Solution for being miserable

By Curt Swarm

Wanna solution for being miserable? Read Victor Hugo’s “Les Miserables.” English Translation: “The Miserables” or “The Wretcheds.” Hugo’s nineteenth century historical novel is 1,200 pages long. On Kindle it cost me ninety-nine cents. It’s a classic and has been around a long time. What got me interested in reading this French behemoth was a quote I ran across that was taken from “Les Miserables.” “The pupil dilates in the dark, and the soul dilates in misfortune and ends up finding God there.”

I’ve been pretty much miserable fighting, and I do mean fighting, the side effects of cancer treatment. I have noticed that it has drawn me closer to God. I’m more diligent in my morning prayers, nicer to people (trying), and I’ve had to completely surrender my state of health and misery over to the Will of God. I can’t control it. He can.

I’ve never read a book this size, or known anyone who has read “Les Miserables” except for one person, and he’s French, and it was required reading. Ginnie’s seen the musical stage version of “Les Miserables” and I’ve seen the musical on screen. I can’t remember a thing about it, except that I was completely lost as to what was going on and could hardly understand a word that was being said or sung. Now that I’ve read the book, I located the movie on Prime Video, and it’s very entertaining. Ginnie cried all the way through.

The book is quite well written and surprisingly easy to understand, even with all the French names and terms. I found myself immediately caught up in the story, which is quite a story of forgiveness, good versus evil, revolution, redemption, and how a simple act of kindness can have a rippling effect, much like a butterfly flapping its wings in North America, can cause a tsunami on the other side of the world—The Butterfly Effect.

“Les Miserables” is also a love story of epic proportions, comparable to “Dr. Zhivago,” “The Sound of Music,” “Gone With the Wind.” “Cold Mountain” and “Fiddler on the Roof.” We all love, love stories.

Historically speaking, “Les Miserables” is filled with side stepping, lengthy, educational, and sometimes irritating, for me anyway, essays on a variety of topics that Hugo thought necessary for background information, like Napoleon’s defeat at Waterloo, the intricate system of convents and monasteries in Europe, the French penal system, better known as the galleys, and the sewer system beneath the streets of Paris, to name a few. My guess is that if Hugo had left these essays out, the book would be about half the length, but lacking depth. How he knew all the details about say, the engineering, construction and pathways of the Paris sewer system is a credit to his dogged research and writing talent. He’s actually better known as a poet. Ha! A poet writing about the filth and stink of the sewer! I often found myself, while in the middle of some of these lengthy essays, wishing he would get on with the story. But I’m through the book now and may read it again. There is so much detail that I had a hard time connecting. But connect it did.

I must say reading the 1,200 page “Les Miserables” (it took me three weeks) helped me immensely with my own problems in dealing with the long-term effects of cancer, cancer treatment, and the brutal side effects, which may never go away. I am pretty much confined to my recliner. What better way to get my mind off myself than to read about someone else’s plight, and the victory of good over evil. God put this book in my hands. Kindness paid forward can travel around the world—The Kindness Effect.

My next book to read — Victor Hugo’s, “The Hunchback of Notre Dame.” It’s only 600 pages. Kindle’s price — forty-three cents. What a bargain. That’s cheaper than a feel-good pill. Or I may read “Tuesdays With Morrie” by Mitch Albom, another misery quencher. Books, along with Stormy our tomcat, kneading and purring on my lap, can relieve a lot of discomfort.

Contact Curt Swarm at curtswarm@yahoo.com