The review discusses the overwhelming length and exaggerated coincidences of Victor Hugo's Les Misérables, noting that its subject is the infinite. Despite its schlocky impression, the novel's gargantuan size and form are a conscious choice by Hugo to represent everything, making it a valuable and strange work.
Les Misérables is not read for its subtlety or clever plot but for its gargantuan length and subject of the infinite. The novel's length is not just about pages but also tempo, with digressions that are not digressions at all because everything is relevant when the subject is everything. Hugo's choice of size and form is a deliberate artistic decision to represent the infinite, making the novel both strange and valuable. The plot, though simple, is filled with coincidences and failures of recognition, emphasizing the gap between human judgments and the perfect patterns of destiny. The novel's form, heavy with detail and slow tempo, is a deliberate attempt to explore the infinite and the randomness of life.
Quick quotes
The subject of one of the longest novels in European literature is - what else? - the infinite.
Yes, the length of this novel is important. Its quantity is its quality.
Les Misérables is a game with destiny: it dramatises the gap between the imperfections of human judgments, and the perfect patterns of the infinite.