Les Misérables by Victor Hugo
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

I am done! Done with this wonderful book! When I began this journey, I wanted to find out more about the backstory of the characters in the musical and film version. I discovered so much more. Victor Hugo is officially my favorite author, well, at the moment anyway. Yes, some would say he goes on and on about things. He offers his opinions in various essays within the novel, but they are worded so well, you just can't simply skip over them. The first section of the book is about the Bishop and I believe every young man studying to be a priest should read it. The philosophy put forth is so...so good. Love God, love your neighbor, see God in every person. It totally transformed Jean ValJean and it stayed with him his whole life. And Fantine...she suffered so much from circumstances that she couldn't control. I loved her character in the musical and the film, but it seemed such a small part. Reading the book made my heart go out to her even more. The story of Marius and Cosette is so precious as well as the relationship between ValJean and Cosette. The man died of a broken heart, but in the end it was a happy death because Cosette was there. I know these are the romantic things in the book, but those are the things I love the best. Hugo did an excellent job describing places and events, redescribing them, and analyzing those places and events as well as the tangents he went on. I, personally, could feel the times that he described, the happiness and sadness of the characters, Javert's frustration, Eponine's hopeless love, Thenardier's downright selfishness. By the way, how could Mother Thenardier just throw away her children? What a terrible woman. Anyway, if you have the time and the love of "Les Miserables" on the stage or on film, it would do you well to read this book. You will love every form of the story even more. I actually listened to the audiobook translated by Julie Rose and narrated by George Guidall. It was excellent.


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