We finished this for Fiction into Film the other day, and I don't know what to make of it. I'm still reeling.

I felt betrayed by the end because I went into the story thinking that the fantastical element was intentional - that it was a story of magical realism, like House of Spirits or something.

I'm disappointed because I know it's a "choose your own adventure" type ending, but it seems like one seems more "right" than the other.

So it was great and terrible all at the same time, but it was just as Brother Hartvigsen said: "Whether I liked it or not, it's a novel that has stuck with me." 

About two weeks ago, I went to Barnes and Noble and bought Les Misérables. Before reading, I decided that I wanted to annotate and look up words, concepts, people, etc. as I read.

Someone asked if it was a difficult read (so far), and I didn't quite know how to answer that, just because it both is and isn't. It's not a difficult read per se, but a slow one. I realize that's because I stop every 30 seconds to look something up, but to be honest, I have no idea how you would read this book without doing so? I'm a person that likes to have context, and I imagine others do as well. (But I hope that others stop to look things up for Les Mis).

I'm not too far in; while reading about Bishop Myriel, I was impatiently waiting for the introduction of Valjean. I looked ahead, and he doesn't show up for a good 70 or so pages - but I'm almost there. Though so far, I've had a good time learning about things like the 18 Brumaire, St. Benedict, and the class system. I consider this my off-track learning.