Les Miserables by Victor Hugo

The picture is tiny because this is the only one I found of the version I read (Signet Classics)

10 Stars

From CliffsNotes (the first paragraph):  Jean Valjean, after spending nineteen years in jail and in the galleys for stealing a loaf of bread and for several attempts to escape, is finally released, but his past keeps haunting him. At Digne, he is repeatedly refused shelter for the night. Only the saintly bishop, Monseigneur Myriel, welcomes him. Valjean repays his host's hospitality by stealing his silverware. When the police bring him back, the bishop protects his errant guest by pretending that the silverware is a gift. With a pious lie, he convinces them that the convict has promised to reform. After one more theft, Jean Valjean does indeed repent. Under the name of M. Madeleine he starts a factory and brings prosperity to the town of Montreuil.

And that's all you get for a summary of the story.  The book is 1200 pages long so I'm not going to pretend that I can adequately sum it up for you.  All you really need to know is Jean Valjean is da bomb.  What do you know?  Maybe I can adequately sum it up.

Victor Hugo is known to wander in his writing but it is so amazing to watch him tie all the meandering together.  However, somewhere around page 800 or 900 I started getting mad at him every time he would go off into the woods of his literary mind to give more details about French history.  The action was finally picking up and I just wanted to know what was going to happen!  For this reason, I don't know if I would read the unabridged version again but I could definitely read an abridged version at some point.   

The story is fantastic, the characters are unforgettable, and the writing is stupendously brilliant.  If you haven't read it, you should.  So says I.

Mao and Me by Chen Jiang Hong

6 Stars

Mao and Me is a very short but intriguing read. Less than a hundred pages and illustrated in a way reminiscent of ancient Chinese art, it doesn't take more than an afternoon to read. It offers a small autobiographical glimpse into a boy growing up during Mao's declared cultural revolution. Since I am young and foolish, I don't know anything about China's recent history. This story offers a story both happy and sad. One gets to hear a story about a boy who grew up living simply but happily with his family. One also hears about book burnings, forced public disgraces, and a harsh government that forces people to live a certain way.

I'm sure that those who know about China's history will learn very little new information. I'm also sure that those like me, with little knowledge on this subject, will not gain a full picture of what happened. However, Mao and Me does provide a little look into a very foreign world. It was enough to pique my curiosity to look further, and it could do the same for you.