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Everything they say about this book is true, the good and the bad. It is one of the most touching, heartbreaking stories ever written. It is way too long and rambling. Some of the most fascinating characters of Western literature are in this book. Some of the most annoying and cliched ones, too. There is as much to love in "Les Misérables" as there is to loathe, so instead of regurgitating a synopsis of a story everyone already knows (thank you Broadway and the hilariously bad movie adaptation of the musical), I will tell you what I love about it, and what I hate about it.

But I must say that even if parts of it drive me nuts, I think this is the sort of classic everyone should at least try to read once, even if you have to skim some particularly ponderous passages. Some themes in that story are simply too universal to be dismissed, even if slogging through almost 2000 pages can be an occasional pain.

I love:
� Jean Valjean. While he was hardened by prison, the core of this man is still 100% kindness and when the Abbée Myriel re-awakens that part of him, it is one of the most moving descriptions of the crushing power of forgivness ever to be put on paper. Valjean's path to redeem himself and to built a prosperous life of hard-work and honesty, his generosity and self-sacrifice: his actions are so powerful and inspiring. I love him and I want to hug him super hard. In my eyes, he is one of the greatest heros of classic literature.
� Inspecteur Javert. The (probably Asperger) man-of-the-law who cannot imagine a world where rules are not obeyed just so, his relentless pursuit of Valjean, his eventual epiphany: he fascinates me in his rigidity of principle and inhumanity. Fantine all but crawls at his feet begging for mercy and he finds it easier to watch her die than to bend the rules. What a jerk, but what an amazing depiction of what happens when a fanatical obsession takes over and when justice becomes misguided and inflexible. He is as tragic as he is despicable.
� The adorable bunch of student revolutionaries (historical nitpicking: a lot of people mistakenly believe that the revolution in "Les Misérables" is the French Revolution, but it's actually a small uprising that took place many years after). When I first read this book, I realized how timeless is it for every generation of students to want to shake the status quo and bring down the establishment. The idealism and strength of conviction of youth is captured perfectly with Enjolras, but Hugo also shows how reckless this whole uprising soon becomes when perfectly innocent victims shed blood for the cause (I cry every time I read the final passages featuring Gavroche).
� The social commentary about injustice, poverty, corruption and greed. Social justice is something Hugo was always vocal about and I love him for it. He chose to write about criminals, thieves and other low-lives because he wanted his readership to pay attention to how easily institutions that are there to do good can be corrupted into oppressing the very people they should be serving and defending.

I hate:
� Marius de Pontmercy. He is a not a romantic hero, he is a stalker and a creep, and the absurd love story between him and Cosette bored me to tears. Their romance is easily the most uninteresting part of the novel.
� Almost every female character. Of course, the women in Hugo's novels are never fully fleshed out characters, and that's a recurring problem with that era's literature (see: Dickens). They are archetypal whores and angels (fallen angel, in Fantine's case) but they are never complete people. Except Eponine, the miserable, rejected street-smart vixen; she doesn't do much but pine over the creep, but at least she shows personality, independance and kindness that her parents are simply incapable of.
� The novellas-within-the-novel about the battle of Waterloo and the Paris sewer system. Shut up about the filthy sewers, Victor. Just shut up. I know you were paid by the page, but I can't deal with this. I confess it: I skimmed those sections and sighed impatiently the whole time. If you have never read this novel, don't fret: Hugo actually marked some sections as "parenthesis" when they did not impact the plot and if you don't read those, you won't miss anything important. At all.

It's interesting to note that at one point, the Vatican banned "Les Misérables" because it painted the Church in a rather negative light. I find that ironic, because the message of forgiveness and redemption is so crucial to the story (and you know, pretty Christian), but they have banned books for stranger reasons before.

I think that capturing the scope and complexity of this story on film might be a lost cause, but the 6-part BBC series adaptation written by Andrew Davies (who also wrote the "War & Peace" and "Dr. Zhivago" series adaptations that I loved) was actually really great. The cast is strong, and delivers wonderful, subtle performances, and some details often skipped by other versions were included, which made me very happy, as I think they add important emotional elements to the story. I still despair at the ridiculous romance, but the story is sufficiently fleshed out to make Marius seem like less of a creepy stalker and more an inexperienced dweeb. John Malkovich's Javert remains my favorite interpretation of the character; he set the bar very high but David Oyelowo was great and passionate monomaniac and Dominic West a moving Valjean, who especially shines in scenes when he takes care of his adopted daughter. No movie or TV show can really do this sacred monster of literature the justice it deserves, but I think this one is as close as it will get.

My advice is that you read it and find out what the fuss really is about. I can't guarantee you'll like it, but I know you will never forget it.