Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

My rating: 4 / 5

I really had a love/hate relationship with this book. I loved the idea of reading it, but hated actually really reading it. Mostly, I think this was because of the overall length of the novel. I kept thinking of how many other books I was missing out on reading during this time.

This novel is of epic proportions. Hugo left nothing out in this grand portrayal of nineteenth-century France. The story is part drama and part thriller added on top of a historical fiction.

The stories and the lives of the many characters are delicately woven into a historical recount of France in the early 1800s. Jean Valjean is the central character, a man who has suffered and paid for his sins many times over and just doesn’t seem to catch a break. I don’t want to spoil anything, so I won’t say more on this.

The writing, the story, all fabulous. There are characters you will love and quite a few you will hate. Some moments will make you cheer and others will break your heart.

My one biggest disappointment is that Hugo spends so much time discussing the Battle at Waterloo, convents in France during this time period, and other things with little bearing or added value for the overall story. This, combined with an uncompelling story for Marius (who I believe the reader is supposed to love), was the only letdown for me.

I have never seen the musical, and I waited until I finished the book before seeing the movie, which is based on the musical. I will not review the movie here, but if you haven’t read the novel and have seen and loved the movie or the musical, I would highly recommend reading it!