France was the first foreign country I visited in 1985. It was also the first time I boarded an aircraft. Everything looked like a dream during the daytime. Later, when I visited the United States and other European countries, I realised how the French people are different from other Westerners. Small talk doesn’t work in France. They won’t pick up the phone to talk to a stranger without a thoughtful approach. They are reluctant to answer questions like, “How are you doing?” and even get offended.

So, when I picked up this voluminous novel (exceeding 650,000 words) during the COVID-19 pandemic, I approached it with a sense of respect. However, after reading it, I can say without a doubt that if there is one timeless masterpiece of a novel I have read, it is Victor Hugo’s Les Misérables. This sweeping tale, set in post-revolutionary France, centres around the life of Jean Valjean. Valjean, a former convict, seeks redemption. He ended up in jail for trying to grab a loaf of bread to pacify his starving nephew and spent nineteen years rotting there.  Despite his attempts to lead an honest life, he is relentlessly pursued by Inspector Javert, whose rigid sense of justice leaves no room for compassion.

Valjean’s journey intersects with many strangers, revealing different facets of human nature and the products of an imperfect society. Fantine, a destitute mother forced into prostitution, leaves her daughter, Cosette, in Valjean’s care. Cosette’s love story with the passionate revolutionary Marius adds a romantic dimension to the narrative. The novel reaches its climax during the June Rebellion of 1832, where the characters’ fates become inextricably entwined amidst the chaos of the Parisian streets. Packed with action, suspense and gripping passages, it’s a book you can’t put down.

‘Les Misérables’ is a profound exploration of justice, mercy and the human spirit. Hugo delves into the injustices of the legal and social systems, portraying the struggles of the underprivileged and the marginalised—the novel advocates for compassion and forgiveness, suggesting that true justice must be tempered with mercy. “Teach the ignorant as much as you can; society is culpable in not providing a free education for all and must answer for the night it produces. If the soul is left in darkness, sins will be committed. The guilty one is not he who sins, but the one who causes the darkness.”

Through Valjean’s transformation, Hugo illustrates the possibility of redemption and the power of love and kindness to overcome past wrongs. The novel also highlights the impact of systemic poverty and the necessity of social change, urging readers to empathise with the plight of the oppressed.

“Love has no middle term; either it destroys, or it saves. All human destiny is this dilemma. No fate proposes more inexorably than love in this dilemma, destruction or salvation. Love is life, if not death—cradle, coffin, too. The same sentiment says yes and no in the human heart. Of all the things God has made, the human heart is the one that sheds most light, and alas! most nights.” (Vol. IV, book 8, p 863)

While reading the novel, I couldn’t stop crying for quite some time when Valjean dies in the end. “If the soul is left in darkness, sins will be committed. The guilty one is not he who sins, but the one who causes the darkness.” Ultimately, Les Misérables is a testament to the resilience of the human spirit and the enduring quest for freedom and equality. Hugo’s masterful storytelling and rich character development create a timeless epic that resonates with readers worldwide.