Les Misérables by Victor HugoMy rating: 5 of 5 stars It's tough to summarize everything about this book. Not just because it is over 1400 pages, or because it took me nearly 15 years to finally finish the darn thing, but also because it is not just simply a novel. The story and the characters are incredible, but this book is so much more than that. It is Victor Hugo's masterpiece of the French people. He uses one of the greatest redemptive stories ever told as a platform to expound on his understanding of his nation. He takes many tangents on the history, economics, sociology, and ethos of France. It makes the story so much bigger than the struggle between the characters, it is about the soul of a people.
That said, the reason I read this book and enjoyed it is because of the characters. My first impression of the story was from seeing the musical version (which I love), but even in that modern opera, many of the characters are given short shrift. Jean Valjean is well explored, and Javert's back story is briefly mentioned, but many of the other characters are barely glimpsed. And in the film version many characters disappear altogether. But Hugo's characters are so rich. Marius is so much more than a French Romeo to Cosette's Juliet. He is a passionate, intelligent man with a strong moral compass, but still young enough to be an idealist. Cosette is not as developed as a character, but much of that is because she is still young and naive, and she represents purity and light to Valjean. To delve her much more would ruin her place in his eyes. Then there are the Thenardiers. This whole family of criminals and miscreants who, while trying to exploit or destroy those around them, seem only to be able to help the main characters. And two of them wind up being the noblest of characters.
The way these characters interact and struggle with each other is fascinating in and of itself, but then you add the historical and factual aspects that Hugo incorporates, and the story just leaps off the page at you. I have to admit that some of his tangents were difficult to get through and some of the details overwhelmed me at times, but I think much of that is because I am not as familiar with the history of France (though I did pick up my encyclopedia to look up some more info) and I do not know the city of Paris as a citizen would. Yet, despite these handicaps, I still found much of his writing fascinating. All in all, this is probably my favorite story for so many reasons. I highly recommend it to anyone. And don't be daunted by the size. It actually breaks up into smaller reads quite well. View all my reviews >>
