Les Miserables

Okay….I lied. I had said that my next post would be about the civil war…but I changed my mind because of a circumstance which befell me last week.

I had gone with Kevin to Madera to a place called SkyWalk where we had fun bouncing around on trampolines. Since Madera is very close to Fresno, and thus, to Corey, we called him up so we could meet him. We were going to meet him at 4:00 at a Coldstone in Fresno.

Well, Kevin and I got to Coldstone at ten-to-four, so we had a little bit of time to wait for him. Well, it just so happened that there was a Barnes and Noble across the parking lot from Coldstone, and since one of my birthday presents was a Barnes and Noble gift card, I ran in to see if I could find something of interest.

One of my favorite books (maybe even tied with the Lord of the Rings) is Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. It has such a rich, deep storyline with believable, human characters. As I ran into Barnes and Noble, I planned to look for a copy of Les Miserables (I had borrowed a copy previously from the library).

Guess what I found as soon as I walked in? A hardcover, unabridged copy of Les Miserables on the bargain rack! I was almost giddy with excitement! I couldn’t believe that there would be such a great book, in such great quality (hardcover, no less), for $7.98!

Needless to say, I brought it home (the gift card more than paid for it), so now I have a lovely copy of Les Miserables in my collection.

As I glanced through the book again, it reminded me of how much I loved this book, so today, I want to share that love with you.

I love books…I devour books. I especially love the so-called long and boring classics (Omnibus finally trained me to love those books…it took six years…stick with your [Christian] education, kids!) like Les Miserables, the Count of Monte Cristo, etc. Look at my list on the side of great books to read for some recommendations of good books…

Warning! Minor spoilers contained below! If you intend to read Les Mis, you may not want to read the following!

Les Miserables is a beautiful, deep, heart-wrenching story (when it’s heart-wrenching for me, I guarantee it will be for you). Victor Hugo marvelously displays his characters and makes them so real; you begin to develop a kind of love for them. There are parts of the story where Jean Valjean is so selfless it almost makes you cry. Example: he has raised Cosette, and Cosette is his life, his joy, his happiness in life. Along comes Marius, who threatens to take away Cosette, and Valjean is jealous. He wishes Marius dead, but for Cosette’s happiness sacrifices his own, and ends up saving Marius’ life by crawling through the Paris sewers with the unconscious Marius on his back, almost drowning in the mire.

So Valjean is the hero of the book. He is a type of Christ-figure in the book, as he selflessly gives himself up for the benefit of others, such as the time he reveals himself as an ex-convict who had broken his parole to the court (after he had successfully concealed his identity and become the prosperous mayor of a town), thus condemning himself but saving the innocent man who was to be incarcerated in his place.

Then you have Javert, the perfectly good man, if you go by the standards of the law. The law is his idol, he worships it, and sacrifices those such as Valjean who may break the law, no matter how trifling the circumstance. He is a hound dog who wants to see justice done in every circumstance – especially to Valjean. In the end, it is Valjean’s mercy that horrifies Javert, the creature of the law.

The book is about justice and mercy. Valjean is mercy personified, Javert is justice personified. The rest of the characters in the book fall on a spectrum between these two. Of course, some characters, such as Thenardier, have no mercy or sense of justice, but are base, cruel, criminal people. The Thenardiers are the villians of the book, along with Javert. They crush and steal all those who come to them, yet find themselves in ruin and despair as a result. A good reminder that those who do wrong will be punished! The irony is, it is Javert that punishes them at one part of the story.

Then you have Cosette, the child that Valjean raises as his own. Cosette grows into a fine young woman, and Valjean adores her like a daughter. He does everything to please Cosette, including sacrificing his own safety for her benefit.

Marius, the poor, scholarly revolutionary, falls in love with Cosette (this whole section of the book is comical, as Cosette and Marius have never talked to each other or even know each other’s names, but they still manage to fall in love…Marius calls her “Ursula”). However, he has a responsibility in his revolutionary group, so as soon as he finally meets Cosette and figures out her name, he goes to fight on the barricades.

Valjean at first hopes Marius dies on the barricades, but silently puts on his uniform and goes to fight there. On the barricades, he saves Marius as well as Javert, who is horrified that such a monster as a merciful convict exists.

I could go on and on…the book is so great and there are so many things to pull from it. The ending is the only ending that has EVER brought tears to my eyes. I know that my quick overview is incomplete and lacking (especially with a 1000+ page book like Les Mis!), but what would be the fun in reading the book if I told you everything?

Take my advice: read some good books! The Bible of course should be the first priority…but in your free time, you should read! Les Miserables is a wonderful book to read, but if you feel daunted by a 1000+ page book, find something shorter…there are millions of books in the world, and many of them are worth reading.

Casey