Reviews

Jean Valjean, who was imprisoned as a young man for stealing bread to feed his sister's children, then had his prison sentence extended multiple times for trying to escape, tries to steal from a bishop who shows him kindness and forgiveness. He repents, hides his identity, and starts life as a new man, becoming mayor of a town under the name of Monsieur Madeleine and showing generosity to others. But he is recognised by Inspector Javert who has him arrested. He escapes, and rescues Cosette, the orphaned and abused daughter of a poor deceased lady, Fantine. They flee to Paris and hide in a convent where Cosette is raised for five years. After moving out to another house, Cosette and Marius secretly meet and fall in love with each other. When riots begin, Jean Valjean and Cosette move to another house, and Marius, thinking he has lost Cosette, joins the riots intending to die. Jean Valjean, despite being jealous of Marius, rescues Marius, wading through a sewer. He also spares Inspector Javert from being killed by the insurgents, and Javert, troubled by the clash of justice and mercy, commits suicide. Cosette and Marius marry. Jean Valjean tells Marius that he is an ex-convict, and Marius gradually makes it clear to Jean Valjean that he is unwanted in the house. Having lost Cosette, Jean Valjean stops eating, withers. Marius discovers the truth of Jean Valjean's past, and he and Cosette reconcile with Jean Valjean just before he dies.

This is a book of redemption. Jean Valjean, having been forgiven by Bishop Bienvenu whom he stole from, sees the goodness of God and never looks back. It's easy enough when he is Monsieur Madeleine, wealthy and respected, and can afford to do good. It is much harder when his conscience leads him to voluntarily confess his identity in court to save another man, and to spare Javert when given the opportunity to shoot him, and to save Marius, whom he is jealous of, while risking his own life. Hugo shows us these struggles. Jean Valjean has sleepless nights, deciding whether he should do what is easy and safe, or what is dangerous to him. He always makes the choice to save his soul rather than his body. He performs heroic acts with humility, knowing his power but believing that he is worthless without God, and above all setting Cosette's needs above his own. Bishop Bienvenu may be a minor character, but the impact he has on Jean Valjean's life is great, and the two precious silver candlesticks that he gifts Jean Valjean feature even when Jean Valjean is dying.

Hugo's characterisation is masterful. The major characters are all complex characters, with back stories that explain their personalities, idiosyncrasies and inner turmoils. Even some of the minor characters, like Eponine, Gavroche and Monsieur Gillenormand, are well fleshed out. The plot lines are tightly constructed, with Hugo holding all the threads in his hands and never letting them go. There are perhaps too many coincidences, but it is a small flaw when the plot is so thrilling and emotionally heart-wrenching.

Much has been said about the digressions. Yes, they are long. But are they really digressions? I see this book as Hugo's love letter to Paris. He names specific streets and cafes, and writes essays on various topics from politics to convents to Parisian orphans to the nature of slang in Paris. For the modern day reader, it is tempting to skim through them to get back to the story of Jean Valjean and his encounters. But these "digressions" are as integral to the purpose of the book as the plot is. In any case, I believe there most people will have at least a digression or two that interests them. My favourite was the one on the Battle of Waterloo, and I know others who have expressed fascination in the ones on convents and on slang. And Bishop Bienvenu being one of my favourite characters, I don't count his back story as being a digression, though some people do.

I read the Penguin Classics translation by Christine Donougher and it was excellent. It reads smoothly and there are many footnotes that explain the references and puns that modern-day non-French readers may miss. Only, why oh why did she have to rename the book The Wretched?

Thank you, Victor Hugo. Those eleven months were good.

schleviboy's review against another edition

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3.0

A great, epic story, though Hugo is rather long-winded and overbearing at times.

Also, I kept having to google things, e.g. strange English vocabulary that may not appear outside of this translation, details of French history, entire poems left untranslated in French. If I ever read this again, I'm definitely going to look for a recent translation with notes.

heatherfeii's review against another edition

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dark emotional hopeful sad tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

sw2802's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

laraloops's review against another edition

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emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This is a very good classic, Hugo can meander but I enjoyed it for the most part. He espouses love and revolution and when he has an opinion you will know of it. And if he has studied something like Waterloo or the sewers of Paris he will also go on long rants but it's very much because he believes setting is to the upmost importance to his characters. I very much enjoyed the beginning with the bishop. The end I felt was very tragic and I honestly feel that the musical did a better job making it less depressing.

joedunham's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional inspiring slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

spenkevich's review against another edition

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5.0

Javert: those who falter and those who fall must pay the price!
Valjean: lol you can Les Mis me with that shit.

The first year I worked at the bookstore I very excitedly dressed as Enjolras to work the Halloween night shift but nobody came so I just sat alone with all the empty chairs and empty tables and read this book uninterrupted for 5 hours. Ideal work day to be honest.

But this book is wild. Epic in scope and casting a critical eye on the mistreatment of the poor with the occasional essay on sewer systems thrown in. Unforgettable and undeniably a lasting classic, musical or not, and Hugo himself explains why the book should continue to be read as a sharp statement against poverty and the systems that perpetuate it:

'So long as there shall exist, by reason of law and custom, a social condemnation, which, in the face of civilisation, artificially creates hells on earth, and complicates a destiny that is divine, with human fatality; so long as the three problems of the age — the degradation of man by poverty, the ruin of woman by starvation, and the dwarfing of childhood by physical and spiritual night — are not solved; so long as, in certain regions, social asphyxia shall be possible; in other words, and from a yet more extended point of view, so long as ignorance and misery remain on earth, books like this cannot be useless.'

This was a very personal book for Hugo, who had walked out into the streets of Paris and stumbled right into the gunfire of the June Rebellion which makes up the latter half of the novel. Hugo kept notebooks into which he recorded all he say and drew inspiration for his many characters from people and events he witnessed. Though most fascinating to me is that Jean Valjean (and to a small extent, Javert) take inspiration from Eugène François Vidocq, who, upon his release from prison, formed the first private detective agency and is known as the father of criminology. [a:Edgar Allan Poe|4624490|Edgar Allan Poe|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1454522972p2/4624490.jpg] would also be inspired by Vidocq for his [b:The Murders in the Rue Morgue|3301759|The Murders in the Rue Morgue (C. Auguste Dupin, #1)|Edgar Allan Poe|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1661025564l/3301759._SX50_.jpg|18440614]. I sort of love how you can tell when Hugo gets excited by a topic and wants to tell you everything he learned about it (sewers, man, so much about the sewers), or adds little bits of his own life into the story (he had an open marriage and commemorates the date he first slept with his mistress, Juliet Drouet, by making it the date of Marius and Cosette's wedding). A big book, but one that is always well worth the read.

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