Summary/Response Book Review

Armond Lorenzana

ENGL 111

Mr. Schelle

December 17, 2009

Les Miserables: A Masterpiece

If one were to ask what the basis of human nature and civilization encompasses, I would tell them to read Victor Hugo’s epic novel, Les Miserables (1862). Set in various locations in France, spanning from 1815 to 1832, the novel follows the main protagonist, Jean Valjean. The story begins with the Bishop of Digne and his daily life. Jean Valjean, a released convict, stumbles upon the town where the Bishop lives and is shunned from every inn he goes to due to his status as a former prisoner. The only one who will let him take shelter is the Bishop of Digne. This act of kindness transforms Jean Valjean from being spiteful of humanity to being saint-like towards it, in regards to the Bishops wishes.

Several years later, Jean Valjean becomes the mayor of a small French town, Montfermeil, and goes under the new alias of M. Madeleine. Afterwards, he meets a woman by the name of Fantine, who suffers from a great amount of misery. Fantine, having no way to support her child, Cosette, has given her to a family named the Thenardiers to take care of Cosetteuntil she can support her. Oblivious to the mother, the Thenardiers are cruel and treat Cosette as a slave. Jean Valjean promises to retrieve Cosette for her mother; however, he reveals his true identity when someone in a neighboring town is put to trial under his name. Fantine dies and Javert, a police inspector who follows Jean Valjean throughout the novel, arrests him.

Jean Valjean escapes from prison and finds Cosette. He buys her from the Thenardiers and adores her as his own child. They rent a small room in Paris, but Javert soon discovers them. While being chased, Jean Valjean manages to ascend into a convent of nuns with Cosette. They soon settle into the convent and live there for several years.

At this point, Marius, a new protagonist, enters the novel and becomes absorbed in his past. Having never known his father, Marius discovers and respects his father, a soldier of Waterloo. The orphan, Marius, leaves his grandfather’s house and lives on his own after a dispute regarding his deceased father. Marius frequently visits the Luxembourg Park where he spots and falls in love with Cosette. Jean Valjean, noticing Marius’s continuous gazes towards Cosette, stops going to the park and Marius soon becomes depressed. However, eventually, Marius discovers Cosette’s address and visits her frequently.

Cosette disappears and in an oath to die because of her disappearance, Marius acts in the Paris Uprising. In the meantime, Jean Valjean discovers the love affair between Marius and Cosette and goes to the Uprising to assist Marius. Jean Valjean saves Marius and Javert from being killed in the revolt. Afterwards, Cosette and Marius marry, leaving Jean Valjean devastated from having to share Cosette’s love. Jean Valjean reveals his past as a convict to Marius and is soon unwelcome from the house; however, Cosette does not know his secret. Visits stop between Jean Valjean and Cosette and as a result and he remains in his bed. At the end of the novel, Marius learns that Jean Valjean is responsible for saving him in the Paris Uprising. The couple visits Jean Valjean and listens to his final words. He dies as the two kiss his hands.

In my opinion, Les Miserables is an incredible piece of literature. Hugo is the master of similes and metaphors and uses it effectively in this novel. In one of his descriptions of human society and the social classes, he compares civilization as a mountain and the poor as the caverns. How do you expect to know the whole mountain without viewing the caverns? With his poetic skills, he manages to make connections to emotions, issues and history. In the final scene of the book, his metaphors are so powerful he brought me to tears.

This novel is a very deep piece of work that addresses the human soul’s emotions and issues in civilization ranging from religion to poverty. This drama, while being magnificent, does suffer from many chapters of useless information. The book contains three types of chapters: the story, philosophical sermons, and historical lectures. These normally appear in the middle of the story and break the narritive. I had no background knowledge of French history, thus these chapters were dull. A fifty-page chapter on the battle of Waterloo led me only to one point of significance regarding the story. However, the plot is captivating and the philosophical sermons are very convincing and interesting. Those who can make it past the boring, overwritten, historical lectures will found a moving tale of love, misery, and life itself. The story raises the novel back to a captivating status after a slew of pointless information passes over the reader’s head.

Overall, this book is massive. Adding up to 1,463 pages, only the most persistent and dedicated of readers will be able to finish this in one semester. I was rewarded for never giving up as the story is unlike any other drama told. It is truly heart wrenching, but has shone me how the goodness of the human soul conquers all other endeavors.

Works Cited

Hugo, Victor. Les Miserables. New York, New York: New American Library, 1987. Print.