I read an unabridged translation of Les Miserables, which means I began my experience with a fifty page meditation on a character who goes by the name “Father Bienvenu, as his parish refers to him. Father Bienvenu, the Bishop of a diocese by the time we encounter him, was impoverished by the Revolution, but remains self-sufficient if not wealthy. He devotes his life and his income to doing good in his parish, and while the character dies early in the novel, this good man’s moral and upright life sets the stage for Jean Valjean’s narrative journey.

Father Bienvenu gives Jean Valjean his first place to sleep after he completes his sentence. Valjean, we see, is rejected by all because of his convict’s yellow passport (an identification card).

Despairing of finding a place to stay, Valjean settles down to spend his night in a public square. Father Bienvenu’s. kindness isn’t immediately transformative, a cruel world has left its mark and Jean Valjean defaults to his baser side. But Father Bienvenu’s steady kindness has its intended impact, transforming Valjean into a man who strives to do good in the world throughout the narrative despite steady persecution by the judicial system and the French people, who are shaped by their imperfect society.

QOTD: What is one character in a novel who emblematizes goodness?

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I’m going to be spending some time on the sadder themes of Les Miserables, but I want to note this novel is immensely popular, and the storytelling balances the harrowing with the triumphant, so it isn’t all misery. Here are some quotes to give you a feel for the beauty of Victor Hugo’s prose.

”I will weep for the children of kings with you, if you will weep with me for the little ones of the people.”

”Be it true or false, what is said about men often has as much influence upon their lives, and especially upon their destinies, as what they do.”

”The bishop’s palace at D—was contiguous to the hospital. The palace was a spacious and beautiful edifice, built of stone near the beginning of the last century by Monseigneur Henri Pujet, a doctor of theology of the Faculty of Paris, abbé of Simore, who was bishop of D— in 1712. The palace was in truth a lordly dwelling: there was an air of grandeur about everything, the apartments of the bishop, the saloons, the chambers, court of honour, which was very large, with arched walks after the antique Florentine style, and a garden planted with magnificent trees.”

”Madame Magloire usually called him Your Greatness. One day he rose from his armchair, and went to his library for a book. It was upon one of the upper shelves, and as the bishop was rather short, he could not reach it. ‘Madame Magloire,’ said he, ‘bring me a chair. My greatness does not extend to this shelf.’”

”Liberation is not deliverance. A convict may leave the galleys behind, but not his condemnation.”

QOTD: What do you think of the prose of Victor Hugo?

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Sunday - Sunrise to sunset

I finished Skyshade and The Stolen Heir.

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I just wanted to pop over and share a contemporary book from 2024 that I really enjoyed and that continues to have an impact on me.

What an incredible read and reminder to live intentionally and never give up your principles.

“The sentencing figure is not for me. It is for you. You, not I, are being frightened and deprived of the will to resist. You are being forced to surrender your country without a fight to the gang of traitors and thieves, and scoundrels who have seized power. Putin must not achieve his goal. Do not lose the will to resist.”

I have my country and my convictions. I don’t want to give up my country or betray it. If your convictions mean something, you must be prepared to stand up for them and make sacrifices if necessary.”

QOTD: did you read this book? Or, if not, what was a book that left a mark on you in 2024?

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