Les Misérables by Victor Hugo

Ah, mais n'est-ce pas magnifique? Sorry for the French, I know several languages and I simply like using them all. As I said before in my review of Notre-Dame de Paris, Victor Hugo is one of my favourite classic authors. His books are so incredibly written, they're fully developed and thoughtfully complicated. Even I haven't read this book at once. When I first started it I was too young and so not ready for this. I couldn't comprehend it so I stopped and continued reading it sometime later when I knew I can assimilate it. Victor Hugo's books are very hard to understand and I don't think they're suitable for too young people. You need a bit of maturity to fully comprehend his style and literature. Nevertheless, Les Misérables is a masterpiece. There's hardly any book that can be compared to this one.

  I really like that book and I'm so proud of myself for reading such a classic in world literature. At first, it was a bit boring and I couldn't understand who's that bishop called Bienvenue, aka welcomed(that sounds strange in English). I knew he helps the poor but that didn't seem intriguing enough. But with time you'll see there're many stories in the book and Hugo knew what he was doing - you really get a detailed lifetime. With time I got more and more captured and the plot became clearer to me. I understood as well Victor Hugo liked delaying and killing his characters(I hope it isn't a spoiler) a few characteristics I have in common with him. Well, we're both born in February, I think there's a lot more to it.

  Despite the many, many characters in the book, the very main one I think it's Jean Valjean. He's a noble peasant imprisoned for stealing a loaf of bread, yeah, the absurdity of past. However, he's nobler than thousands of other people. And everyone who has read this book would see in the end that he's the most miserable person of them all. I liked the relationship father-daughter between Jean Valjean and Cosette, it was so purely described and it melted my heart. À la fin, I was really heartbroken. 

  Les Misérables is so skillfully developed and the story is so wide that you can't understand what exactly is about at the beginning. Well, its more than 1400 pages and trust me, there's a lot to read. That's exactly why I interrupted my reading, I was confused and didn't know what's going on so I decided to stop but I'm so glad I continued later. Hugo is such a craftsman, he tells the stories of so many people and lives... In the end, I understood the meaning of the book. After all, it's called The Miserables(in English) and there's not a single storyline but many, many others telling the stories of so many unfortunate people. In addition, I liked it so much and I fell in love with the book. It's a masterpiece and if you like reading classics you should definitely read that one. It might be difficult and you might not succeed in the first attempt like me but give it a chance; I promise you won't regret it. There're hardly any books with the same value as Les Misérables.

I'd love to share some beautiful quotes from the book.

“He never went out without a book under his arm, and he often came back with two.”
 - Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

“Even the darkest night will end and the sun will rise.”
 - Victor Hugo, Les Misérables

The Count of Monte Cristo by Alexandre Dumas

   One of my most favourite books like ever! It was just amazing! It's one of the best books I've ever read so I could say that it has a reason to be one of the greatest books in the classic literature. Not only, it's one of the masterpieces of XIX century. Along with Les Misérables, I think this one is a favourite of mine.

   This book left me both speechless and breathless. I liked it so much that I'd read it only for a few days. The novel is built up so well and has such a remarkable main protagonist. The Count of Monte Cristo personifies himself the true patience and perseverance by doing his revenge. It is really amazing how well-planned is everything and how he patiently does it point by point as a manual. I'd love to have a luxurious hardcover of this book, it's one of my favourites ever and I can talk about it for days!

   It's not a coincidence that's one of the best classics ever, an intransitive bestseller and one of the best adventure novels in the world at the same time one of the most exciting pieces of literature. According to me, this is one of the most outstanding examples of the Romanticism. The author, Alexandre Dumas, père is one of the most famous adventure writers and has written over 400 books. That's quite an impressive number and if they're as long as that one, it'd be really stunning considering how the means of the time e.g. handwriting, I'm not sure if the typewriter was available yet.

   I will deny not that I'm really glad about reading this masterpiece. I've hardly ever read anything more intriguing and delightful. In the core of the book are the everlasting human values: justice, compassion, the ability to forgive which are fighting against the desire for avenge. The story is based on unusual plot, the poor guy, Edmond Dantès who is unfairly accused of something he hadn't done. He's a sailor convicted unjustly and forced to spend fourteen years in one of the worst prisons at that time. However, like Newton's 3rd Law: "For every action, there is an equal and opposite reaction.", his revenge is more thorough and devastating than the meanness of his false friends. He becomes the most dangerous enemy of his unsuspecting ex-friends who he destroys one by one. After his escape, he easily enters the circles of the French noblemen to trigger his skilful plan. However, not before waiting ten more years to take his plan into action.

   The most important characters in the story are Edmond's father, his beloved Mercédès, Fernand, Danglars, Villefort, Caderousse, and the person who he sees as his second father - Abbé Faria, the man with whom he spends all those years in prison. Accordingly, the main conflicts in the novel are about the revenge and retribution. They're embodied in the mysterious personality of the Count of Monte Cristo. He is rich and mysterious and he forsees his actions step by step ruthlessly destroying his enemies. I was impressed by the ease with which he manages to reach his goals faultlessly one by one. Undoubtedly, everything is due to his patience. Without it, he wouldn't have waited so much after being freed to take on his revenge but he knows he has to wait in order to reach full nemesis. I was stupefied how everything arranged as if to help Monte Cristo and he was always the leader. These are the qualities I really envied him and really impressed me.

   There are so many things I want to talk about but I couldn't do it for every single one of them. I wish I could pay attention to every detail in its own way but I would've retold the whole book, wouldn't I? If anyone doubts to read the Count of Monte Cristo, he or she really should do it. There's no place for wonder because it is really worth it! I can promise that'll give you an incomparable experience I can't explain. I feel it and I know I'll never forget this magnificent book... ever.  This book had a very strong influence on me and it will always have a special place in my heart. If I recommend a classics to someone, I would always begin with The Count of Monte Cristo! This book is one of a kind, such masterpieces are very rare in history and this makes them true bookish gems. It's one of the most unique books I've ever read and I don't just like it, I love it!

   So, one thing Count of Monte Cristo taught us is never lose faith and keep on waiting. You should never give up on your dreams until you make them real. So... "Wait and hope!" ("Attendre et espérer!")

   That's a very emblematic and famous quote of the book:

“There is neither happiness nor unhappiness in this world; there is only the comparison of one state with another. Only a man who has felt ultimate despair is capable of feeling ultimate bliss. It is necessary to have wished for death in order to know how good it is to live. [...]”

- Alexandre Dumas, The Count of Monte Cristo

Notre-Dame de Paris by Victor Hugo

  The Hunchback of Notre-Dame or its original title Notre-Dame de Paris. Actually, I speak French so that's why I prefer the original title. The first reminds me of the animated film which is too far from the reality. It's made for children so it's rather false because... well, death's not a good thing for little kids to watch. However, a Victor Hugo novel isn't appropriate for young at all. His style of writing is very... complicated and hard to perceive. Maybe his books are difficult even for adults, what about young people. Well, I've read this book as a teen at the age of 15 maybe? Because I wanted to and I've always been strong mentally and I love to challenge myself. And Hugo's books are really a challenge.

  I can say no bad thing about one of the best authors of all time. I think his works are much better than those in the 10th Grade Literature classes that corresponds to the age in which he lived. That's the 10th grade in Bulgaria and we have to learn some very stupid things, well even the fact saying they're obligatory makes me sick and I'd hardly ever read anything at school. Because 1) boring and 2) I hate making me do something that's equal to the opposite, aka not doing it at all. That's the thing with me. In fact, this book has been featured in the program, but apparently, it has been dropped, which is a shame. Victor Hugo is truly a classic and absolutely professional. It is no coincidence that he is one of my favourite authors.

  From the beginning, I knew that this story was familiar to me. And I remembered that as a kid I've watched The Hunchback of Notre Dame, an adapted version for children. In the course of the novel, it became clear how much adapted, because a lot of things do not match, but Andersen's Little Mermaid in the original is far from being Disney's (and most of the fairy tales if one thinks). There was, however, a reason to cut out or change some things, but basically, the main characters are the same - the gipsy Esmeralda, Quasimodo, Abbath Faria and other characters from the novel. All the while, however, I associated the images of Quasimodo and Esmeralda with those of the film, because that was how it came to me from inside and I just did not know how to imagine them any other way.

  I think the book deserves its attention and its style of writing is at a totally different level. Somewhat difficult for me to read those parts in Latin because I have no idea of it, even I could not read the Old French, it is completely different from modern French which we know today. The whole story and everything in the book is at a completely different level, clearly showing that it is not a reading for a child. It is written quite well and everything is described in the smallest detail, for which I can only admire this incredible author.

  In a typical Hugo style, he seems to condemn his characters to a tough fate. But there seems to be something beautiful about it, and even the sad end seems wonderful in his novels. His characters are doomed to their destiny even before life has swallowed them. It affects the poor circles and the action develops around such people, especially in Paris at the time. His books are undoubtedly related to the historical period in which they were created in the 19th century, which couldn't be otherwise, but so characteristic of Romanticism. Particularly Notre-Dame de Paris, which tells not one story and a terrible fate. That's what impresses me in classical books, and it has attracted me the most to read them. And Victor Hugo became one of my favorite authors because of our similar styles and ... the tendency to the sad end (I definitely have one). It may not be half as much as Les Miserables, but the Notre-Dame de Paris is no less good. I read it first and I can say that I am extremely glad to have both of them paperback.