A.K. Frailey’s Reviews > Les Misérables > Status Update

The story is really pulling together at the end. Beautiful depiction of sincere hearts and how people can see their purpose in life so differently. Bittersweet. I also now know a great deal more about the Parisian sewer system than I ever really desired to know. Though, it does give us a history of change...even that which occurs under our feet.

Though I have no French blood in my—that I know of—I recognize Hugo's struggle to embrace the bright and dark sides of the human experience. His ideals of love are as passionate as his descriptions of the desolation and ruin of the human soul. He reminds me of Tolkien's LOTR description of Frodo's injury. Humanity must accept the tragedy of deep wounds yet live on...and with the grace of God...love on.

Victor Hugo makes it clear that humanity must learn the same lessons over and over, yet some people have souls infused with the divine. Amazing reflection on the human experience.

"God makes his will visible to men in events, an obscure text written in a mysterious language. Men make their translations instantly; hasty translations, incorrect, full of mistakes, omissions, and misreadings. Very few minds understand the divine language...from each misreading a faction; and each party believes it has the only true text, and each faction believes it possesses the light." ~V. Hugo, Les Miserables

I am constantly amazed by the breadth and depth of this book. Hugo covers a huge amount of territory—not just French history but the entire landscape of the human soul. Fascinating.

A powerful story. I'm taking my time and savoring Hugo's poetic use of language.