I have become reflective in my last few weeks in Paris – the art of Bookpacking has begged me to draw new parallels and contrasts between my life and the lives of Hugo’s characters in Les Misérables. We’ve been tracing stories, people, relationships - and naturally, I’ve begun to see myself as part of them. I’ve learned how literature can be part of everything, rather than simply existing in a vacuum. We’re using Les Mis as a portal into a rich vault of history, geography, politics, and philosophy. More than that, we can use a book – like Les Mis – to understand emotions, motivations, and groups as collections of individuals. Hugo’s work – like Dickens – focuses deeply on the power of the individual. When we come across a group like the Friends of the ABC, I think that there is something so powerful in taking a step back and dissecting who these characters are and how we, as individual readers, can relate to their different aspects and values.

In reflecting on all of this, something rather obvious dawned on me. Here we are, a group of sixteen university students, wrapping ourselves in discussions on politics, philosophy, morality, we debate the nature of Hugo’s characters, his beliefs, his motivations; we consider the past and the present and the future and what we can do, as individuals, to inspire change… I can think of another group of university students who debate and challenge beliefs, politics, and the nature of the world: Hugo’s ‘Friends of the ABC.’ And then, I thought to myself that this might be an interesting lead into bookpacking!

ABC is a clever pun on the French word ‘Abaissés’ translating to the abased or degraded. The Friends of the ABC are a group of revolutionary activists. Hugo describes: ‘The friends of the ABC were few in number. It was a secret society in embryo, we would say almost a clique, if cliques culminated in heroes. They met in Paris in two places, near Les Halles in a tavern called the Corinthe… and near the Pantheon in a little cade on Rue st Michel called café Musain, which has now been pulled down.’

What is so striking about them, to me, is their dynamic. Its members juxtapose each other, creating a welcome friction, offering a freedom of debate and intellectual challenge, completely opposing any idea of an echo chamber. They exist in difference. I find that this is not too dissimilar to the group I find myself in now. We all have different backgrounds, different stories, different opinions. We have different understandings and different values and yet and we can come together each day and openly discuss and debate and maybe not always agree – which is what is so amazing to me. Agreeing all the time is boring. Diverging opinions and stark differences are where interesting conversations are born.

Someone in class noted, that each member of the ABC ‘fulfilled a niche’, and I guess that is true. In being so different, they all add a new element, a new aspect of this vibrant, living, breathing being that is the ABC. As they are some of my favorite characters of the novel, please humor me and let me take you through the five main members.

First and foremost, we have our leader: Enjolras who ‘had only one passion: rightfulness. Only one thought: to remove any obstacle to it.’ An intensely dedicated man, Enjolras has the task of inspiring others. He is the focal point of the ABC group, defined by his passionate idealism and belief in the potential for change. He offers a sharp contrast to a character like Marius; while Marius is drawn to the cause due to his love for Cosette, Enjolras demonstrates a profound commitment to the ideals of the revolution. Then, we have Combefrerre; where Enjolras ‘represents the logic of the revolution, Combeferre represents its philosophy.’ I see Combefrerre as the embodiment of humanity and morality in the midst of the revolutionary activity. He is said to believe that the ‘good must be innocent’ and where his friends are excited by the violence of the revolution, Combeferre takes a pragmatic and peaceful approach. Courfeyrac seems to the character who plays the proletariat, having dropped the aristocratic ‘de’ before his surname, Courfeyrac wants to be a man of the people. He is lighthearted, altruistic, and like Enjolras, fiercely committed to the cause. Bahorel is perhaps my favorite of the group, if only because Hugo tells us: ‘he sauntered; to stray is human, to saunter is Parisian.’ And I absolutely loved that!

Finally, we have Grantaire, our token skeptic. Essentially a drunk, he is characterized by his deep cynicism and disillusionment – he offers the other members some push back and skepticism on the revolutionary ideals, raising questions about the viability of what it all represents. To me, he seems impeccably Parisian, tragically romantic, Grantaire sees the world through a lens of despair and while slightly depressing, this adds a beautifully French and poetic beauty to his perspective. I also think he is essential to the group not existing in an echo chamber, they need the rebuttal from him in order to facilitate conversations on the viability of the revolution and thus, be assured in their cause.

In order to bookpack the ABC, I took to the Latin Quarter - a part of Paris I’d barely touched until now. Hugo tells us that the main meeting spot for the group was the Café Musain: ‘The secret meetings of the friends of the ABC were usually held in a back room of Café Musain. This room, quite separate from the cafe itself, with which it was connected by an extremely long corridor had two windows and an exist with a staircase hidden from view leading on to the little rue des Gres.’

Having honed my bookpacking skills, I managed to map this out. Using google maps as well as a 19th Century map of Paris I was able to locate Rue St Michel as the present-day Boulevard St Michel. Then, judging by a fountain/ intersection both maps showed, right off of the Boulevard St Michel, I realized that what was ‘Rue des Gres’ must now be Rue Soufflot. Standing at the intersection myself, I was extremely disappointed to see that the Café Musain was now a McDonalds… Clearly I had to use some historical imagination here.

The Latin Quarter has served Paris as a hub for revolutionary activities for centuries. Home to La Sorbonne, the university of Paris, it is still writhing with young activists looking for change. Students as recently as 1968, were building barricades around the Latin quarter in political distress – the area has always been connected with idealism, determination, and social and political unrest.

I channeled my inner Bahorel during my time in the Latin quarter, and I took myself for a Parisian ‘saunter’. I let the alleyways lead my way and I walked, completely free of agency. Like much of Paris, it is so easy to lose oneself in the labyrinth of tiny streets - and so I did. I soon found myself in a gorgeous little enclosed street and on the wall I saw these cryptic words: ‘we are castaways.’ They took me aback for a moment, I thought who wrote this? Why? I immediately found myself contemplating the Friends of the ABC - I wondered how much these words would have resonated with them. They were at the forefront of a revolution begging change, begging to be seen, heard, and listened to. In a time of destitution, need and rigid class boundaries, the masses became societies castaways. The ABCs fought, and died, for the potential for this to change, the potential for a better world. And here I am now, in 2023, walking the same streets, seeing the same ideas expressed and wondering how much has really changed.