LES MISÉRABLES by VICTOR HUGO

"It is nothing to die. It is frightful not to live."

P.R: 9.2/10

To love someone means to see the face of God!

Isn't that true? Isn't that a fact that we know but seldom do we care of?

Everyone has heard about Les Misérables and of Victor Hugo but they haven't heard of is the tragic end it comes to.

There is a reason this book is called 'the brick' and its true to its every meaning. God helps those who help themselves but this didn't count in case of Jean Valjean, the protagonist of this story.

The famous character, the i famous convict whose only crime was stealing a loaf of bread to feed his sister's hungry kids.

And not for 2 years, or 3 or 5 or 10 but 20 years!

And even after he his parole, the moment he tries doing a good deed, his wretched fate takes a melancholy turn and he ends up for life sentence.

Still on the run as a convicted man, he doesn't stop to do good. Doing good was his way of living. At times I thought, or rather complained about how good he was and what a Christ-like character Hugo created who sacrificed everything, keeping nothing for himself.

No wonder his salvation came in for of his Priest, Monsieur Myriel and remained so in form of Cosette.

He was forever long chased by the faithful and obedient dog of the law and government, Inspector Javert. Javert, as Jean Valjean never accused him of anything bad only said that he's only doing his duty.

Javert trailed Valjean for years and years without end, until the very end. Javert was a man of his word and of his deed. He worshipped his work more and his duty was his religion.

The neverending chase of Javert-Valjean is like that of a cat and a mouse: you can't blame either of them.

The life was another character, Fantine, was wretched as well. Left alone as a single mother she Di everything possible to make her ends meet and to raise her child, even if she had to sell her body. She did everything a mother can do to provide for her child, Cosette.

Cosette remained all her childhood with the paupous villains the Thenardiers.

Monsieur and Mme Thenardier were possibly the best villains ever. They were funny and cunning. They were blood sucker, pathetic liars who raised Cosette in the most insignificant manner on behalf of Fantine, from whom they used to demand money and money. They were as cruel as some Foster parents could be. They thought of Cosette as a servant who used to do all their household work whilst their daughters used to play with dolls. Just think the effect of it to a young child's mind.

But soon enough Jean Valjean became Cosette's salvation as much she became to him.

To him Cosette because his sister, his daughter, his love and his life, and above all, his reason to go the extra mile. To Cosette, Valjean was all the support a dwindling Rose plant would need in order to blossom in all her elegance.

Valjean never told her about her mother, Fantine whom he chose to keep a secret. Fantine and Valjean are a proof that no good comes to good people until the very end, and sometimes its very late.

Marius, a young rebel, amongst the other Revolutionaries, was one of the prime characters who falls in love with Cosette. And no matter whatever I say regarding young Gavroche, it will never be enough. Sometimes there are characters in a novel that very much outshine the prime characters. Gavroche was an example of this.

There were certain places where the book felt rather very dry and seemed like almost impossible to read. Hugo talks about many political agendas and the French Revolution, Waterloo, fall and rise of Bonaparte and the Rebellion.

What brought the French Revolution was the suffering and injustice. The people of the top pushed the people of the down low and lower.

It seemed like this book was more than just a literature novel. It seemed that Hugo's prime motive wasn't to tell us a story but to discuss certain issues. The story was just a medium, perhaps a mode of entertainment.

Because Hugo talks and discussed very concrete stuff over this brick which makes it a brick more than the main plot itself.

However you see it, you just cannot fail to fall in love with the characters and relate to them. There are certain deep philosophical questions brought in by Jean Valjean during the early part of his book which very much changed the direction of the story. Jean Valjean was too good. Good to the point of bad. His goodness was godly. And what's godly, human cannot preserve.

I did watch the musical after I finished the book and it was just as good as one can expect or maybe better. Thoroughly enjoyed it.

"Do you hear the people sing?

Singing the songs of angry men?

It is the music of the people

Who will not be slaves again!

When the beating of your heart

Echoes the beating of the drums

There is a life about to start

When tomorrow comes!"