Les Miserables by Victor Hugo.
Growing up I was pretty self aware of how not "smart" I was. Pretty much I was a B+ student, when I tried. When I didn't try I'd make Ds, and if I really, really, really studied I could maybe get an A. And my motivation in my middle school/high school studies wavered tremendously, getting Ds and up A--yup, I was that versatile! Ds only in middle school, and I started getting my act together by 10th grade because:
I read Les Miserables. I read the whole thing. And it was A. Mazing.
Really turned my world upside down.
I've always struggled with spelling, in very big ways. Which in turn made me struggle with reading. I've always loved to read, but big books were very intimidating. By the time 9th grade came around I was tired of missing out on all the knowledge the world had to offer, so I started to look at the library books. And I picked up The Jungle, by Upton Sinclair. It was really cool, BUT it was also talked about in my history classes--and I had read it! Me, Shannon! Not the smarties tarties, but plain, crazy, wild 'ol Shannon. From then on I tried to read as many classics as I could, because classics = smarts (so I thought).
In the middle of 10th grade I needed to read a book for an English assignment. I browsed the library classic section, saw a really thick old book, picked it up, and started to read. It took me 2 months to read unabridged Les Miserables, but I finished it, and I was in love. The characters, the plot, all of it. And it was BIG--1,400 hundred pages, actually. That's when I knew I could learn and do hard things. That's when I knew I didn't have to be an outsider to real academic classes.
--In 11th grade I put myself in the English "honors" class (being in "general" English my whole life); I also enrolled in the first AP history course offered at our high school--I got a 4 on the final national test; and I helped start up the new high school paper.
--In 12th grade I took AP English, and didn't do that great on the test, but that's okay :); continued in the high school paper, becoming the layout editor (but NOT the copy editor, because if one can't tell the difference between "who" and "how," he/she really shouldn't be in charge of editing words).
--I loved my college experience, and though I struggled sometimes, I'm grateful for all the knowledge gained. And I can't wait to figure out what I really want to do! Love to get a masters, then a doctorate... my goal is to get those by age 60. So I have sometime to work it out.
I don't think every success I've had in high school and beyond is attributed to reading Les Mis, but it was a big boost that I desperately needed.
When I heard that a movie was being made, I got really excited! So excited, in fact, that I decided to reread the book--like the unabridged version like I did before. I started it in the summer and I finished up by 25th of October, 2 months before the movie's release. Wow, I followed along so much better this time. Does Hugo ramble, or does he ramble? Pretty sure he's the "King of the Ramble." Seriously man, 100 pages dedicated to the usefulness of human poop?
On December 26th I saw the movie with my mom and sister. I just about fell apart, in very literal ways.
Then a few days later me and Matt saw it, and I was just weepy, not completely bawley and snotty.
Since then I've had Les Mis stuck in my head, about everyday. Sometimes I sing the whole dang thing. It like a very personal theater going on up there! What's great is that Matt loves the music too. And he SINGS it. Total hotness. I also catch Isaac signing his own songs, but to the tune of Les Mis--which he denies, but I know what's going!
What I think is funny is that when I was reading Les Mis for the first time I didn't know that there was a play about it, that it was hugely famous, and tons of people were also in love with the characters. Isn't that a hoot? Someone asked me one day, "So have you seen the play?"
And I was like, "Er, what?"
Then that person said, "Yeah, it's coming into town."
And I shrugged my shoulders, and said, "Well... I guess not."
I actually didn't know ANY of the songs till THIS summer (of 2012). Okay, okay, I knew "I Dreamed a Dream" because of that British reality tv show thing, but I didn't know that was part of Les Mis. Then I was like, "Matt, I gotta buy this sound track. I need to be prepared when I see the movie. Okay?"
And he was like, "Oh sure, but the movie doesn't come out for another 6 months."
But I said, "That's true... But I'm going to buy it anyway... Do you think the 25th anniversary live soundtrack is a good one?"
And he shrugged and said, "I bet it's great. Go ahead and buy!"
So I did. And it's been a regular on long car trips, house cleaning days, and just because I want to play it.
So all of this to introduce the "Poem of the Month."
I decided to share the lyrics of one of the songs that I sing in my head (okay, out loud and in my opera voice) more often than most. And I'm not sure why, but man, it gets me. Especially the "my friends, my friends" part. Holy smokes.
Les Miserables [Act 2]
Empty Chairs at Empty Tables
Sung by Marius
There's a grief that can't be spoken
There's a pain goes on and on
Empty chairs at empty tables
Now my friends are dead and gone
Here they talked of revolution
Here it was they lit the flame
Here they sang about tomorrow
And tomorrow never came.
From the table in the corner
They could see a world reborn
And they rose with voices ringing
I can hear them now!
The very words that they had sung
Became their last communion
On the lowly barricade..
At dawn.
Oh my friends, my friends forgive me.
That I live and you are gone
There's a grief that can't be spoken
There's a pain goes on and on
Phantom faces at the window
Phantom shadows on the floor
Empty chairs at empty tables
Where my friends will meet no more.
FYI Matt, if you actually read this whole post, I'd love to get an older copy of Les Miserables... you know, one day :)
No comments:
Post a Comment