I pushed my way through this beast and now it's done. Another book checked off the bucket list. I -hated- most of this book. The only interesting characters were Jean val Jean and Eponnie. (I don't even care enough to check the spelling of the character's names.)It goes on and on and on. Hugo forever pontificates on undoubtedly important and interesting subjects -- but he goes on so long and gets so abstract that it renders his points moot.It only gets the second star because of the successful and awesome film and stage adaptations.