52 Little Lessons from Les Misérables

52 Little Lessons from Les Misérables
Written by Bob Welch
Published at Thomas Nelson

About the book

Gold Medallion Award-winner Bob Welch crafts 52 nuggets of Bible-based wisdom from one of the most popular novels, musicals, and films of all time: Les Misérables.

In 52 Little Lessons from Les Misérables, Bob Welch walks readers through Hugo’s masterpiece, extracting dozens of uniquely spiritual reflections from this enduring portrait of poverty, social injustice, mercy, and redemption. Welch reminds us that Jean Valjean’s life provides the truest example of why real love is found in the grittiest places, and that hearts are made whole beneath the crush of mercy. Most important, though, Welch keeps returning to the intersections of faith and reality throughout Hugo’s writing—those places where mercy becomes an inroad to the heart, and where love is only truly received when it is given without condition.

Discover again why life’s purpose is found not in attending to personal needs and desires, but in responding to the hearts of others.

My Thoughts

Once you have read and heard Les Misérables you can appreciate the story from Victor Hugo.    I have read the book, seen the play at the theater and even watch the more recent movie.   Since its publications more than 150 years ago, Les Misérables has been fashioned in theatrical productions, movies and many have written commentaries on it.   This book is different in many ways as the author extracts unique spiritual reflections from the book and its portryal of poverty, social injustice, mercy, and redemption. 

I find that the book is perfect for a weekly devotion.  It will guide you in discovering why life’s purpose is found in responding to the hearts of others and not by attending your own personal needs.  In each lesson the author highlights the spiritual themes that are woven inside Les Misérables.  These themes, like anguish, mercy, suffering and forgiveness in the face of adversity, are presented using the individual plights of the bishop, Valjean, Fantine, Cosette, Javert, Marius and Éponine.   You experience the transformation of Valjean, the bishop’s compassion, and the redemption that comes afterward in a different way while going through this little book.

To be honest, the more I read 52 Little Lessons from Les Misérables the more it stirs me to read the book again.   In one of the lessons you read about the transformation of Monseigneur Charles François-Bienvenu Myriel (the bishop) and realize that Les Misérables has numerous pages about his past which I never realize or paid attention of.    Reading the book of Bob Welch gives me a newfound interest in reading the popular book of Victor Hugo with a different thinking process that I had when I first read it in my teenage years.   There are lessons to be gleaned through the pages of Les Misérables and the book by Bob Welch helps us to see them.   

So why not bless the fan of Les Misérables in your life this Christmas so the book can allow him/her to explore the story through a different angle with spiritual lessons.   

52 Little Lessons from Les Misérables is available at your favorite bookstore, even amazon.ca and amazon.com.

  

The book is also available for Kindle.