Les Miserables

Author: Victor Hugo

Published 1862

Genre: Novel of people in the early 1800’s in France

Rating: 4 of 5 stars

Most people I have talked with won’t read Les Miserables because they think it will be depressing.  They look at the cover illustration by Emile Bayard and imagine a story about children being abused but the fact is the child is one of the uplifting portion of the story.  Now I won’t lie, this isn’t a book of inspirational quotes and there are depressing moments but only in a manner to move the story ahead.  They are conflicts found in any novel and eventually overcome by the main characters.  There are though inspirational moments especially in the internal drive of Jean Valjean to do what is right and good.  These transformations are not immediate though, some take many chapters which is much more realistic.

I like to think of Les Miserables as similar to a television series with apparent independent episodes that eventually interweave and become the entire story.  Unlike many, probably most, classics the chapters appear to be wandering ideas of the author that may or may not have a real meaning.  This isn’t the case here.  You will learn more about the history of France in the early 1800’s then soon see how this knowledge works in the overall story and in fact is intricate to it.  In short, don’t skip passages as you may have done reading some of the works of people like Cervantes.  Hugo continually presents meaningful background that enhances your understanding of the story and its conclusion.

Hugo reports on a violent portion of French history, moral philosophy, justice, romantic and familial love.  He explores the dictates of preconceived beliefs as they relate to laws, position, and general life.  As the reader you will find yourself pleasantly involved with several ideas but not in a way of rejecting them.

Now don’t expect a story of people stumbling along the road of life then seeing the “light”, being saved, and living happily ever after because that isn’t going to happen.  Not every character lives, not every character enjoys divine intervention, and some make life altering mistakes but this makes the story more realistic.

The characters are easy to follow if you pay attention.  Those who appear in a background chapter will appear again later but that isn’t a difficulty.  Again, like a good television series, the character is semi-developed in one chapter then further developed later and becomes integral to the novel.

I won’t call Les Miserables a quick read because it isn’t.  It doesn’t drag by any means but is so interesting that you will want to take your time.  I won’t suggest it as a vacation novel either because if you are going to the beach then you want something that enhances the enjoyment of your trip but it is good during periods where distractions should be ignored.  You know, when the TV is showing old re-runs or NBA games.  I read it during the Presidential election campaign when the ads were so repetitious that I had to turn off the tube.

Les Miserables is definitely worth your time and attention and I recommend it.  It isn’t what you though or heard it would be.  When finished I am sure you will agree with Upton Sinclair who wrote that Les Miserables was “one of the half-dozen greatest novels of the world.”

 

 

The Edge of Sadness

Author: Edwin O’Connor
1962 Pulitzer Prize for Fiction
Published: 5/31/61 Loyola Classics
Genre: Modern Classic, Religion (though I question this second category)
Rating: 4 of 5

First; I thoroughly enjoyed this book and didn’t even know its length for some months after finishing. I still can’t believe it is over 600 pages because it was such an easy read.

Second; let me expand on my problem with the “Religion” genre category as it applies to Edge. Yes, the main character, Fr. Hugh Kennedy, is a Priest and yes, the struggle involves his priesthood but the same can be said about John Grisham books and attorneys. O’Connor explores Kennedy’s life, vocation, and setting but in no way attempts to convert the reader to Catholicism any more than Grisham wants all his readers to become lawyers. In short, if you are a Hindu you will still enjoy this work. The conflict is not between a man and his religion but more between a man and his life as an alcoholic relating to his employment.

Now why do I love this story? Well primarily because the main character is challenged by circumstances other than the boring and overused kind, and works his way through them. It examines the ethnic neighborhoods, the disorder that results from alcoholism, ethnic family units, the unrecognized bigotry that results from the imposed interaction between people of dissimilar origins and different languages.

Fr. Kennedy was breezing along as a respected priest in a great parish until his Father died. Their relationship is explored but not with the boring details associated with old classics. The reader follows him into his alcohol abuse and as he works his way through rehab. He is then given a new parish in a depressed area of new Americans and finds relating to be difficult.

Circumstances allow him to refresh old relationships which are examined in a proper context which brings light not only to the facts but also to Fr. Kennedy’s interactions with old friends and culture. He grows, realizing that his being is not dependent on outside forces but those chosen by himself which define him.

At first you will think you are reading a worn out story of Irish neighborhoods but then you discover that you have been brought into a reality of situations that may well mirror you own experiences. This isn’t a book of mind altering quotes or surprising turns, but one you are happy to have read and will be surprised how many others have enjoyed the same experience.

To Kill a Mockingbird

 

Author: Harper (Nell) Lee

1961 Pulitzer Prize
Published: July 11, 1960 by J. B. Lippincott & Co.
Genre: Bildungsroman and Southern Gothic
Rating: 5 of 5

In 1993 Lee wrote a new forward for this fantastic novel and in that she asked that future editions not mention the critical acclaim saying that Mockingbird “still says what it has to say”.  With that in mind I will skip the literary applause except to say that Mockingbird is one of my favorite books ever and that it was just as good when I read it in my late 50’s as it was when I was a teen.  I feel pretty secure in my assessment since the British librarians ranked this ahead of the Bible as a book “every adult should read before they die.”

The story takes place in the fictional small town of Maycomb, Georgia during the depression and is narrated years later by the youngest child, a daughter named Jean Louise “Scout” Finch.  The interaction of the three main stories makes the 290+ pages feel more like 150 pages and the reflections after reading enhance the enjoyment.  When you later learn facts such as the character Dill being based on a young Truman Capote, the Tom Robinson trial having its roots in several real life racial incidents (Walter Lett, Scottsboro Boys, and Emmett Till), the Radleys reflecting an actual family who lived near Lee during her childhood, and that Lee never wrote another novel you will experience the novel once again.

As for the story lines, I see three majors with several sub plots so masterfully woven that they blend rather than detract from the reading experience. 

First; the racial account of a Black man accused of raping a young White woman.  While a very interesting tale of its own it more importantly acts as the backdrop of the novel.  Due to the release date of the novel, the early stages of the American Civil Rights movement, Mockingbird is often mistakenly thought of as a Civil Rights novel as Uncle Tom’s Cabin is sometimes thought of as the beginning of the American Civil War.
Second; the development and nurturing of the family unit.  This is often overlooked until you discover that Lee’s original title was Atticus and that the family name of Finch was taken from the maiden name of Lee’s Mother (Frances Cunningham Finch).  Lee is writing about her family, her comfort in it, and how the teachings of her Father and care from relatives and friends resulted in her adult character.
Third; Scout’s coming of age.  Not just a physical maturity but the understanding of what my Irish family would refer to as “her Daddy’s lesson”.  Atticus often tells his children to be aware of how the other person feels, don’t assume you know someone just because you paint them with your own experiences.  This culminates in her using the Mockingbird story to define Boo Radley and befriending him.

There are a few sub plots also, one being the reaction of Jem to the conclusion of the trial and another the relationship between Dill and his Father.  Lee could have expanded on any and all of these but it would have been detrimental to the novel.  The idea does make me wish that she had written more stories though.

I don’t read books twice even if I was forced to read them in school but Mockingbird is the exception.  I read it when I was young and I read it when I was old(er).  I have also seen the movie several times and the play once (at the Ford Theater).  It is one of the first adult (not as in R rated or anything) movie I had my daughter see when she was young.  Can I say any more about it?  You are really going to enjoy this one.

If you would like to order Mockingbird in hard cover, soft cover, or e-book simply click in the immage at the top of this report.