The Gospel According to Les Miserables

by Selena Sarns

Les Miserables is about Valjean, a man sent to prison for stealing a loaf of bread. Soon after his release, he once again steals, this time from Bishop Myriel. The Bishop shows Valjean mercy, thus setting him on the right path. Valjean changes his identity to start fresh. Unfortunately, Inspector Javert has no intention of allowing Valjean to live a good life. Getting in the way of a simple life is Valjean’s meeting with a young prostitute named Fantine. With her dying breath, she begs Valjean to save her daughter, Cosette. Valjean gives his word, thus bringing a child into his troubled existence. And that is only the beginning.

I was intrigued with the idea of finding the Christian connections in Les Miserables.  I enjoyed the movie (and the music!), so I figured I would enjoy this book as well. I did to an extent.

Each reading included a Bible verse, an aspect of the movie, and an example of how we as Christians can apply the lesson in our daily lives. The author chose wonderful Bible verses, and she was quite adept at tying in a lesson the reader could take away from the reading. My only complaint was she often repeated an example from the movie. In particular, she focused on the scene where Bishop Myriel showed mercy on Valjean. As early as the third lesson, she began using a previous example. Maybe she should have grouped all of the lessons pertaining to one scene and then moved on to another scene. That way she wouldn’t have needed to repeat the scene. But like I noted earlier, the lessons were well done and enlightening, and I got a lot out of them.

The publisher has provided me with a complimentary copy of the book through BookCrash.