Category: Chapter-a-Day Read-Along
I’m a little short on time this week, so for week four’s post in the Les Misérables Chapter-a-Day Read-along, I’m going to simply pose a question in the hopes of starting a discussion. This is an honest question I have, a question to which I do not have a definitive answer. As we try to answer it, I ask that we stick only to the events of Book One and Book Two out of courtesy to those who are reading Les Misérables for the first time. So here’s my question:...
This past week in the Les Misérables Chapter-a-Day Read-along featured one of the most famous scenes in the novel, and perhaps in all of literature: The Bishop’s Candlesticks. The twitter chat at #LesMisReadalong was abuzz with reactions to it, along with a host of other thoughts and favorite quotes. Here are a few highlights: For him the external world had scarcely an existence. It would almost be true to say that for Jean Valjean there was no sun, no beautiful summer days, no radiant sky, no fresh April dawn. Some dim window light was...
With day twenty-two of the Les Misérables Chapter-a-Day Read-along upon us, we reach “The Deep and the Dark,” one of the most fascinating chapters of the book so far — at least to me. Hugo’s considerable poetry skills are on full display, and from this chapter it is easy to see why Hugo is more famous in France for his poetry than for his novels or plays. “The Deep and the Dark” is a chapter-long metaphor that uses the sea to represent the fate of convicts. The chapter attempts...
Many of you know that Les Misérables is one of my favorite books, but it’s a long one, almost 1500 pages, so reading it takes a while. Last year I found out that it has exactly 365 chapters, so I decided that in 2018 I would read one chapter a day, starting on January 1st and going to December 31st. They’re short chapters, about 5 pages or so, and I I thought it would be kind of a meditation and exercise in patience and delayed gratification to read...
As readers are finishing week three of the Les Misérables Chapter-a-Day Read-along, the Twitter chat has been informative and fun. You can be a part of the Les Mis action by using the hashtag #LesMisReadalong. Here’s a sampling of the tweets from this past week: https://twitter.com/bronasbooks/status/952783356302774272 https://twitter.com/bronasbooks/status/952819730447925248 https://twitter.com/burns_nancy/status/952887291390898177 https://twitter.com/MissCarrieLA/status/952930490943713285 The good woman touched the man's arm and pointed out to him on the other side of the square a little low house beside the bishop's palace."You have knocked at every door?" she asked."Yes.""Have you knocked at that one?""No.""Knock...
I once read that almost every story begins in either one of two ways: someone goes on a journey, or a stranger comes to town. The journey story is as well known as The Odyssey, Gulliver’s Travels, The Grapes of Wrath, The Lord of the Rings, and Journey to the Center of the Earth. But think about the other type of story, the tale that begins with the arrival of a stranger. For example: The events of To Kill a Mockingbird get started “the summer Dill came to us, when Dill...
The tweets keep coming in the Les Misérables Chapter-a-Day Read-along. We’ve finally reached the end of Book 1: A Good Man, and I’ll have a new read-along post up tomorrow to wrap it up and look forward to Book 2. In the meantime, enjoy this post which gathers some of the tweets from the second week. A big Thank You! to everyone who’s sharing their favorite quotes, thoughts on translation, struggles, victories, and all the other other ways Les Misérables is affecting you. You’re making this read-along an interactive adventure, and...
Welcome to week two of the Les Misérables Chapter-a-Day Read-along. We’re now seven chapters into the book, and the story so far has been dominated by one man: the Bishop of Digne. Dominated is probably too strong a word for someone with his humility and charity, but he certainly makes an impression, and for all the right reasons. To my mind, the Bishop of Digne is one of the most memorable saintly characters in all of literature. But he almost wasn’t. Get Rid of That Bishop In the mid 1800’s,...
We’ve almost finished the first week of the Les Misérables Chapter-a-Day Read-along, and the Twitter conversation about the opening few chapters has been amazing. Readers are using the hashtag #LesMisReadalong to chronicle their reading experience, share their knowledge, and support each other in their literary journey. But if you don’t have a Twitter account, not to worry. This post is a sampling of some of the tweets from this past week that caught my attention. And I’ll have a new read-along post on Monday that will feature that humble,...
Welcome to 2018 and the beginning of the Les Misérables Chapter-a-Day Read-along. By the time you read this you may already have read your first chapter, especially if you are one of our friends in Australia! It’s exciting to have so many of you on board and to know there are readers from all over the world participating. In this first of what I hope to be weekly posts, I’m going to discuss the structure of the novel and briefly mention a bit of French history. Feel free...
The Read-along Is Nearly Here It’s less than a week until the Les Misérables Chapter-a-Day Read-along begins, and I’m excited to have so many of you along for the ride. If you don’t know what I’m talking about, or if you haven’t had the chance to sign up, be sure to read the post announcing the read-along for all details. Also, be sure to follow this blog so you don’t miss any posts about the read-along throughout the year. There are lots of ways to follow along. You can...
This is the official sign-up post for the Les Misérables Chapter-a-Day Read-along. Please join me in spending the next year reading one of the great works of world literature, Les Misérables by Victor Hugo. If you’ve always wanted to read the unabridged edition of Les Misérables, this is your opportunity. Maybe you love the musical or one of the movies. Maybe you’ve read an abridged version and now you want more. Whatever it is that has brought you here, I invite you to join me in reading this epic work of historical...
