This is pretty typical of the author's work and I love it. It's full of hard hitting moments, as well as themes and messages, you can notice Hugo's Interessent in history which never romanticizes it and he loves to bring back characters, relationships and mirrored situations throughout the book, all things I already loved in Les Mis.
While he never makes you feel for or lets you know a character in the same way we expect from modern books, he still explores and characterizes them so well. He isn't afraid to have good actions with bad consequences or questionable characters do good things, while still staying on theme and supporting his moral views. While it can be descriptive for a short time and a part in the middle was a bit less exciting, I was incredible intrigued by everything going on. I just adore Hugo's plots and writing and this might be a new favourite for me, other than Les Miserables of course.