes to his grandfather, the man he loathes, to beg for the funds to follow her. Jean ValJean also portrays this quality while keeping Cosette safe, giving up everything for her. His life is one of sorrow, intense struggle, and sacrifice. Through everything, he showed a strong faith in God, even to the end of his life. He shows that our struggles in life do not mean we are doing the wrong thing, only that God has plans for us that we can not comprehend or begin to understand. This theme flows through the entire book. It makes you wonder, how did my comment in the grocery store affect another person or, how will being friendly affect your life in the future. It is interesting to consider. Fantine’s story showed the importance of sacrifice and good judgement. Her life would have been so much different if Tholomyes was a good man and father to Cosette. Instead, he dumped her and she ended up selling everything she had to save Cosette from the street. Also, leaving your daughter to people you barely know is not the best decision. Javert was an interesting character. He showed how people can be so focused on one thing, convinced that it is right, that they get the rug ripped out from under them when they are proven wrong. I learned that putting your identity in one place is harmful, not just to you, but to everyone around you. It becomes harmful when you develop tunnel vision. Javert was so focused on upholding the law that he did not believe a person could change, or that the law could be wrong. The Bishop of Digne proved how important godliness is. He was a saint, though he didn’t seem to know it. There are so many things we can learn from him. He did good deeds and never spoke about them, showing humility if ever they were brought up. He lived simply and offered everything he had to everyone who passed his threshold. He understood that everything he had was a gift from God, and did not begrudge thieves what they stole. He was kind, merciful, and generous. His sister was also a righteous woman, spending so much time on her knees that her health suffered from it. You will not find many people like this, they are rare gems. The Thernardiers showed how it is essential to know who you are talking to. I have rarely found a character in a book that is as twisted, slippery, and blackhearted as this man, especially not one who could still seem legit and innocent. Be careful where you place your foot lest you slip. This family also shows how dishonesty doesn’t just go away or shrink, it expands and will come back to haunt you later in life. They ruined their children by their wicked ways. Many characters in this book also exemplified helping those in need. The Bishop, of course, Jean ValJean, and Gavroche. Wherever Jean ValJean had the ability to help, he helped, usually with money, but at other times with actions, such as the time he pushed the cart off of Monseigneur Fauchlevant. Then there is Gavroche, a gamin who is lucky to get a meal and shelter on a good day. He took pity on two urchins he found wandering the street, gave them food, and shared his shelter for the night. This teaches that we should always help people in need as long as we have the ability to do so. I enjoyed this book. The characters were amazing, the plot was moving, and the descriptions were, well, descriptive. Through his writing he paints a picture of Paris as it was, so clearly that you can believe you live there and are experiencing the jests of the gamins, the fear of running from gendarmes, or the unrest of a city about to launch into yet another revolution. I loved how the author had so much first hand information and was able to write about existing problems so knowledgeably. Even though he wrote in a different time and place, his words are still relevant today. He gives the reader a way to value life and the ability to relate with and appreciate the position of those different from them. It is long to read, but totally worth it.

I feel humbled, elated, jubilant and serenely contented, after finishing the longest novel, I have ever read in my life! Victor Hugo’s tour de force Les Misérables. With its hefty size of 1,468 pages, completed in 31 days, I look back at my failed attempt, last year, when I gave-up around 26% on my Kindle. I’ve always wanted to read this magnum opus of a novel, but always felt intimidated by its Brobdingnagian size ( that too in tiny print)! To add fuel to the fire, the translations were quite candidly offputting as well. From time-to-time, the desire to read it, would surface, especially, when the 2012 movie came out, but would wane out naturally. However, last year, when I watched the 6-hour/episode of Les Mis on PBS’s Masterpiece, a mere desire grew up to be a full-fledged cacoethes to read the novel in full. Thank you, PBS! Out of the various translations, I found this one by Lee Fahnestock and Norman MacAfee (Signet Classics), which is apparently the only complete and unabridged paperback edition available as one volume, to be the best. I really fell in love with this version, so much so that I was waiting for my evenings to continue where I had left it the previous day. I did struggle a bit over the Battle of Waterloo sections with all the intricate details that only Victor Hugo can muster. As a linguaphile, I found his obsession over argot and cant bemusingly bright, curious, and entertaining. While I was somewhat lost a bit over the coordinates on the Paris Sewers section, I was laughing out loud over his deep disdain over the concept of sewers and how he had thought it out as to the environmental degradation and the corrosive, pollutive effects of letting out millions of gallons of sewer into the Seine. I couldn’t stop marveling over the Chekhov’s gun of meticulous plots he had planted throughout the novel, so much so, not a minute detail was lost. Besides the plot, what a rich, noetic, thoughtful prose that makes it a feast to an ordinary reader, with a cornucopia of apothegms interspersed throughout the novel! Besides, I feel, as though right from Mabeuf and Fauchelevent to Jean Valjean and Cosette or Javert and Monsignor Bienvenu, the powerful characters in the novel – from small to big – are all indelibly etched in our collective consciousness. Oh well, what else to expect from a classic, eh? Thankfully, besides my Kindle version (of the same book), I decided to purchase the paper-version this January’21, which is what is now heavily underlined, scribbled, and highlighted to delirium, so much so that this 40-day old book now of mine has become threadbare and sports a look of several years old! Just to collect the notes, my scribbles, and my thoughts from this book to my personal vade mecum will take several weeks, if not months. And that is the experience, I will always savor, whenever I fondly recollect of reading Les Misérables in full, for the first time. While the 2012 movie was good, PBS’s Masterpiece version was better, the best experience was in reading Victor Hugo’s in his own words. I could see how, even in the 6-part/6-hour extended PBS Version certain directorial digressions had to be adopted for the screen. Also, while there were some teary moments ("No vacuum in the human heart!"), there were also some, real moments of exhilarating guffaws – for e.g., the scene when Jean Valjean had to escape out of the nunnery by faking his own death with Fauchelevent’s help. And, yes, I will be re-reading the same classic on my Kindle, in not too distant a future.

This is the best book I've read this year! The characters really come to life. Highly recommend.

This book is over a thousand pages long but you will be on the edge of your seat all the way through. Here is a brief synopsis: The convict Jean Valjean is released from a French prison after serving nineteen years for stealing a loaf of bread and for subsequent attempts to escape from prison. When Valjean arrives at the town of Digne, no one is willing to give him shelter because he is an ex-convict. Desperate, Valjean knocks on the door of M. Myriel, the kindly bishop of Digne. Myriel treats Valjean with kindness, and Valjean repays the bishop by stealing his silverware. When the police arrest Valjean, Myriel covers for him, claiming that the silverware was a gift. The authorities release Valjean and Myriel makes him promise to become an honest man. Eager to fulfill his promise, Valjean masks his identity and enters the town of Montreuil-sur-mer. Under the assumed name of Madeleine, Valjean invents an ingenious manufacturing process that brings the town prosperity. He eventually becomes the town’s mayor. Fantine, a young woman from Montreuil, lives in Paris. She falls in love with Tholomyès, a wealthy student who gets her pregnant and then abandons her. Fantine returns to her home village with her daughter, Cosette. On the way to Montreuil, however, Fantine realizes that she will never be able to find work if the townspeople know that she has an illegitimate child. In the town of Montfermeil, she meets the Thénardiers, a family that runs the local inn. The Thénardiers agree to look after Cosette as long as Fantine sends them a monthly allowance. In Montreuil, Fantine finds work in Madeleine’s factory. Fantine’s coworkers find out about Cosette, however, and Fantine is fired. The Thénardiers demand more money to support Cosette, and Fantine resorts to prostitution to make ends meet. One night, Javert, Montreuil’s police chief, arrests Fantine. She is to be sent to prison, but Madeleine intervenes. Fantine has fallen ill, and when she longs to see Cosette, Madeleine promises to send for her. First, however, he must contend with Javert, who has discovered Madeleine’s criminal past. Javert tells Madeleine that a man has been accused of being Jean Valjean, and Madeleine confesses his true identity. Javert shows up to arrest Valjean while Valjean is at Fantine’s bedside, and Fantine dies from the shock. After a few years, Valjean escapes from prison and heads to Montfermeil, where he is able to buy Cosette from the Thénardiers. The Thénardiers turn out to be a family of scoundrels who abuse Cosette while spoiling their own two daughters, Eponine and Azelma. Valjean and Cosette move to a run-down part of Paris. Javert discovers their hideout, however, and they are forced to flee. They find refuge in a convent, where Cosette attends school and Valjean works as a gardener. Marius Pontmercy is a young man who lives with his wealthy grandfather, M. Gillenormand. Because of political differences within the family, Marius has never met his father, Georges Pontmercy. After his father dies, however, Marius learns more about him and comes to admire his father’s democratic politics. Angry with his grandfather, Marius moves out of Gillenormand’s house and lives as a poor young law student. While in law school, Marius associates with a group of radical students, the Friends of the ABC, who are led by the charismatic Enjolras. One day, Marius sees Cosette at a public park. It is love at first sight, but the protective Valjean does his utmost to prevent Cosette and Marius from ever meeting. Their paths cross once again, however, when Valjean makes a charitable visit to Marius’s poor neighbors, the Jondrettes. The Jondrettes are in fact the Thénardiers, who have lost their inn and moved to Paris under an assumed name. After Valjean leaves, Thénardier announces a plan to rob Valjean when he returns. Alarmed, Marius alerts the local police inspector, who turns out to be Javert. The ambush is foiled and the Thénardiers are arrested, but Valjean escapes before Javert can identify him. Thénardier’s daughter Eponine, who is in love with Marius, helps Marius discover Cosette’s whereabouts. Marius is finally able to make contact with Cosette, and the two declare their love for each other. Valjean, however, soon shatters their happiness. Worried that he will lose Cosette and unnerved by political unrest in the city, Valjean announces that he and Cosette are moving to England. In desperation, Marius runs to his grandfather, M. Gillenormand, to ask for M. Gillenormand’s permission to marry Cosette. Their meeting ends in a bitter argument. When Marius returns to Cosette, she and Valjean have disappeared. Heartbroken, Marius decides to join his radical student friends, who have started a political uprising. Armed with two pistols, Marius heads for the barricades. The uprising seems doomed, but Marius and his fellow students nonetheless stand their ground and vow to fight for freedom and democracy. The students discover Javert among their ranks, and, realizing that he is a spy, Enjolras ties him up. As the army launches its first attack against the students, Eponine throws herself in front of a rifle to save Marius’s life. As Eponine dies in Marius’s arms, she hands him a letter from Cosette. Marius quickly scribbles a reply and orders a boy, Gavroche, to deliver it to Cosette. Valjean manages to intercept the note and sets out to save the life of the man his daughter loves. Valjean arrives at the barricade and volunteers to execute Javert. When alone with Javert, however, Valjean instead secretly lets him go free. As the army storms the barricade, Valjean grabs the wounded Marius and flees through the sewers. When Valjean emerges hours later, Javert immediately arrests him. Valjean pleads with Javert to let him take the dying Marius to Marius’s grandfather. Javert agrees. Javert feels tormented, torn between his duty to his profession and the debt he owes Valjean for saving his life. Ultimately, Javert lets Valjean go and throws himself into the river, where he drowns. Marius makes a full recovery and is reconciled with Gillenormand, who consents to Marius and Cosette’s marriage. Their wedding is a happy one, marred only when Valjean confesses his criminal past to Marius. Alarmed by this revelation and unaware that it was Valjean who saved his life at the barricades, Marius tries to prevent Cosette from having contact with Valjean. Lonely and depressed, Valjean takes to his bed and awaits his death. Marius eventually finds out from Thénardier that Valjean saved Marius’s life. Ashamed that he mistrusted Valjean, Marius tells Cosette everything that has happened. Marius and Cosette rush to Valjean’s side just in time for a final reconciliation. Happy to be reunited with his adopted daughter, Valjean dies in peace.

A good book to read! Loved it, and if u love reading this is definitely worth reading!

I was inspired to read this 1862 classic after falling in love with the Hugh Jackman musical. I had already been familiar with the Liam Neeson version for several years, but the 2012 musical put this story in another place for me. This is the story of Jean Valjean, who as a young man was forced of necessity to steal a loaf of bread. For this crime and for various escape attempts, he spent 19 years in prison, emerging a desperate man. Convicts were the worst sort of people in France at this time; mistrusted by everyone and rarely able to find any kind of work at all. To survive he must steal again, but this time his life is changed in a much different way. Upon being captured, the bishop Valjean stole from forgives him and encourages him to find God and live for Him. With a new outlook, Valjean takes a new name and uses the money from the bishop for very good purposes. He becomes wealthy and successful, even to the point of being mayor of the town. He is loved by everyone because of his generosity and taking care of the ones who work for him. Then his world tumbles when Inspector Javert, a former prison guard, comes to town and begins to suspect his true identity. A woman who was dismissed from one of his factories also leaves him the care of her young daughter. Valjean must flee everything and find a way to take care of himself and Cosette. Valjean never stops working for the good of others, and Javert never stops hunting him. This is a story of forgiveness, redemption, love, and the fight for liberty. Who does not identify at different times with these characters, The Miserable Ones? Will we allow the work of God to transform us, as Jean Valjean did? You've perhaps heard that "Les Miserables" has lengthy sections which contain huge departures from the narrative. This is true. Those make for difficulty in sticking with the reading, and therefore this is one of the rare occasions on which I find myself suggesting an abridged version might be an acceptable consideration. Either way, this epic story has resounded in my heart, and I would be remiss if I did not encourage everyone towards this heart-stirring tale. It's a beautiful journey. "The pupil dilates in the night, and at last finds day in it, even as the soul dilates in misfortune, and at last finds God in it." -- Les Miserables

Can’t recommend enough. You miss out on so much if you read the shortened version.

A story for the ages!