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.

Letters from the Corrugated Castle by Joan W Blos

4 Stars

"The year is 1850, and orphaned Eldora with her "Aunt" and "Uncle" have exchanged their quiet lives in New Bedford Massachusetts, for new ones in San Francisco,, the rapidly growing city that is the heart of the California Gold Rush. Shortly after their arrival, they receive a letter from an unknown woman who believes she is Eldora's mother, and is eager to meet her long-lost daughter. As Eldora deals with her conflicting feelings about this news, she must also adjust to the challenges--and dangers--of living in a brash and growing city."

Though this book had great potential for interest (how many of us might wonder about a child's perspective of that unique and bizarre moment in history?), I feel it ultimately fell flat. Told through letters from several of the characters back and forth, it just wasn't very intriguing. There are inconsistencies in the timing of events, the characters don't ring true, and all the mystery is handled in a way that sucks all the interest out. The same author has apparently received a Newberry for one of her other books (along the same lines--historical fiction, written through "letters"), but after the bore this one presented, I have to say, it would take a pretty high recommendation to get me to bother with it.

The Well-Worn Interior by Robin Forster and Tim Whittaker

First off, I just have to say--HOORAY, that other people have written! :D Thanks, guys. And, on to it...



7 Stars (-2 for Beginners)

This is a non-fiction read, that at first glance may look like a "how-to" for the Shabby Chic. I was very pleased to find that this wasn't what the book is at ALL. It is actually a very lovely look at past (think 1600s-1800s) home decor fashions and what these have deteriorated into. And, more importantly, why we should relish that decay rather than being so swift with the scrapers and paintbrushes. It was really a charming book. And it inspired me to find out more about my own (1940s circa) home and restore some of its roots a little. I gave it a minus 2 for the "beginner", because if you are not interested in home decor, or decrepit old buildings, it would probably be a pretty uninteresting read. And since all of the pictures are of grand old houses in various states of disrepair, their brand of beauty is not for all (though I LOVED many of them).