I started the challenge of reading through this 3,000 page tome of a book through the Les Mis Letters substack, which sent me one chapter of the book a day, making it a little bit easier to digest. Sure there were moments in the year where I fell behind and ended up trying to read 20 chapters all at once, but let's ignore that. This isn't a book that you can easily rush through. There is absolutely so much going on, whether through its vast cast of characters, themes, morals, symbols, and histories. You try going in too fast or too quickly and you end up with a headache. 

Originally, I had only known of the story through the musical, which, now that I am able to compare and contrast, is an adequate summation. Even a near three hour musical feels like the Sparks Notes version of the book, but in a good way. I'm glad to have finally gotten to the source of it, even though I may have started to skim at bits.

Listen, I think anyone that has read this book will admit it's not an easy read. There are going to be slow, slogging moments, as Hugo includes every minute detail even if it's not relevant. He goes on tangents, regularly giving infamous asides about The Battle of Waterloo, the nature of convents, what exactly a gauchin is, and the ever popular history of the Parisian sewer systems. In his day, when most knowledge was passed through books, these probably gave the book a great educational merit. Now, where we have the luxury of having many sources to turn to, it feels like a little extra padding. Still, as vocal as he is, you cannot deny the amount of care, compassion, and spirit Hugo puts into his writing. As he writes about the lives of even the most sordid characters, he displays a brilliant amount of humanity. There is empathy and compassion abound as Hugo displays humans' capacity for good and wickedness and the opportunity for moral betterment. 

Even if you can't finish it, Les Mis is a book you should at least attempt to read once if you think you'll enjoy it.