Victor Hugo's Les Misérables Didn't Make Me Miserables...er, Miserable

Victor Hugo was so ingenious that even Ayn Rand sympathized with him. Yes, Ayn "Judge and Prepare to be Judged" Rand. Les Misérables accentuates and explores its kaleidoscope of characters magnanimously---------some are largely symbolic and ideal (Jean Valjean), others vast exaggerations (Inspector Javert), and then there's those actual humans (Cosette, Fantine, Fauchelevent). While empathy can be difficult (given the abundance of Providence), provocation is inescapable. Everyone we're reading about makes decisions that compel the reader to question his or her fortitude.

I wish synopsizing was avoidable, but I need to earn your interest. "Les Misérables" takes place in 18th-19th century France (French Revolution-era), centering around Jean Valjean, who's just been released from prison after a nineteen-year-sentence (for stealing a loaf of bread). Venerable Bishop M. Myriel munificently houses him, which Valjean recompenses by stealing his silver candlesticks. When Valjean is discovered and accused by authories, Myriel says the candlesticks were a gift. Cue the gargantuan existential crisis. Now Valjean's a saint, and working under a pseudonym (Madeleine), becomes the mayor of Montreuil-sur-mer, providing a relative Pax Romana (or Pax Sur-Merana, if you prefer).

Inspector Javert, who worked at Valjean's prison, is suspicious of Madeleine. He makes accusations, which society returns with comtumelies. Valjean, meanwhile, works on reuniting compulsory harlot Fantine with her sequestered, enslaved child, Cosette. When Javert's notions are confirmed (after which Fantine dies), Valjean vanishes and rescues Cosette, whom he plans to spend eternity nourishing.

It's rough to proceed without giving away everything. Javert scours France for Valjean for some eight-hundred pages while Cosette fawns over Marius, another essential character. Valjean is a Christ-like, inspired individual who bakes our noodle for the novel's 1200-plus page duration. He holds remarkable aplomb and continence, financing all whom request (his funds lack boundary) and perpetually imitating Myriel. Before reading "Les Misérables," was still dithering over Objectivism, but Valjean really made me wonder--------is charity the best way? (I'm currently thinking yes). In retrospect, Hugo fulfilled one of his goals. 150 years after this beast was published, it's still changing lives.

Even without empathy, we still love and care for his characters. Fantine's story is the most lachrymose; her being seduced by a pick-up artist and left with his illegitimate child, then forced to labor and prostitution while miscreants "nourish" Cosette. During the battle scenes of the Revolution, we're comrades with the insurgents and despair at their doom. Hugo permeates us with hope and optimism for the heart, eviscerating and confounding our inner cynic. This is his greatest triumph.

Hugo is the best of the magnum-opus-writers I've covered (Rand, Tolstoy, Steinbeck). He writes with buoyant grace and poetry, expanding my vocabulary more than any other (he taught me uncommon words like miasmatic and bellicose). He finishes the novel perfectly and is sincere throughout------this is perfunctory for a book almost impossible to relate to. He errs in two places: Argot and The Intestine of Leviathan. Just because he's interested in urban semantics and submarine pipes doesn't mean we are-------these trivialities are inapt. I could've survived without knowing how French colloquy and plumbing work. It perturbs the curve and induces ennui.

Yet Hugo's cerebral and stimulating parts can't be ignored. When you have 1200-plus-pages to mess up on, you're bound to go wrong somewhere. "Les Misérables" emphasizes love and piety, and its existence exemplifies its author's earnestness and dedication.

Rating: A-

P.S.: I forgot to note that I worked on our high school's legendary "Les Misérables" musical, and still found the novel intense, even knowing the entire plot.