Lewis Carroll- Alice's Adventures in Wonderland

This book was a pretty quick read.  The version I checked out from the library had a lot of illustrations that I enjoyed as I read the book.  I now want to watch the Disney version* of Alice in Wonderland again... I can't remember if everything in the book was in the movie or if I read the book when I was younger and just didn't remember.  I wanted to read it all in one night since it was due back at the library the next day (shouldn't have checked out 3 books at once) but I got kind of bored after a couple hours of reading.  I could see myself reading it to a little kid and enjoying that more than reading it myself.

I'm sure you are all familiar with the story but just in case you aren't, it is about a little girl named Alice who gets bored sitting with her sister and ends up crawling down a rabbit hole into a fantasy world where everything and everyone is "mad".  I enjoyed the wit and all the puns in the book that made some of the character's conversations almost nonsensical.  There are also quite a few riddles that don't have answers.  Overall, this was just a funny book.

After reading the book, I went back and listened to Jefferson Airplane's song White Rabbit- interesting song!

Alice in wonderland - white rabbit by Jefferson airplane from BPlotkin on Vimeo.


*I think the Disney version combines Alices Adventures in Wonderland with Through the Looking Glass because some of the characters I was expecting were not in the book.

Introducing our Guest Blogger

Hello all!

I just wanted to say a few words thanking Katie for guest posting and introducing our guest blogger who I hope will continue to share some of her thoughts with us.

Katie and I have been friends since middle school and thus, have loved books together for many years. Katie is currently an art teacher and the only one still in KS (I MISS OUR STATE) and so adds another perspective to our blog.

A few random thoughts:

I found it so fun and interesting that one of your first books was Jane Eyre. I remember Mrs. Arnold encouraging us to read it long ago. I think I started it and was unable to finish it. I can't say much more because I didn't read that part of the post because I want to read the book eventually.

Jane and Jane

Hi everyone!  The first two books on my challenge list were Jane Austen's Northanger Abbey and Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre.  I'm sure this will be long as I love details and am not so great at being concise.  You've been warned.

Northanger Abbey- I picked Northanger Abbey because I am more familiar wth Austen's other books and had never really heard about Northanger Abbey.  Also, the heroine's name is Catherine (my name is spelled Catharine) and that made me happy.  As a child, Catherine is described as sort of a tomboy, more interested in playing outside in the dirt than tending to flowers and her studies.  When she grows to the ripe old age of 17, Catherine travels to Bath with friendly neighbors, the Allens, where she makes new friends, goes to balls and plays, and finds a love interest, Mr.Tilney.  Catherine is naieve and doesn't see anything but the best in others.  Her first friend, Isabella, is obviously just using Catherine and is way more interested in flirting and trying to "marry up".  Catherine's brother, James, comes to visit in bath so they spend some time with Isabella and Isabella's brother, John (who is a tool and wants to marry Catherine.)  Catherine would rather be spending time with Mr.Tilney (I like him) and his sister Eleanor, who she had befriended.  Finally, Catherine ditches her Isabella and John when she starts to realize they aren't the best company and is invited to accompany the Tilney's to their home in Northanger Abbey.  Catherine and half the other characters in the book are interested in reading Gothic novels which were apparently popular at the time (they especially like the Mysteries of Udolpho) so she's pretty excited to be going to stay in an Abbey.  Mr.Tilney is several years older than Catherine and while she amuses him with her observations and good naturedness, Catherine enjoys learning from him.  I don't think I've included any spoilers so far, you know from the title of the book that she will end up at Northanger Abbey!  So without telling you too much about the end, something bad happens then all loose ends are tied up and she lives happily ever after.

Observations:

• I really like the long sentences!  Some are as long as a paragraph.
• The language used was very interesting to me.  I read most of the book in a day but felt I had to concentrate on the vocabulary since several words are used differently than today.
• The book was Austen's first written and last published.  I have not read her other books yet but I kind of felt like it was written early.  She seemed a bit unsure of herself as an author.
• I watched the Jane Austen Book Club on Lifetime after reading the book and I liked some of their opinions of the book and characters.  Mr.Tilney was described as "such a flirt" and another character observed that it was a novel about novels.
• Austen is all  about propriety (seriously, when you look it up in the dictionary, it should say "see: Jane Austen's novels") but I didn't feel her female characters were limited or subdued.

Jane Eyre- LOVED this book.  Jane Eyre is described as plain physically but has an unusual personality.  She is independent and feels she must speak out when something is unjust, even if it is not "her place" to do so.  I got on wikipedia to see what year the book was published (1847) and they split the book into 5 sections.  As I was reading, I mentally split the book into three sections.

SPOILER ALERT!  I apparently love this book too much to not write about what happens.  You could read the first section safely and If you just want general observations about the book, scroll down.

1. Jane's childhood: Jane is an orphan who lives with her aunt and three cousins.  The aunt never wanted Jane but was made to promise her husband on his deathbed that she would raise Jane as her own.  Jane is allowed to live with them but is treated like a second-class citizen in the house.  Jane is treated awfully and her aunt ignores the constant abuse inflicted by her son.  Jane is eventually sent to Lowood school, a school for orphans.  At first the conditions are awful, until after an illness broke out and many of the girls died.  After the illness brings the school into the public eye, conditions improve.  Jane does well in her classes and teaches for a couple years until at age 18, she wants a new situation.  Jane advertises looking for a governess position and is offered a job at Thornfield.

2. Thornfield: Jane is governess to a little French girl, Adele, who is the ward of Mr.Rochester.  Mr.Rochester is almost 20 years older than Jane, kind of rough around the edges, and has lived a bit of a wild life.  Jane amuses Mr.Rochester and it is obvious to the reader though not to Jane, that he is falling in love with her.  He asks her to join him in the evenings and they talk.  Jane is very frank and give answers/observations that are unusual because they are so honest.  I'm always amazed at how the rich seem to have lived at the time.  They would go to a party and stay for a couple weeks socializing, playing games, and when visiting Thornfield, insulting anyone seen to be in a lower class.  Mr.Rochester tells Jane to join the party in the evenings but she tries to stay out of the way.  Some of the party-goers think nothing of insulting governesses and saying Jane looks stupid, etc. right in front of her.  Mr.Rochester seems to be courting Miss Ingram.  She is always by his side at the party and it is rumored they will marry.  Jane is jealous, of course, but tries not to think of it since she is just poor, plain Jane and her "master" can certainly not think of her the way she thinks of him.  Jane leaves for a while, to go visit her dying aunt who has requested her presence (she lied in a letter to a man who said he was Jane's uncle and wanted to leave her his money).  Jane is gone for a month and finally returns to Thornfield.  They converse in the garden and he speaks about his upcoming wedding.  Jane thinks he is talking about Miss Ingram and finally he explains that he always intended to marry Jane and only pretended to court Miss Ingram (gold digger) to make Jane jealous and realize that she is in love with him too.  I was so happy when it looked like there would be a happy ending.  Plans are made for a quiet wedding and Mr.Rochester tries to spoil Jane with gifts which makes her very uncomfortable.  THEN I realized that there was still a lot left in the book and I knew something bad was going to happen. 

3. Something crazy happens and the wedding can not take place.  Jane somehow finds the strength to leave her love because she feels it is the right thing to do given the situation.  She pays someone for a ride and when she gets out of the carriage, realizes she has left her money.  Jane is totally broke, hungry, exhausted, and without a friend in a strange place.  She tries to find work, tries to trade her gloves for her food, and wanders, destitute.  Jane eventually comes across a cottage, asks for food and is turned away by the housekeeper.  She can go no further and lays down on the doorstep to die.  A new character shows up, lets her in.  She eats, sleeps for days, regains her strength and stays with the family (two sisters and their brother) for a month.  Jane adopts an alias, gets a position as a teacher for peasant girls and is moderately happy though she still thinks of Mr.Rochester.  Then, hey!  Good news!  It turns out that Jane's uncle has indeed left her quite a bit of money and a lawyer has been searching for her for quite a while.  She admits her true identity and it turns out that the family she had stayed with are her cousins.  She shares the money with them because she's awesome.  The brother of the family is going to be a missionary and though he does not love Jane, he wants to marry her because she would be a good missionary's wife.  She refuses to marry him because she knows what it's like to be loved!  She decides to go see if Mr.Rochester is ok and finds out that he was injured in a fire.  He is left blind and without one of his hands.  He is so happy she has returned (he feared she was dead), the obstacle has been removed, and they marry and live happily ever after.

Observations

• 
  
  I think Jane is a good role model.  She does what she thinks is right, is independent and her own person.  When not satisfied with her place in life, she does something about it.  She put herself in danger to do the right thing.
• 
  
  When Jane's student, Adele, speaks, it is mostly in French.  This was a bit frustrating since I don't speak French but you could get the gist of the conversation based on Jane's answers being in English.
• 
  
  When mentioning towns, the author would frequently write "---shire" or "S----" instead of writing the whole word.  I'm all about imagination but that bugged me for some reason.
• 
  
  This book was described as an unusual love story and I think that's fitting.
• 
  
  Did I mention how much I LOVED this book?  You should totally read it.

Compare/Contrast

• I could tell that it was written later than Northanger Abbey because though longer, it was easier for me to read.
• Both books had female lead characters.  Both characters were good people, but I liked Jane's strength.
• Bronte spent more time in the conclusion than Austen.  The end of Northanger Abbey was very sudden.  The conclusion of Jane Eyre had more details and told more of the characters' future.
• I want to read more books by both authors.  Northanger Abbey was ok, not my favorite book but I do want to read the others (Pride and Prejudice, etc.)

the legend of sleepy hollow and other tales

It took me too long to read this (a few days less than it took to read Les Mis and about 900 pages shorter? Yeah..) I have an idea as to why. I've always had trouble staying interested in a collection of short stories, I think because I feel like I can put the book down and walk away from it for awhile because there's no overarching plot line that I'm invested in. That being said, let me make it clear my disinterest in finishing this in a timely manner (my original goal was a week, which I feel like would have been easily done) wasn't due to the content, it was just my difficulty with short stories.

I don't have much to say about this (again, because of the short story format). I enjoyed it.. Irving was really great at capturing humans in a really eloquent way. All of his characters were very much their own person, in that they all undeniably human. He painted these people that were extremely quirky, but human. Each had their own personalities. The interesting thing is that he never really spent much time describing the lesser characters. The only story I can think of (off the top of my head) that he really described more than two characters in depth was Sleepy Hollow (there I can think of four). The others, there was one (or two) main characters he focused on, and let all of the others gray in the background. Which is fine, it made the main characters all that more vibrant.

He also had a way with describing scenery, which was really great. Again, with his scenery he threw in details that were minor, and some might question the necessity for it, but it was those details that made the scenery that much more believable.

I found it really interesting that this collection of stories is what opened up American literature as a respectable work in the English's eyes. I never thought about it, but when America was first standing on its feet as its own country, there would be a lot of work in finding a distinct culture from their parent country and breaking out of that mold. Before Irving, the British looked down upon American literature as silly and flippant. There was a LOT of pressure as an American writer because much of what was popular in America was laughed at in Britain. As a newly formed country trying to find its place in the world to show England it can be just as good as them.. I can see how that would create fear in American writing.

My favorite stories from this collection are the ones that either deal with love or the supernatural.. Irving was very good at describing those two things.
- Rip Van Winkle
- The Broken Heart
- The Widow and Her Son
- The Spectre Bridegroom
- The Pride of the Village
- The Legend of Sleepy Hollow

Now, onward to Joyce's Dubliners.. after a quick break to read the next two Percy Jackson books :)

Backlog - "D" is for Dumas

Look, I got the penguin picture! hopefully this shameless promotion absolves any copyright issues.

Hello all!

First thanks to Allisonface for keeping us updated and reading something new and interesting.

I will try to be as interesting even though what I read certainly isn't new.

****SPOILERS AHEAD***** Again, I will try to keep it to a minimum.

So for my "D" I read Count of Monte Cristo. I chose this mostly because so many people I know loved it, Justin and Meredith both count this book as one of their all time favorites so I thought I should explore it. Ive had a copy for years and been daunted by it.

First let me say I accidentally read an abridged copy (didn't realize that till the end) and it was still like 660 pages. Whoa! However, I didn't have any trouble keeping with the pace of this book, maybe partially because I had seen the movie.

The premise of the book, as many of you know, is really in my mind the classic revenge story.

Basics:

-Man is screwed (really royally) by supposed colleagues
Loses: girl, job, basically life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
-Man tries to get it all back
-There is a happy ending? I question the happiness.

I think (without killing this complicated story too much with spoilers) my favorite part was his relationship and plotting with the Abbe in Chateau D'If. I thought the Abbe was so neat, I love that his whole life and character in the book revolved around learning and how willing, even in a place of despair, to pass this on. It was the most valuable thing he had and he gave it pretty freely (to more and less degrees with certain things). I thought that was awesome.

This took me a few months to read and it was a bit ago so I am not sure how to summarize the middle, as I do really want to encourage others to read this "classic". In any case, it takes the main character, Edmond, years and year and many hours of plotting to get "back" at those who wronged him.

In generally I really disdain revenge stories. In general, I hate the concept. I think energies are better spent elsewhere, its really crying, and throwing a powerful and mean fit, over spilled milk to me. Though this story was engaging even through my disdain.

The ending was odd to me - he really doesn't "get it all" back and Im not sure, given the ending, he ever meant too. What do others think? It was a bittersweet ending for me, though all that misfortune I hoped more would (rather magically I suppose) come of it.

Read it!! I think Im doing it injustice here trying to talk around the plot spoilers - its a gripping adventure and drama story.

Oh-My-God MOCKINGJAY!!!

So I'm very excited for this news, and I had to share. I'm basically going to be copying the images from this blog post, but oh well.

The cover of the third Hunger Games book was released today from Scholastic (see above), much to my delight. It is beautiful.

To show you how great the whole series looks together, here it is:

Wow. I cannot wait. The third installment comes out on August 24th. I've got my calendar marked :)

P.S. I will not lie, I'm more obsessed with this series than Percy Jackson and the Olympians.. although I love Percy Jackson, this series is incredible. And I would force this series on someone before I would force Percy Jackson on someone :)

P.P.S. Irving is going slowly. I don't know why, because I really love it. I think it's just because I haven't been feeling well..

Percy Jackson and the Olympians: the Lightning Thief

So, here it goes. :D

Note: I'm avoiding spoilers in this post, because I want everyone to read it. :) However, I will be revealing some plot points, but they're all things that are easily found out in the first book. I won't be going into detail with major plot points, but I might be touching on them (again, this is all stuff that's BASIC to the story.. nothing surprising here :) ).

The story introduces a "troubled boy" named Percy Jackson who has never been able to stay at one school for the whole year because strange things always happen to him. Through a series of events, he finds out that he is a demigod (son of a god and a mortal) and the gods of Olympus are still alive, well, and in New York City (Olympus is on the 600th floor of the Empire State Building). His only friend at school (Grover, a boy with a limp) is a satyr (hence the limp) that's been watching over him, and it's his job to bring Percy safely (key word) to Camp Half-Blood, a summer camp for demigods to help them train, come to terms with their parentage, and learn the ways of demigods/gods. He finds out that he is the son of Poseidon, one of the "Big Three" (Zeus, Poseidon, Hades). So why is he a big deal?

You may remember that Zeus always had a thing for mortals, and fathered children by them. Demigods by the "Big Three" are much more powerful than any other demigods, making them particularly powerful. This was all well and good until the 1940s when a demigod became particularly ambitious and caused World War II. After this, the Big Three made a pact to never father a child by a mortal again. This pact has been broken once before by Zeus, and now again by Poseidon.

Percy (short for Perseus) is accused of stealing Zeus' lightning bolt. Zeus believes that Poseidon is trying to take over Olympus, and the tensions on Olympus tighten. Percy takes on a quest to go to Hades (located in Hollywood) to retrieve the lightning bolt that he, logically, thinks Hades stole and framed him for it. Percy sets off with Grover and a girl from camp named Annabeth, a daughter of Athena (they are friends, but they fight a lot--their parents' have a long standing feud that makes Annabeth and Percy inherently dislike each other). There is also a prophecy surrounding Percy that no one will tell him the details of, because of the Greek mythology rule: never tell the hero their fate, or they will try to change it (unsuccessfully) which is carried throughout the whole series.

Overall, this story is really clever. The integration of the Olympians into the world today is really cool, and it makes sense. I can tell the author REALLY knows his mythology. It's written simply, but it's engaging--which is all that matters. The second book literally made me make this face: :-O at the end. It was so.. unexpected. Everything you assume through the first two books is completely thrown out the window when you finish the second book. Basically, if you enjoy mythology you'll enjoy this. And if, at the end of the series, you're hurting for more.. not to worry! Rick Riordan is coming out with a new series in March.. sort of the same thing, only with Egyptian mythology (which I am SUPER excited for).

I should probably finish the rest of this series though, right? Damn money..

this is my shameless plug about being awesome

Sooo.. I got to meet the cast of PERCY JACKSON on Wednesday at a Borders signing.

No, this has nothing to do with books (other than the movie was based on an awesome set of books) and no, this has nothing to do with classics, BUT I DON'T CARE.

I just want to say.. everyone should read the Percy Jackson books. They're really, really great. Not as great as Harry Potter (what COULD be as great as Harry Potter?) but definitely worth reading.

P.S. Logan Lerman? SO CUTE! I don't care if he's only 18.. he's legal!

/fangirl

Back log - "C" is for Cather

O Pioneers!


When I see the prairie again I feel like I should stand on top of a hill and shout that. I chose Willa Cather's "O Pioneers" for my C book because I had never read Cather before and had seen her titles come up in many a "classics" or "recommended" reading list. Ultimately I chose "O Pioneers" because though many of her novels are about trail blazing women and the prairie I thought from the summaries I read that this book combined the two the best and it did.

RED ALERT **** SOME SPOILERS AHEAD**** I tried to keep it minimal this time.

This book was a good one but a short one. I think i read it in about a week, and that would have gone even faster if I read more than a chapter or two a night. I would have to say her writing is nothing if not concise but I don't think the setting lacked for detail at all. As I was reading I definitely felt that I could clearly imagine the high plains of Nebraska during its first settlements with pioneers lonely, confused, and frustrated breaking their backs to make something of the land of tall grasses that just goes on and on for miles. Quite frankly sometimes her descriptions were rather eerie and leaving me feeling unsettled.

O Pioneers! is about a family of Scandinavian (now I can't remember if they were Norwegian or Swedish, shame on me) pioneers. They were successful shipbuilders in the old country (I want to say Sweden but Im not sure if thats because Im biased that way) who come to Nebraska to farm.

The main character of the book is Alexandra, who is all around bad ass. The book follows her building the farm, and her family, with the help of her brothers. Note, with the help of her brothers. She is definitely the leader and the one who makes things happen. Yet, a big part of the book, is that this strength puts her in a vulnerable position for the times. On the one hand, being a pioneer in the Nebraska plains allows her some freedoms - when everyone is struggling to make it people aren't going to be as particular about a woman acting out of order, being in charge of her family and the finances. However, she still has to play this part very carefully politically, making sure her brothers on are board with her, because they can support her just as easily as bring her down.

However, I really view this whole "farm building" thing as the back drop for the love stories in this book. Alexandra for a good part of her life denies herself (in some ways) of having any relationships outside of nurturing her family. I LOVED Alexandra and her much younger brother, Emil's relationship.

Another interesting plot was the "culture" clashes that were happening on the Plains. For some reason, it never occurred to me that back in the day, we didn't have racial lines to divide ourselves, and instead it was ethnicity, by way of which country your family recently came from, and though a lot of these cultural practices aren't around anymore, at the time there were huge differences between how the Swedes and the Czechs lived.

I enjoyed this book, even though it ended rather tragically. I much prefer happy endings (sorry, its simplistic but real life is tragic enough for me) and demand them when it comes to television but even though this book was filled with a lot of hardship and a few tragedies I still enjoyed it, in its own austere way.

Back log - "B" is for Burroughs

Hello all!

I am so sorry I have neglected this. It has been a terribly busy and tiring week. I don't feel like I have accomplished much in all this madness but alas thats the way it goes sometimes.

So, again RED ALERT ****SPOILERS***** ahead.



For my B author I chose Edgar Rice Burroughs who in addition to the Tarzan series wrote many other science fiction type novels (also serialized). The Tarzan series is actually enormous, something I learned in this process. It was hugely popular at the beginning of the twentieth century - so popular that there are 25 novels and tons of short stories in the Tarzan series.

The first novel "Tarzan of the Apes" was, in a word, fun. This book was just plain old fun. Action packed and light on the intellectual leanings it was a fun book to read and kept me up through the night wanting to know "omg wtf is going to happen to tarzan?!?". See, I would get so distressed I would slip into internet messaging lingo. Thats how exciting the adventures were.

I must say that Tarzan the Disney movie, what little I remember of it, departs GREATLY from this novel, not that an of us are surprised by that. Ok I was a little surprised. Though it is a large departure, its not as big of a leap when you read the other books, because the movie is really the first two books slapped together.

Whenever I watch movies based on the books it really gets confused in my mind which part was book and which part was movie for some aspects. Since I read about four of the first books back to back I am also a little confused about what was in which book to some extent. My apologies on that.

The first book is probably the one with the deepest running "themes" other than action packed fun of the four that I read. Obviously there is the man vs. wild thing but I actually found the concept and idea of family and the different things family means to be a big thing in this book. Its embedded in with lots of other things, but its there.

As we know from popular lore, Tarzan's parents are stranded on the coast of Africa and he is raised by apes. Whats interesting about this is how torn Tarzan is about the man vs ape thing. Even when he falls in love with Jane (which was so flaky Romeo and Juliette style, I see her, I love her. I don't buy that so much) he is goes back and forth whether he can really be like man and live like man with Jane.

I should note here, that everything in this book is embedded is deep levels of RACISM and SEXISM and general EXOCITISM (I feel like Im falling down the slippery slope of isms here) but its really worth noting. I could say, oh that was the times but I think thats a poor excuse. Yes, I realize calling all Africans "black savages" was acceptable at the time but even though that prevailed that wasn't acceptable for everyone and Im sure the author made plenty of money off juxtaposing Tarzan "the ape" yet moral man-ape above the "savage" Africans in his plotlines (which he does).

Also heavily sexist, with Jane fainting at the drop of the hat and needing to be rescued. Though Jane does have a feminist streak in her, not wanting to marry just anybody and learn about the world, but this aspect of her character is downplayed, ESPECIALLY after she marries Tarzan in later books.


Even against this backdrop, Tarzan does often explore "morality" and the laws of the white man, black man and the jungle all run into each other and he has to decide what is right for him, which is a developmental task everyone goes through. There are lots of sets of rules we could follow from our parents, our society, religion, etc, but which ones do we make meaning of?

However, the book (and the series as far as I've read) is really about adventure and its really good at that. Tarzan was the original MacGuyver taking down "Numa" the lion with whatever he could create in the jungle and surviving, on his own, in all kinds of societies from brute strength but also his own quick wit and thats what makes it really fun to read.

I recommend it, I know allisonface read this as well, so I would love to hear your reply to my post :) I may even like this more than Little Women, just because the ending of Little Women made me so ANGRY.

Thats all for now!

Look I added pictures!

les miserables (part ii)

WOW.

Alright, so for the record.. I doubt I can do this last part without saying SOME spoilers, because I'm going to complain about a few things. So.. you've been warned. :)

Jean Valjean is simply amazing. I don't think I've ever come upon a character that's so fully developed through and through than he was. He was, by far, my favorite character in the book. He's what every person should aspire to be. Yes, he had a rough start, but he had the strength to change. Yes, he needed a catalyst (the Bishop), but it was HIS choice to change, and no one elses'. And what did he do? He saved a town from destitution, he protected and raised an orphaned and mistreated child, he gave and gave and gave, he saved Marius and carried him through the depths of the sewers quite possibly to his own death, he sacrificed seeing Cosette because he thought Marius didn't want him there.. etc. etc. etc. So many things, and I'm sure I'm missing the half of it.

In the end, when Marius was so cruel to him and Cosette was seemingly indifferent to her father's disappearance it broke my heart. Seeing Valjean walk to their house every day, each stopping further and further away, and eventually not even leaving his house so he could die.. ugh. It was so unfair. I couldn't believe that Marius was so.. unforgiving. I mean, my god, yes he's an ex-convict but he raised your wife, he saved her from a life of servitude and poverty (one which she probably would not have survived). That should have been enough of a reason to forgive him of something he had done 30 some odd years before. If he had not been good, she would have not turned out "good." Marius was completely unfair. That he should passive aggressively turn away Valjean and make him feel so unwanted when he had given up so much.. so unfair.

AND THEN. After all that, when he realized it was Valjean that had carried him through the muck of the sewer on his back saving him from the battle.. only when he realized that was he all about bringing him back. I didn't like Marius much towards the end (if you couldn't tell).

Cosette turned out to be a disappointment. She was so interesting at the beginning of the novel, when she was a child. She was bright, full of life, and charms. Her innocence was very well done, but when she grew older she morphed into the typical woman figure from this time--serving her husband's every wish (even if it meant never seeing her father again) and completely oblivious to the things happening around her that really mattered. She fluttered through life without a care in the world, she only thought of being devoted to her husband. It broke my heart that after the first two nights Valjean had not visited her (when he stopped because of Marius' passive aggressive behavior to push him out) she had only noticed that he had not come ONE out of the two nights.

Javet really surprised me.. He was probably my second favorite "major" character. He was single-mindedness in his determination to take down Valjean, and when he had him in his clutches.. he just let him go. The struggle he went through, and his solution to quieting it, was very intriguing.

There were multiple times that I was surprised at the criss-cross of characters, how all of their lives weaved in and out of each other. But then you start to think how many characters you are familiar with.. how many back stories you've read.. and it starts to become understandable. The story was incredible. So much depth to it (I suppose that comes with the territory of being over 1,000 pages long). Every character I encountered in that book I felt as if I knew them, because Hugo always gave such great details into their lives. Even if it wasn't background, it was just how they lived, their morals, etc.

I think I will have to read Hunchback of Notre Dame..