Thursday, November 6, 2014

52 Little Lessons from Les Miserables by Bob Welch

This well-written book does an excellent job of personalizing the author's insights into Victor Hugo's masterful novel. If you enjoy the novel, the musical, and/or the 2012 film version, there is enough of each reflected in this book that you will come away thinking about the deep issues of the story could affect you. If you have not read the novel or seen the musical or movie, no matter. Bob Welch starts his book by telling the story in five short pages, no small feat. Then in chapters that are two to four pages long, the author thoughtfully gleans from various scenes a lesson and a challenge, sometimes adding something from his own experience that drives the point home. Some of the challenges concern our behavior, such as doing good unnoticed, and others ask us to consider things deeply, such as whether something is robbing us of our soul. If you are anywhere on the spectrum of being curious about or wholeheartedly loving Les Miserables, this book is a great companion to the novel, the musical or the movie. I received this book for free in exchange for my unbiased review through the Thomas Nelson BookSneeze Program.