Les Miserables

Victor Hugo (1802-1885)

It took Victor 17 years to pound this bad boy out and I can see why. Les Mis is startlingly long with tangents the size of giant baguettes. It's hard to believe that the musical follows the book as close as it does considering the book's NBA draft pick like length. I always thought the musical was about the French Revolution, well, apparently not. Although the novel spans decades, the main action takes place between 1810 and 1835.
We are first introduced to a kindly old bishop. We get much of his life story and just when the reader is wondering where this is all going Hugo gives us the main character. Jean Valjean starts as a hardened convict in the galleys. He hates everything. After 19 years of slavery he is released as an outcast. The only person who will take him in is the old bishop. Jean is shocked by the bishop's kindness, but he cannot help but be tempted by the house's fine silver. He steals it and is caught. Much to everyone's surprise, the bishop lies to the police and tells them he gifted the silver to the con. This is the moment that changes Valjean's life. The bishop makes him promise to turn things around.
Valjean obliges by starting a new life. He invents a method of making black jewelry that generates tons of cash and great jobs for his new town. He is elected mayor and respected by everyone. It would be hunky dory if this could have lasted, but, alas, it wasn't to be. Valjean's former captor and current police chief has suspicions that his boss is Valjean. Eventually another man is arrested for being Valjean and the real Jean has a crisis of identity. He can save himself and the town or save the falsely accused man. He chooses the man and admits to being Valjean. Valjean, being really good, has also been taking care of a sick single mom who he initially fired from his shop. Fantine, abandoned by her baby daddy, had been whoring to pay for her daughter, Cosette's, upkeep by the Thenardiers. The inn-keeping family was running a big scam and using Cosette as a servant while pocketing all Fantine's money. Valjean watched Fantine die as Javere arrested him. Outraged at Javere's lack of human decency he bolts the first chance he gets and heads to rescue Cosette. He buys her off the amazed Thenardiers and takes her away. Javere is enraged and the Thenardiers are mad that they didn't fleece Valjean for more cash. These are two enemies that will reappear.
Valjean and Cosette eventually get settled in a convent in Paris. They live there for several years before Valjean decides the homely Cosette should get out in the world. Despite the risk that he might be discovered he leaves the nuns. For a year or two this works great, but then Cosette starts growing up. She turns out gorgeous and attracts the attention of Marius, a student who's a bit lost in life. Much like Hugo, he came from a family divided between Royalists and Bonapartists. His grandfather has disowned him for remembering his father, a soldier in Napoleon's army. Marius falls in love with Cosette.
Skipping ahead Marius finally finds Cosette with the help of one of Thenardier's daughters, Eponyne. Eponyne is the most pathetic figure in the story, hopelessly in love with Marius, but not able to extricate herself from the thieving background of her father.
Eventually things get too hot in the neighborhood and Valjean is forced into an emergency relocation. This leaves Marius depressed and suicidal. Conveniently there is a bloody revolt that his friends are staging. He heads over to the barricade and gets ready to die. Valjean intercepts the death letter Marius means for Cosette and heads to the barricade himself, not sure what he wants to do the the interloper. Valjean encounters Javere, a captured spy, and volunteers to execute him. In an act of mercy he frees the determined policeman. Everybody dies in a wonderfully exciting scene, everyone except for Marius and Valjean. Valjean carries the unconscious Marius through Paris's extensive sewer system, and the reader is treated to a detail history of said system. Valjean exhausts his strength trudging four miles before he finds a way out. Here he is promptly arrested by Javere.
In keeping with the theme of identity Javere isn't sure what to do with himself now that he knows Valjean isn't pure evil and might not deserve to go back to the galleys. He finds that justice and the law don't always mix. So, naturally, he chucks himself into the Seine and drowns.
Everything should be right as rain, but Valjean is feeling guilty that he's an ex-felon and once Cosette and Marius are married he starts phasing himself out of their lives. He tells Marius his story, but leaves out the part about saving his life and coming up with all the cash legally. Marius gives him the cold shoulder and Valjean is distraught at not seeing Cosette. He sinks into depression and starts dying. One day Thenardier stops into to try and extort some cash from Marius by using Valjean's past as blackmail. Thenardier reveals that he saw Valjean with a "corpse" in the sewer. Marius realizes that "corpse" was him and all is clear. He throws some money at Thenardier because of an old family connection at Waterloo, grabs Cosette and they race to Vajean. They meet and see each other for only minutes before Jean Valjean dies.
Well, in a thousand page book you expect a lot of different themes and Hugo delivers. Gender, class, identity, sexuality, politics, familial relations, age, religion, city planning, the nature of good and evil, language and slang, and death are all deeply explored.

Rating 9/10: It is a brilliant book if a bit long-winded at times. It really does have everything.

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Another big dog along the lines of War and Peace. It's Les Miserables by Victor Hugo. There'd better be either a hunchback or "Can You Hear the People Sing" or I'm going to be pissed.

Peter Pan

JM Barrie (1860-1937)

Well this isn't your run of the mill children's story. There's a hell of a lot to unpack here. You've got racism, brutal violence, English imperialism, British social customs, gender issues, the psycological issues of abandonment and growing up, the imagination, adults' view of childhood, and the environment. The basic framework of the book is similar to what I remember from the old Disney film. Wendy, John and Michael Darling go to sleep in their middle-class British home. Their nanny, the dog Nana, has been banished outside by the Mr. Darling. Peter Pan appears and whisks them away on a long, drawn out trip to Neverland. There they meet the Lost Boys, a group of kids without parents. Their rivals on the island are the pirates led by James Hook, the "Redskins" a group of Indians, and the wild animals. These groups chase each other around and routinely kill each other. The realism of the deaths are surprising, although there's always a hint that they are happening in the children's imaginations. Wendy becomes the Lost Boys' "mother," which brings up a whole barrel of gender issues as the kids rely on her to be responsible and caring. There's also a female rivalry between the fairy Tinkerbell, the Indian princess Tiger Lily, and Wendy. They all pursue Peter, but he's not capable of seeing them in an even adolescent light.
Captain Hook is another character who's much deeper than Disney portrays. He has a history of striking fear into other pirates, but his upbringing included time at an elite prep school (Eton?) where he learned the importance of good form over good behavior. His fear of the natural (in the form of a hungry crocodile) is extreme. He also abhors Peter's lack of good form, for Peter is unbelievably conceited.
Eventually the Pirates capture the Lost Boys, only to have Peter rescue them from the ship. Hook is dispatched via a kick to the rear which sends him over the bulkhead and into the waiting mouth of the happy croc.
The part of the novel which surprised me most came at the end in the chapter about Wendy's adult years. Peter has no conception of natural aging. Barrie gets rid of beloved characters like Mrs. Darling and Nana without so much as a eulogy. Time moves on in the real world without sympathy for human feelings. In the world of the imagination, however, things stay the same. It's a collective creation of all the children who are capable of imagining such a place. As Wendy gets older she can no longer sustain that belief. She is no longer a "gay, innocent and heartless" like a child. Her child Jane, however, flies off with Peter to help with the spring cleaning and the pattern of children moving in another sphere than adults continues.

Rating 8/10: This is a really disconcerting book. Barrie speaks of "innocence" but the book is chalk full of racism. The children see themselves as superior to the Indians on the island. Peter is not so much a hero as a brazenly conceited kid in constant search of thrills. His only noble act is letting the Darling children return to their distraught mother.

Stop the Presses

Couldn't find Adolphe in anglais anywhere and sadly it seems that the five years I spend learning 'ir" verbs in French class went for naught.

So we're switching tacks to a double-barreled classics onslaught. Going for a little light kid listening on the audiobook side with Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie. I'll also be getting down in a textual way with The Aran Islands by John M. Synge.


Thanks for screwing up my expectations for all women Tink, you minx.

Next Up

Adolphe by Henri-Benjamin Constant de Rebecque

All I've got to say is don't count on a good review if you say anything bad about L'Empereur Napoleon, Hank.



Don't mess with my boy----------->

Mansfield Park

Jane Austen (1775-1817)

When I think about the wonderful prose and beautiful story of Mansfield Park one thing comes to mind; cousins getting it on. That's basically what this Jane Austen novel comes down to. It's a Jane Austen work so we can assume a couple things. First, there are some rich aristocrats hanging out at a really nice estate. Second, there's some love shenanigans. Third, there's some legitimately funny writing.
Mansfield Park focuses on the story of Fannie Price, a girl who has moved from her poor family in Portsmouth to her rich aunt and uncle's estate. Although she is loved there, she is clearly seen as inferior to her cousins, Maria, Tom, Edmund and Julia. These Bertrums are also accompanied by Lady Bertram, who seems to be on perkoset most of the time, Sir Thomas, a stern man who evolves, and another aunt, Mrs. Norris who is pretty much the same person as Aunt Livinia from Washington Square. Cranky, self-important aunts seem all the rage in the 1800s.
Fannie comes to find her place at Mansfield, helping out and hovering in the background. The only person who shows her genuine kindness is Edmund, the younger son destined for the clergy. As soon as the hormones start rolling in the kids they are making matches. Maria hooks up with the blowhard but rich Mr. Rushworth. Two new characters are introduced, Henry Crawford and his sister Mary. Mary sets her sights on Edmund and Henry goes after everyone. Crawford's untoward advances to Maria, who's engaged and Julia irk Fannie. Mary is a seductress who seems like she's after some cash. The real action starts in the latter half of the book when Don Juan Crawford decides he's in love with Fannie. It started as a teen movie kind of joke, "I'll make her fall in love with me for fun," but then he actually starts to love her. Fannie is horrified. Although he is a gentleman, Crawford is abhorrent to her. Despite Crawford's very determined efforts and Mary's friendly urgings, Fannie holds out. No one can understand why she'd turn down such a upward move in status. In the meantime Edmund is in love with Mary Crawford. They have a difference of priorities when it comes to money. Edmund is about living humbly (even though he lives at an estate with a boatload of servants) while Mary is all about the glamorous life. This rift turns into an unconquerable obstacle when the unthinkable happens. Despite his protestations of love for Fannie, Henry Crawford runs away with the married Mrs. Maria Rushworth. This scandal is taken relatively lightly by Mary, who urges Edmund to make the best of the situation without criticizing the absconding duo. This enrages and saddens Edmund and he ditches her.
Fannie is vindicated by Crawford's faithlessness but the mood at Mansfield is dour. She comforts Edmund and eventually he starts to see her as she has always seen him, as a potential mate. This cheers everyone up and they live happily ever after.
Money and class are central to this novel. Fannie comes from a poor family and moves to Mansfield. The manners and decorum of the place, the respect for each other that is present at the estate is not at her Portsmouth home. When she returns home after years away she can't bear the din and racket of the city house. Money is also a key to the relationships in the book.

Rating 9/10: A wonderful story and fun read. Austen is outstanding.

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Mansfield Park by Jane Austen

Washington Square

Henry James (1843-1916)

James was one of the main proponents of realism and that's what we get in Washington Square. The story centers around the courtship and engagement of Morris Townsend and Catherine Sloper. The Slopers are a good New York family, wealthy and respected. Dr. Sloper is a successful physician who's always had a strange relationship with his daughter Catherine. She never measured up to her deceased mother, either in looks or smarts. Sloper quickly acknowledged her deficiencies and contented himself with expecting very little from her but quiet concession. Throughout the novel Sloper anticipates the action. He sees that his daughter would be susceptible to a gold digger. Lo and behold Catherine meets the gorgeous hunk, Morris Townsend.
Townsend's motives are always suspect. He's handsome and eloquent but really lazy. That tips off Sloper. Catherine's feelings towards Morris are likewise confusing. She likes the attention from the sophisticated man about town, but it seems like she could take him or leave him. What ensues is a Machiavellian battle between the sharp and smart Dr. Sloper and the suave, conniving Townsend. They kick Catherine back and forth, with little thought for her feelings, in an attempt to be "right." For her part, Catherine is far too deferential to her father and not aware enough to suspect Townsend's motives. Things are not helped by Aunt Livinia's Lady MacBeth-esque behind the scenes machinations.
Finally, Sloper plays his Trump card, he decides to take away Catherine's inheritance if she marries Morris. The ball goes to Townsend's court and he decides to quit the game. Why? It's never clear whether he was truly after her cash, it certainly was part of his attraction to Catherine, but it wasn't his only attraction. Henry James vaults about twenty-five years into the future where we find Sloper dead and Catherine an old maid. An older and less attractive Townsend shows up one day and begs her to be "friends" again. The years of experience had served Catherine well, she shows some fortitude and tells him to go away.
The star of the book is James's writing. The way he enters the character's thought processes is brilliant. We get to hear what characters say under their breath, the hustle and newness of New York City is nicely depicted, and the power struggle in relationships is palpable. There is a weird filial control that Sloper exerts over Catherine, but that could be more the product of the 1830s than anything else.

Rating 7/10: Henry James sets us up with for a major event in Washington Square. Maybe the murder of one of the big three, or even Livinia. The long awaited marriage of Catherine and Morris never happens. So we never get to see how Sloper would have reacted to that betrayal. Instead we get a very understated, but emotional conclusion. Brilliant style, memorable characters, but the plot points could have used a bit more umph.

Next Up

Washington Square by Henry James.

The Woodlanders

Thomas Hardy (1840-1928)

The real star of The Woodlanders is, not surprisingly, the woods. The environment shapes the people who live within. Those who stray from its bounds or enter from the outside are in trouble. The book starts with an introduction to Marty South, the woman most attuned to nature in the novel. She stands on the periphery for most of the story, acting as a deux ex machina in a few situations. She is involved in the love quadrangle that is at the center of Hardy's novel.
The people in the quadrangle are: Grace Melbury, a native of Hintook who's left to gain a great education, Giles Winterbourne, a native of Hintook who is in sync with nature and the consummate good guy, Dr. Edred FitzPiers, a physician who moves to Hintook and the aforementioned Marty South. Grace's father drives the action, making dumb decision after dumb decision. Grace and Giles are destined to be married. They like each other and Grace's dad owes Giles's dead dad for messing with his girl in olden days. Both Grace and her father are seduced by FitzPiers and his powerful family name. They bail on poor Giles and Grace marries Edred. Lo and behold he turns out to be a jerk and cheats on her with the local party girl Sook Damson, and then with the woman who runs Hintook, Felice Charmand.
Well this crushes Grace and her father. He tries to get a divorce for his daughter who tries to rehookup with Giles. The divorce doesn't go through and she's stuck with an absent FitzPiers. she runs away to Giles. He's so honorable that he gives up his little hut and sleeps outside, even though he's very sick. One day he doesn't come to the house and Grace finds him dying. He dies despite the called in FitzPiers's efforts. Once again Grace is very sad.
Grace and Marty South, who's kind of had a working relationship with Giles, go to his grave every week. FitzPiers tries to get back with Grace and slowly succeeds. One night when they're supposed to meet they go on a walk and get far from town. They decide to stay in another small town together and they make up. Poor Marty waits forever for Grace to meet her to go to Giles's grave, but Grave doesn't show. Finally, Giles is Marty's.
Hardy's description of the woods are beautiful and haunting. They scare the hell out of Marty's dad, who dies of a hysterical fright of the tree outside his window. People get lost in the woods multiple times and life seems to follow the rhythm of the trees. Marty is the best and truest person in the book, it's a shame Giles couldn't get over the overrated Grace and see Marty for all her positive attributes.

Rating 9/10: One of the best endings to any book I've ever read. The action with the failed mantrap attempt and the rejoining of Grace and FitzPiers distract us from what's going on in Hintook. The novel ends with Marty, stood up by Grace, with a basket of flowers for her love, Giles. The transition from the joy of Grace and FitzPiers, who's a big punk ass, to the despondent yet jubilant Marty. Finally Giles is hers and hers alone.