Book Summary

Victor Hugo published one of the most timeless works in the history of world literature, "Les Misérables" after 17 years of writing it, and it became one of the best-selling books. The year 1862 marked the first time the book was printed. The main characters of the novel are a man named Jean Valjean, a girl named Cosette, a man named Marius, and a family known as the Thénardiers, along with events that take place in early 19th-century France. The genre of the book is somewhat socio-political, and it has inspired numerous films, series, and cartoons over the years.

Various critiques have been made about it since its publication, but these have never significantly impacted its popularity. The story begins with the end of Jean Valjean's 19-year imprisonment, a sentence primarily due to the theft of a loaf of bread and multiple escape attempts. Once he is released, our adventurous protagonist seeks a place to live and food to sustain himself, facing many closed doors until he finally meets a kind bishop who changes his life. It isn’t long before he is arrested again for stealing silverware from the bishop, but the bishop’s kindness—telling the police that he gave the items to Jean Valjean—saves him from this predicament and inspires Valjean to choose a path of honesty for the future.

Although Jean Valjean works extraordinarily hard for his town and lays the groundwork for becoming its mayor, Inspector Javert harbors doubts about his past and pursues him for years. Another character who experiences turmoil is a woman named Fantine, who becomes pregnant from an unfulfilled romantic relationship and gives birth to a daughter named Cosette. Due to her dire financial situation, she is forced into a position where she must care for her child under difficult circumstances. In that society, people do not look favorably upon a single woman with a child, and she struggles to find work until the Thénardier family agrees to take care of Cosette on the condition that Fantine sends them money each month and leaves her child with them while she goes elsewhere to find work.

This arrangement continues in such a way that the Thénardiers demand more money from her for protecting her child, making Fantine's situation increasingly difficult. After many harsh days and nights, one day, while Fantine is defending herself against a man, Jean Valjean encounters her and offers his support. Their acquaintance develops to the point where Valjean promises to bring Cosette back to her mother without revealing his true identity to Fantine. The harshness of the Thénardiers towards Cosette, Fantine's death, and other events in Jean Valjean's life create an engaging narrative that I highly recommend reading.

About the Author

Victor Hugo was a French writer and poet born on February 26, 1802, in France. He consistently supported the underprivileged classes in his works and actions and often had conflicts with government leaders, which led him to spend years in exile. He returned to his country in 1870 as a national hero and passed away on May 22, 1885. Some of this very popular author's most notable works include "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame," "The Man Who Laughs," and "Les Misérables."

Who Should Read the Book?

This book is highly recommended for those who enjoy social stories that reflect the history of countries and address historical events in places like France.

"Les Misérables" has been published in 5 volumes, comprising 5 sections with the following titles, each volume containing between 900 to 1000 pages:

Fantine
Cosette
Marius
The Song of the Rue Plumet and the Epic of the Rue Saint-Denis
Jean Valjean

Book Quotes

In our opinion, if the soul and inner self of a person could be seen, everyone would realize the strange fact that each human being, at their core, resembles one of the animals. This is a secret known to all thinkers of the world; from shells to eagles, and from pigs to tigers, one can find them within humanity. Within every human being, one of these animals can be found; and sometimes within one person, several animals coexist.

Even the darkest night will end, and the sun will rise.

Loving another person is like seeing the face of God.

Not being heard is not a reason for silence.

Laughter is the sunshine that drives winter from the human face.

Those who do not shed tears never see.

Promise me that when I leave this world, you will place a kiss on my forehead; I will feel it.

You ask me what compels me to speak? One strange thing: my conscience!

Nothing is like the dream of building a future.

Anyone could call Monsieur Myriel to the bedside of patients and dying people at any hour. He was not unaware that this was his highest duty and greatest work. Families without guardians or orphans did not need to beg for his arrival. He would come in due time.

On one of the first days of October 1815, almost an hour before sunset, a man traveling on foot entered the small town of Digne. The few inhabitants who happened to be at their windows or on their doorsteps looked at this traveler with a kind of anxiety. It was difficult to find a passerby with a more miserable appearance. This was a man of medium height, broad-shouldered, robust, in his prime. He might have been forty-six or forty-eight years old. A hat with a downward-leaning leather brim covered part of his sunburned face, which was marked by exposure to the sun and wind and damp with sweat.

Jean Valjean, my brother, from now on you belong no longer to evil but to good. It is your soul that I buy from you, freeing it from dark thoughts and the essence of its destruction, and presenting it to God.

Wherever he appeared, it was like a holiday. You felt that there was something warm and radiant in his passing. Children and old people would come to the thresholds of their doors as if they were waiting for the sun. He would bless them, and people would pray for him. Anyone in need would be directed to his house.

This couple belonged to a class of bastards made up of successful misfits and bitterly clever people, positioned between the so-called middle class and the so-called lower class, possessing some deficiencies of the latter and all the vices of the former without having the noble spirit of workers or the honorable order of middle-class people. They were of a base nature that, if by chance warmed by some dark fire, could easily become monstrous.

One can prevent a thought from returning to the mind just as much as one can prevent the sea water from returning to the shore. For a sailor, this is called tide; for a sinner, it is called regret. God washes the soul like an ocean.

The poverty of a young man is never a state of misery. The head of any young boy, no matter how poor he is, with his health, strength, swift movements, shining eyes, warm blood coursing through his body, black hair, fresh cheeks, rosy lips, white teeth, and healthy breath can always be an object of envy for an old emperor.