Les Misérables
Focus on the Family

I must confess I have never read Les Misérables or seen the movie so my mind was a fresh canvas for this book on CD. My experience with Focus on the Family has always been positive. Anything I have purchased from them has been beyond excellent and Les Misérables proved to be the same quality.
We had a long car trip to make, so my husband and I listened to it on the road. I must say the 3 CD’s of 169 minutes were over way too soon! We thoroughly enjoyed it and were sorry to have it end. The Focus on the Family Theatre did an outstanding job in every area, from the cast, to the production, to the music. Everything was so vivid I could picture each character and scene in my mind.
The story takes place in 19th-century France, a time of great political turmoil. Ex-convict Jean Valjean had paid his time, 19 long years for stealing bread for his sister and children, and numerous attempted escapes. He is released but to be marked as an ex-convict the rest of his life. This guarantees him being an outcast as long as he lives. This only fuels the bitterness and hatred he is already filled with.
The first person to show him respect and kindness is Bishop Myriel. Valjean repays this by stealing his silver and running off in the night. When captured and brought back to the bishop, the godly man tells the police he gave him the silver and gives him even more. The bishop tells him God has spared him, take the silver, and live a new life for the Lord. Although not immediate, the wise man’s words and benevolence have an impact on Valjean.
Six years later and he is living under the alias Monsieur Madeleine, a wealthy factory owner, and well respected mayor of a town. His life has become the epitome morality, sacrifice, and generosity.
His rescue of an injured man alerts Inspector Javert, a guard at the time of his long imprisonment, to who the mayor may really be. Javert is as filled with hatred and unforgiveness as Valjean is now filled with forgiveness and love.
Once again Valjean is pursued and on the run. Even in the face of these cruel turn of events, Valjean continues to live his life for Christ as many harrowing, and unjust circumstances are thrown his way. Not once does he waver in his deep love for others, nor counting the cost for doing what is right in the face of impossible obstacles.
The story beautifully portrays a Christian hero whose rewards and praise would only come when he meets his Maker. It is entertaining, inspiring, and emotional. I can’t wait to listen to it again!
I received this book free from Tyndale Publishers. I was not required to write a positive review. The opinions I have expressed are my own.

I was familiar with the horrors of Civil War slavery and the cruel mistreatment of Negros, as this is part of our U.S. History education. What I was not aware of was that Chinese immigrants in the latter part of the 1800’s and even into the early 20th century were also forced into slavery and abused.
How rare to find a well written, interesting book that also has something to teach. The Wong’s certainly changed my perceptions and opened my eyes to this other horrific time of human slavery and exploitation in our country. Fierce Compassion was several things rolled into one. It was a history lesson, a biography, and an inspiring Christian story.
In my mind, California’s Chinatown was a quaint gathering of Chinese establishing a home in America. This wasn’t the case at all. Chinatown was created in 1882 when Chinese, no longer needed for mining or railroad work, were looked upon as a threat to jobs for Americans. The Exclusion Act of 1882 crammed more than 70,000 Chinese in San Francisco into a 12 block area. If any dared leave the area, they would be harassed and attacked. With it being illegal for them to marry Americans and men could not bring wives and women from China legally. With these problems and the shortage of food and work, they turned on their own to survive. The area became a hot bed of crime, human slavery and a thriving sex slave trade at the expense of innocent and unknowing young girls. Chinese girls were purchased under the cover of giving them opportunities, while some were abducted then smuggled into the U.S. Here they were sold into a life of prostitution and treated like animals. The book begins with the heartbreaking story of one of these girls.
Donaldina Cameron was the perfect example of being a faithful Christian, minding her own business, making her plans and then God calling her, totally unexpectedly, to serve Him. A friend visits the family and shares about the Mission House in Chinatown and the great work being done there to rescue slave girls. She suggests Donaldina visit and serve as a sewing teacher to the girls; she agrees to go for 1 year. The visit became a calling and she became director of the Mission.
From that point on she gave her life to rescue and care for these young women. Her job was exhausting, extremely dangerous, and heartbreaking. Prostitution, venereal disease, and drug addiction are common knowledge due to our access to print and media information, but in that era Christian, upright people knew little of the details. You can imagine how shocking and even repulsive these things were to a gentile woman such as Donaldina who had lived such a sheltered life.
Not only did she face and deal with the things, she met them head on with compassion and faith in God, never thinking of herself. Her rescues and dealings with the Chinese criminals and gangs revealed in the book are astounding. She reminded me of Amy Carmichael who gave her life to rescuing the Temple children of India. Ms. Cameron gave her entire life to these scarred and hurting girls. Her story is nothing short of amazing.
I liked the pictures throughout the book of Ms. Cameron, the Mission and the children. These, and the rich details about the girls, their situations, challenges Donaldina faced, and the rescues, combined with the skilled writing of the Wong’s, truly brought this book to life! I know I have already said a lot but truly I am a loss of words to convey what a wonderful work this book is. You will definitely want to read it!
I received a complimentary copy of this book from the authors in exchange for my honest review. I am not required to write a positive review.