Les Miserables is such a deeply emotional, inspirational story. I came to it late (through the 2012 movie, then the musical, and finally the brick), but it's already gotten me through hard times. There are so many memorable quotes, but the one that's stayed with me is Hugo's description of Fantine's downward spiral as "society purchasing a slave" and his condemnation of prostitution as a form of slavery, most heavily weighed upon women. I was surprised (and pleased) to find such a proto-feminist view in a book as old as Les Miserables.