My First Blog

This is my first blog ever, so I thought I'd appropriately title it as such. This is also the first time that I've read this novel (even in an adapted form), so I'm excited to start a new chapter in my life! I even thought about buying a Kindle and downloading the novel, but I still prefer a paperback that I can annotate while I read.

I've enjoyed reading the postings from Mr. Barsch and Mr. Fruits. They've really been digging into Les Mis!

I loved the opening pages. It resonates with me like the opening lines of other novels I love:
Tale of Two Cities by C. Dickens: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times..."
The Body by S. King: "The most important things are the hardest things to say."
Shopgirl by S. Martin: "When you work in the glove department at Neiman's, you are selling things that nobody buys anymore."
Eastern Sun, Winter Moon (foreword) by G. Paulsen: "It was in an old box in the basement of my sister's house in northen Minnesota, wrapped in plastic, mouse-chewed at the edges, dusty gray and yellowing, fly-specked and dirty and tired and brittle. My life."

I love the opening lines of novels because they are like the first mile on a road trip: I can tell if it's going to be a good journey or not right from the start. I, like Mr. Barsch, was surprised to NOT meet the characters I thought I'd be introduced to in this first section. Where was Javert? No mention of Valjean? Was I reading the right book?!?

The opening lines of the novel, and the first book for that matter, don't introduce readers to the characters that are central to what I think I know about the story, but the opening of Les Miserables is important because it sets the spiritual tone for the story to come. Mr. Fruits hit the nail on the head when he characterized Monsieur Myriel-Monsegnuer Beinvenu (Bishop of Dingne); unselfish nature, affectionate and spiritually whole without being "preachy." This is the character that needs to be introduced first, although the action of the novel doesn't truly center on him, because I think he'll embody the ideals that the readers should hope to take away from the novel. He is a saint, but not in Hugo's own words. To create a character like this, the author was careful in how Beinvenu was described and created for the reader. I know I've never met anyone with such a moral center and rightness of character. Can Beinvenu be too good to be true? As I read this first portion of Les Miserables, I was impressed by Hugo's creation of this fictional character and wished that there were more like him in reality.

I have enjoyed reading the novel thus far, but I admit that I'm behind the schedule. I'll sign off on my first blog (yea!), hope it works, and send my congrats and thanks to my fellow bloggers for taking this journey. Adieu!