[Les Miserables] Part 1: A Review

On By Jane @ Greenish BookshelfIn 2017, Book Thoughts, Reading Goals, Review, The Classics Club

Hi everyone! Hope you are staying cool and more comfortable than me this June!

Today I thought I would share some updates on my reading progress of Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. I have 5 “huge” novels on my list for The Classics Club so I am reading them one per year. If you recall, when I read War and Peace by Leo Tolstoy last year, I posted several shorter reviews of single books to keep me accountable and help me digest Tolstoy’s masterpiece. I want to do something similar with Les Mis, with a few changes.

Logistically, here are my goals.

  • Post a short review after each quarter of the book read, 4 total short reviews.
  • Post a final review of the full book when I am done.
  • Finish the novel by the end of 2017!

Now a few initial thoughts about this masterpiece of a novel.

  • First, Les Miserables is much easier to understand and get swept into the story. I have had much more fun reading this so far. I read it because I want to, not because I feel like I should. In the war chapters of War and Peace, there would be days when I read 2 chapters just to keep reading. Not the case nearly as much with this one. I often read several chapters because I want to find out what happens to Fantine or Jean Valjean. The hardest part so far has been the Battle of Waterloo discussion which was heavy on military strategy and away from the main characters.
  • I love Hugo’s writing style. He expresses himself with such beautiful language, and I really enjoy reading his commentary on society within the larger story.
  • I’m already 25% finished! To me, this book is flying by already. I understand that there are plenty more characters to meet, themes to discuss and scenes to experience. But to already be at this point feels great.

lesmis

In these first several books of Les Miserables by Victor Hugo, we are introduced to several important characters and begin their journeys of discovery, justice, and redemption. First is Jean Valjean, the ex-convict who is given a second chance at a full life by a wise and kind priest. Next is Fantine, a young mother who sacrifices everything for her young daughter, Cosette. And finally we meet Inspector Javert, the justice and law driven police inspector who does not believe either can bend. Their stories connect in this first section of the novel but their destinies are far from decided.

I loved reading the first parts of this novel. It felt like reading about old friends. The story is familiar to me because I have seen the play and movie before. But this was also refreshing because it was different and more detailed. I could see Fantine as she slowly lost everything and felt her hope as she was saved from destruction. I saw the decisive moment for Valjean and his changed destiny. I could feel the intense duty Javert clung to–disregarding anything but justice.

I was surprised by the level of description and the slow pace of the novel. It did not bother me to get so many details but there was much more development than I expected. We get a lot of backstory on the priest who will eventually save Valjean’s soul. But that adds to the importance and climactic moment when he offers the silver and the candlesticks to the ex-convict. It takes Valjean so many chapters to finally get to the trial of the man accused of being 24601. It was a relief to finally read what he decided to do. We also get more background on Fantine before she meets Valjean. But that adds to the tragic nature of her character and the deep emotion I felt as she slowly lost her youth, dignity and nearly her humanity.

It’s hard to pick a favorite character in this section, let alone this novel. I loved Valjean because we get so much of his background. The stark contrast between his character before meeting the priest and afterwards is so intriguing. I find it easy to respect and admire him. I also loved the priest. We get so much of his background and learn how genuinely good he is. I appreciate him so much more than the few moments he gets on stage in the musical. And I loved Fantine, but in a different way. She is such a tragic character, but I felt that we really get to know her so much more in the novel. Perhaps understanding her background and her fall makes her even more intriguing.

Themes I am enjoying/pondering:

  • The relationship between justice and mercy. Can they both play a part in our lives? Does one overshadow the other? Should we focus on one more than the other?
  • Can someone be forgiven for their past? Is there a limit to the depth of forgiveness someone deserves?
  • Judgment can destroy others, regardless if it is based in truth or lies.
  • The search for truth. How can you find truth?
  • What is identity? Can man create identity? Can man change his identity?

Things that are tricky and/or confusing:

  • The only part that I had a hard time understanding was the extended book about the Battle of Waterloo. It felt like I was back in War and Peace. But we do get a clear connection back to the story at the end. I’m glad to be done with that part though.

I seriously already love this novel. So much to digest and discuss. Looking forward to continuing!

22 thoughts on “[Les Miserables] Part 1: A Review”

  1. Pingback: [Les Miserables]: A Small Review – greenish bookshelf

  2. Pingback: [Les Miserables, Part 3]: A Review – greenish bookshelf

  3. Pingback: [Les Miserables: Part 2]: A Review – greenish bookshelf

  4. pallavi sharma

    Great review ! and I love the concept of breaking it into sections. this makes it so much easier to follow the book. Eagerly waiting for part-2 of your review 🙂

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  5. mphadventuregirl

    When I read the unabridged book, I had read the book once before, but the abridged version.

    I honestly would not have read this book if it wasn’t for my love for the musical. The knowledge I had of the musical is what kept me going while reading this book. My love of my musical was how I somehow to survive those boring history lessons. I was able to make up major characters and write in songs. It took me only one summer to finish and finished it before that summer ended.

    I tend to read classics in between semesters. Those are the only times I could have the patience to read them because I wouldn’t have to worry about assignments or studying or anything school related. Reading a classic and deciding on a deadline helps me get through classics.

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    1. I totally love the musical too!! I’m thinking I need to go see the musical again when I finish as a reward 😉 Reading for fun in school was so hard for me! Now that I’m done with my degrees, I can read a lot more classics for fun!

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      1. mphadventuregirl

        Les Mis totally changed my view on musicals. Les Mis made me view the emotions in a way I thought was impossible.

        Growing up, musicals were very different and in my opinion all musicals were happy and was aware of excitement, love, joy, and sad and knew all four were common. Well with Les Mis, I realized tragic musicals exist and that heartbreak is a musical emotions. It has an emotional nature that is rarely shown in musicals

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          1. mphadventuregirl

            The crazy thing is that I used to treat the genre of tragedy very poorly. In high school, I first discovered that genre thanks to having to read Shakespeare in school. I thought tragedy was just a pool of sadness. I told myself the genre didn’t belong in theatre.

            So I am glad I didn’t know Les Mis was a tragedy when I first got my first full experience with it. Due to not knowing, I was shocked and confused that I didn’t know how to respond.

            So when I gave the movie a second chance, I saw so much more. I think that was when I saw something special about Les Mis. I honestly wanted to know why this tragic tale is uplifting so I dug deeper. Due to realizing Les Mis is a tale of hope, compassion, forgiveness, sacrifice, love, humanity, and redemption, I realized just how naive I was to tragedy when I thought I would hate them. Les Mis showed me the genre of tragedy is not just sadness because it is more than that

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            1. Les Mis really is a unique and beautiful story and I love seeing it. It’s been fun to read it for the first time and see how all those themes you talk about are even more developed in the novel.

              I really love Shakespearean tragedy actually. I think Macbeth, Hamlet, etc show intriguing struggles of power, destiny, family, sanity, and sacrifice. I have seen several Shakespeare plays in England and those incredible adaptations have made the plays more interesting for me.

              Thanks so much for sharing your thoughts!

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      1. I really, really don’t like WWII novels. Everyone focuses on that way like it was there only one ever. And lately, lots of books are set during WWII! Book 8 of Anne focuses on life at home during a war, but it’s WWI, which I don’t hear about as much.

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  7. I love that you’re breaking down your reading and posting into sections. That’s what I did last year with Middlemarch, and it really kept me going. (But mine was a readalong, which added more accountability for me too.) I’ve never read this but it’s good to know that you’re really enjoying it! It’s one that’s always intimidated me.

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  8. Brianna

    That is so amazing! Les Mis is on my classics club list to read and I can’t wait. I love the idea of taking it in sections and doing a review after a quarter of the book and then a summary at the end. I think I will do that as well, when I finally get around to reading this book. I look forward to seeing your progress.

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    1. Thanks so much, Brianna! I am loving it so far. Who knew such a big classic could also just be so fantastic!? You’re totally welcome to break it up like me–I think it helps me stay focused on it. It may be good, but its still 1400 pages long! Haha. Hope you find time to start it soon 🙂

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