Just recently, I started reading Les Miserables. I’ve been wanting to read it for a long time, and have finally started it. The copy that I’m reading is unabridged and over 1,000 pages long. I purchased a copy of the audio book from Audible.com so I can read it while listening to the audiobook. I don’t think I’d be able to get through it if I didn’t have a recording to listen to. It’s a very long book and Victor Hugo goes into a whole lot of extra detail.
I have listened to the music from the musical and have seen a few different movies based on the book. So I thought I was fairly acquainted with the story. But there is a lot of detail that is left out in everything that I’ve before encountered having to do with this story.
I’ve been especially impressed with Monsieur Myriel. A good portion of the book goes into describing him and encounters that he has. At first I wasn’t sure who this person was or why he was even talked about in the book. While the first few chapters were interesting, I was slightly confused at the detail that spent on a character that I thought was unimportant.
After a while of reading I figured out and saw how important this character is in the book. I won’t give it away for anyone that hasn’t read the book yet. But had this person not been in the story, there would be no story.
I can see how Victor Hugo is trying to paint a picture of what he believes to be, and what are, problems with most societies. It really makes you look and think about… to steal a quote from Babe… “the way things are.”