Feel the Power of Love: The Lessons of Victor Hugo's "Les Misérables"

As long as through the workings of law and customs there exists a damnation-by-society artificially creating hell in the very midst of civilization and complicating destiny... as long as there are ignorance and poverty on earth, books of this kind may serve some purpose. - Victor Hugo

Les Misérables by Victor Hugo is rightly considered one of the great novels of the 19th century.  The reason why is because Hugo touches upon themes that are universal and transcend race, religion, politics, etc.   Indeed, there is a reason why this book is so beloved by people and spawned one the greatest Broadway musicals of all time.

Frankly, I am a little nervous to be adding my own provincial scribblings to this fine work of art, as if a mouse had anything of worth to say to a demigod.  Nevertheless, I am going to try to put into words some of the things that I have learned as I have struggled through this novel for the past 10 months(!) in the hopes that others will not be intimidated by this book's physical and thematic weight.

Here are some things I learned from reading Les Misérables:

The Non-Secular Struggle for Modernity: Lessons from Christopher De Bellaigue's "The Islamic Enlightenment"

For nearly three hundred years, the West has been militarily and economically triumphant around the world with only a few exceptions.  It has enjoyed the fruits of past empires and advanced democratic and bureaucratic practices developed over those centuries.  And when we look back at our history, we feel a certain sense of pride in our progress from intellectual and financial poverty during the Middle Ages to our current heights today.

It can be easy for the West to look at places like the Middle East and ask, "Why can they get it together?  Why can't they be more like us?  Where is Islam's Reformation?  Or the Middle East's Enlightenment?"  It's ignorant and hubristic questions like these that make books like The Islamic Enlightenment: The Struggle Between Faith and Reason, 1798 to Modern Times by Christopher De Bellaigue so important.  They teach us that not only have places like the Middle East tried to modernize their countries, but that the West is sometimes to blame for their backwards steps.

Here are a few things I learned from reading The Islamic Enlightenment:

A Show of Liberty: Lessons from Tom Holland's "Dynasty"

There has been a recent spat of published works within the last few years about Ancient Rome, particularly the period between the fall of the Republic and the rise of the Empire.  There are some good reasons for that.  Aside from New Testament Judea, it is one of the best preserved periods in ancient history.  There are scores of contemporary documents from that time.  We even have the personal accounts of the conquest of Gaul (modern France) and the civil wars from the hand of the man who instigated both, Julius Caesar.  However, I think this recent popularity is due to how our own period in American history feels similar to their time.  The rise of populist leaders like Donald Trump make one wonder if, like the rise of the house of Caesar, are our freedoms truly being restored or are we being given the show of freedom while our essential liberties are being taken away from us?

That's  why this book, Dynasty: The Rise and Fall of the House of Caesar by Tom Holland, is such a welcome one.  Not only did Mr. Holland write an incredible book about the end of the Roman Republic, Rubicon: The Last Years of the Roman Republic, which was one of my favorite books from my senior year of high school, but because some of the things he touches upon feel so familiar to our current time.

Here are some things I learned from reading this book: