“Les misérables is the sort of novel where, if you are carrying the lifeless body of the young hero through the sewers of Paris, you will inevitably step into quicksand. If you get out of the quicksand, you will meet your second-worst enemy in the world coming the opposite way. If your second-worst enemy unlocks the grating to let you out of the sewer, your worst enemy will be standing on the other side.”
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Also, see Chris Tolworthy on “Does Les Miserables matter?“
A Practical Policy 