Book Review: 52 Little Lessons from Les Miserables {BookLook Bloggers}

52 Little Lessons from Les Miserables by Bob Welch
ISBN: 9781400206667
Hardcover, 206 pages
Publisher: Nelson Books
Retail: $16.99

About the book:
Whether on stage, page, or screen, few sotries engage the heart quite the way Les Miserables does. From the agony of Fantine's sorrow to the beauty of Jean Valjean's broken spirit, it is a story that reminds us only love can overcome the devastation of life's suffering.

In 52 Little Lessons from Les Miserables, author Bob Welch illuminates the spiritual themes woven throughout Victor Hugo's magnificent story of anguish, mercy, suffering, and forgiveness in the face of adversity. Through this collection of insights, we remember Jean Valjean's transformation, the bishop's compassion, and the redemption that flows from it. We are reminded that even the coldest heart can thaw, and that mercy can transform us all from the worst to the best versions of ourselves. Throug the individual plights of the bishop, Valjean, Fantine, Cosette, Javert, Marius, and Eponine, Welch reminds us that Christlike love, at its purest, restores us all in beautiful ways.

About the author:
Bob Welch is the author of seventeen books, an award-winning columnist, a speaker, and an adjunct professor of journalism at the University of Oregon in Eugene. His articles have been published in inspirational books, including the popular "Chicken Soup for the Soul" series.

My thoughts:
When I requested this book, I'd not read or even seen a reenactment, on the screen or stage, of Les Miserables. Honestly I had no desire to do so. My daughter, however, read it in her sophomore/junior year (yes, it took 1 1/2 years to accomplish), and ranted and raved how much of a wonderful book it was. Then she was determined to see the movie put out in 2012. I decided I would watch it with her.
That hooked me, right there. Never mind that it is a musical (the entire thing). It is epic.

Now I am reading the book.

Which led me to this book. I appreciate Welch's words in the introduction:

I analyze Hugo's work not as a Les Miserables expert but as a fellow traveler smitten with the story and as a firm believer that one of th egifts of great literature, theater, and movies is self-discovery. p. xvii

I think great literature should point us to God, not ourselves. If it just points us to ourselves well, that's not 'great'. Les Miserables definitely doesn't point to just ourselves. It makes us come out of ourselves, to want to better ourselves for others. Which ultimately is what Christ would have us do.

Welch's book follows the order of Les Miserables in a way. It begins with a run down (very. quick.) of the book's plot and outcome. Don't rely on just that to get what Hugo's book is about though; if you can, read it for yourself. As I was saying about the order of Welch's book: Each 'lesson' corresponds to a character, as they appear in the book, or an event, as it happens sequentially. But at the same time, all the characters overlap in this book. Even Bishop Bienvenu, who has such a small part in this big book, right at the start; he is seen throughout the book (imho).

Some lessons include:
Knock and the door will be opened (#3)
Even the coldest heart can thaw (#5)
Goodness requires no audience (#11)
Faith in others unlocks their giftedness (#25)
Paying it forward changes the world (#27)
and so many more (well 47 more)

Each lesson only takes a couple of pages. It is easy to read in a short amount of time. There are many quotes from the book itself (Les Miserables) but also some from other sources, to be found in the notes section.

I like this book. Admittedly I am not done with it. But it is a book that you can pick it up and flip to any lesson that you'd like and read it. It is one that you'll come back to, I think. It's not a read once and be done with kind of book.

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