Les Misérables, &c.

I said that I would read Les Misérables as soon as I could locate myself a copy. I searched the house and only found an abridged copy (heaven forbid I read the abridgement!) and a copy that smelled very dreadful (and I did not like the way the pages were set up anyway). I know that we had a set of Victor Hugo books in matching volumes and whatnot but I could not locate them. They've gone and disappeared right when I was finely going to read them.

I happened to be in a library yesterday so I checked the Hu section of their fiction shelves and found about four different copies of The Hunchback of Notre Dame and a copy of a book about someone who laughs (it is the prequel to his book Ninety-Four unless the preface was lying. I put it on my mental to-read list.)

The book that I borrowed is enormously fat. It was translated by Charles E. Wilbour, I have no idea if that is a recommended translation or not but it is all I've got so I might as well be happy with it. After reading the first six chapters I find myself to be quite pleased. I can put up with a translation that refers to all the place names as "first letter------" and doesn't put the translation of French phrases in brackets or footnotes or whatever. Those are luxuries that I can manage without, I do not think that I will be clawing my eyes out in vexation over this translation.

Oh, how I would love to belong to a book club and read Les Misérables as a group. I could ask questions like, "What does Bienvenu mean?" Apparently "Monsigneur Bienvenu" is very amusing to Monsigneur Bienvenu. I would like to get in on the joke but I do not speak, read, or understand French. (According to Wikipedia that would be Mr. Welcome. Not funny at all. What a disappointment, Hugo.)

BTW, even though I have read six chapters of this book already I am not very far along at all. This book was originally published in five volumes, each volume named after a different character. The volumes are divided into books, between 8-15 each. The books are divided into chapters. I am in Part One called "Fantine," "An Upright Man" is the first book, at the end of chapter six.

I am so dying for May to get here! I am looking eagerly toward it but I can wait for it. I will wait for it. So many worthwhile things happen between now and May, I do not want to skip right over them. I am trying to very studiously put cash in my Les Mis fund. When it comes time to pay for my ticket I think it would be good to have the $70, don't you? :P

I have a bittersweet relationship with the seat I have. It is near the front but on the second level. If I get to choose I would like the seat nearest the middle but on the far right. I do not want to be on the far left. I think that I shall be very happy to be nearer to the stage than the rest of the group when the thing starts but I shall not like it before then. I shall be a whole level away from several very cool people. That is sad. If only everyone desired, like me, to be able to see things like custumes and facial expressions. (Though, from my seat, I feel rather unsure about seeing those things. The second level is so very far away. Gah, I do hope that the seat I have chosen is worth the upped cost and being all alone. We shall see!

Last time I was at this theatre I saw a very wide variation of attire. Everything from jeans (my group was part of the jeans people) to backless dresses and tuxs, to full-fledged costume. For Les Mis I think that it would be awfully fun to dress formally. The boys in their ties and the girls in their nylons. I think that it would be fun to dress up for the fancy theatre. Half the fun of the theatre is the fact that it is theatre. :P

I hope that we are planning to go somewhere after the movie to talk. Or loiter in the lobby but I would rather go somewhere. ;)