Les Misérables

[Warning: mild spoilers]

Many people may be unaware that Les Misérables was originally a novel by Victor Hugo, the man who wrote The Hunchback of Notre Dame. And just like his other novel, Les Mis is extremely long. The book tells the story of Jean Valjean's redemption after getting out of prison and the way that he tries to do whatever he can to assist others, until the day when Inspector Javert realizes who he is and he is forced to spend the rest of his days running and hiding from the officer who is bent on revenge. The one thing that continues to push Jean Valjean to run is a girl named Cosette. He adopted the girl when her mother, who had worked for him, passed away. The girl was in the care of a selfish couple whom the mother had paid to raise the little girl. It's very much a Cinderella story, with Cosette being treated more like a servant than a part of the family. Jean thus dedicates his life to caring for the young girl, but the Thenardier family repeatedly comes across Jean's little make-shift family and attempts to exploit the man and take back the girl.

There are so many small stories, histories and overlaps in this tale that are just not included in adaptations of the novel, and these add some wonderful layers to the story. One thing I noticed while reading this book is that the musical/movie leaves out quite a bit of the story. Admittedly, the history passages and lengthy backstories would make for a really long and really boring movie. However, the characters turn out to be far more connected than I expected. Marius Pontmercy, the young man who falls in love with Cosette, is the son of a colonel who fought in Waterloo and was inadvertently saved by the greedy Monsieur Thenardier. Unfortunately, Jean Valjean's humility and Thenardier's criminal activity make things very difficult for Marius, who feels he owes everything to his father's saviour but only sees Jean as an escaped convict. What he doesn't realize until the end is that Jean is the man who rescued him during the revolution. The reversal of roles that these two men have, especially in the way that they are perceived by Marius, is the most frustrating and interesting part of this novel.

This book was the one I chose to rea on my commutes to and from school (when I wasn't reading class material) and it took me about two years to read. It was long, and some of the backstories and historical expositions were unnecessary, but it was worth the read. The thing about classic literature like this is that - other than sometimes being long and boring - it is very insightful. The way that Victor Hugo talks about things like love, faith and humanity is both beautiful and profound. I believe it is this aspect of the writing which makes classics classic.