Les Miserables

This winter, I read - all 1200 pages of - Les Miserables.

It was Horrendous. Awe-Inspiring. Terrific. Depressing. Invigorating. It was a book that I will never forget.


How do you even tell the story of Les Miserables? There is no single plot, no single story. It's all interwoven together, in one tale of humanity - humanity at it's worst, and it's best.

It is a story of Mankind's misery, and of glorious redemption.

There are plenty of faults in the story. There are plenty of chapters where I realize that, although the book is written by a believer in God, he is not a Christian. That he is a faulty man, like all of us.

But still...

Read the book once, and you will never forget it. Never forget the glorious characters of Jean Valjean, Cosette, Marius, Eponine, Enjolras...

Even Javert. I happen to like Javert. Because, even though he does cause Jean Valjean every bit of trouble he possibly can...

... he believes what he is doing is right. He believes in duty, and he's a 'Miserable', just as Valjean is. Just something for thought.

So yes. I am a 'Miz" fan. Is it a perfect book? No. Is it a work of art. Beyond a doubt -

yes.

"An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come."
~Victor Hugo