Les Misérables book club questions

The reading plan

Meeting 1: Chapters 1 to 10

1. Is refusing to shut out strangers a fair choice when others share your home?
2. What might mercy achieve that accusation cannot when Jean Valjean is brought back with stolen silver?
3. Who bears greater responsibility for Fantine's hardship: those who spread gossip or those who dismiss her?
4. How should Madeleine weigh the good his new life provides against the danger facing the wrongly accused prisoner?
5. What does the refusal to let Jean Valjean fetch Cosette suggest about Javert's view of duty?

Meeting 2: Chapters 1 to 3

6. Can a community be caring if its rules prevent children from showing affection to their families?
7. What might explain Jean Valjean finding spiritual instruction in the nuns' sacrifices despite their harsh discipline?
8. How far should Marius trust beliefs formed in reaction to learning about his father's hidden love?
9. When does Marius's refusal of help look like independence, and when does it look like needless hardship?
10. Is Jean Valjean's decision to remove Cosette from Marius's sight understandable protection or unfair control?

Meeting 3: Chapter 1 to Part 366

11. Can Enjolras's execution of a murderer support his speech against violence, or does it undermine it?
12. How should the fighters balance their hopes for equality against their duties to families who need them?
13. Does Gavroche's courage make his attempt to gather cartridges more admirable, more troubling, or both?
14. Why might receiving mercy be harder for Javert than facing punishment?
15. How should Marius judge Jean Valjean's past alongside the evidence of his devoted care?

Themes to talk about

Tips for the host

1. Open each meeting with one question everyone can answer, then go deeper.
2. Anyone who fell behind can catch up with the 15-minute summary.