Not the French Revolution - Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

Les Miserables is an intriguing classic of the 19^th century. This novel has a range of themes and genres within it: tragedy, romance, action, friendship, redemption and many more.
The story follows Jean Valjean, an ex- prisoner who breaks parole and works to become an honest man, as a promise to a bishop he met in Digne. After prison, he finds it hard to open his heart to anyone until he adopts the daughter of one of his ex-employees who he failed to help in her time of need. As his adopted daughter Cosette grows up, she meets and falls for Marius Pontmercy, a revolutionary attempting to fix the corrupt government of France. 

The plot itself is exciting, yet challenging, showing the struggles of, not only Valjean’s life but, the lives of nearly every character. The vast quantity of characters allows readers to usually connect with at least one of them. Even if it isn’t Valjean’s story you are interested with, you could be interested in Cosette’s journey or Marius’ or Eponine’s. They all have a different obstacle they need to overcome, which helps to intrigue the reader.

With each of Hugo’s characters, there is a different lesson to be learnt. Valjean shows how a once sinful, regretful man can turn his life around and become good once again and Fantine shows that some people are willing to go to such extreme lengths simply for family. Eponine show that you shouldn’t stop loving someone just because they don’t love you the way you wish to be loved while Enjolras shows how there are some things so important to fight and die for. Each character is unique and has a unique contribution to the story. 

Throughout the book, Victor Hugo makes note of the iconic events of the years, having lived through most of them himself. This is definitely a benefit for aspiring historians or France enthusiasts but can still interest the average reader. Throughout the pages, Hugo also writes his own thoughts of the events he created in his story, adding a philosophical aspect to the story. For instance, he writes about Valjean’s time in prison and how a man could have committed both a righteous and sinful deed, attempting to steal bread from an innocent baker but only to feed his family. It also has a strong idea of justice, contemplating if the ‘Law’ is just, even if it supposedly follows the way of God.

Like every book, Les Miserables has its share of detriments. The sheer size of the book would put off all but the most committed readers, even being nicknamed ‘The Brick’. Also, since the book originated and is set in France, many words and names are in French and can be hard to read if you aren’t familiar with the language and pronunciation. There are lots of pages filled with what I call ‘background information’ on the characters which is helpful to an extent but after the first page you feel as if the story has stopped so that it can revolve around this one character, who may not even be that significant. 

Despite these put-offs, Les Miserables is still a wonderful story, however not for the undetermined or weak-minded. It has been read since 1862 and is still being read today. There has to be a reason why.

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