Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Der Glöckner von Notre-Dame by Friedrich Bremer, Victor Hugo

13 reviews

maiahhtratchh's review against another edition

challenging mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.75

I’ve always wondered how this book got turned into a Disney movie and passed all the different layers of people to become produced… and then I read it. There is no way ANY sane person can get through and read this book. It made me feel illiterate. I don’t know what happened. Supposedly a chapter was not in the original publication and was viewed at the time to not add anything to the story… honestly that could be ANY of the chapters. I’ll stick to the Disney movie and musical from now on.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Classism, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Abandonment, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Murder, Death, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Racism, and Xenophobia

Moderate: Cannibalism

Harmful racialized tropes

seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review against another edition

dark emotional funny reflective sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Stalking, Kidnapping, Sexual content, Violence, Grief, Abandonment, Gore, Bullying, Toxic relationship, Murder, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Death, Blood, Self harm, Physical abuse, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, and Ableism

Moderate: Emotional abuse and Racism

displeased_ghoooost's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Racism

Minor: Adult/minor relationship

sbookybrain's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional informative reflective fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.0

Ich bin beeindruckt. Obwohl das Buch, das im Mittelalter spielt, vor zwei Jahrhunderten geschrieben wurde, war (zugegebenermaßen wider Erwarten) die Sprache sehr angenehm zu lesen und aufgrund ironischer Bemerkungen des Autors und sehr gewandter Ausdrucksweise teilweise richtig amüsant. Soviel zur Sprache. Viktor Hugo hat es hervorragend geschafft, einen Roman aus verschiedenen Perspektiven und anfangs sehr unterschiedlichen Habdlungssträngen zu flechten und dabei auch noch historische Betrachtungen und Fakten sowie breite Informationen über die Architektur der Zeit, in der die Geschichte spielt, einfließen zu lassen. So gab es immer wieder Pausen in der Handlung, was die Spannung, wie es weitergehen könnte, erhöht hat und außerdem ein tieferes Verständnis für das Mittelalter in Paris mitgegeben hat. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Death, Murder, and Alcohol

cambrand's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious reflective slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

Hugo's "Notre-Dame de Paris" is the first French Romantic novel and a great representation of it. The original title represents the story better than "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame", given the the cathedral is the real center point and symbol of his novel rather than Quasimodo. A great illustration of middle-ages France - its people, politics, religion, and architecture. If you're reading this book based on the Disney's movie, you might be disappointed. Knocking off a star because of the mixed narration in the book that shifts from novel to almost essay-like in some chapters.

I'm sorry to say Frollo is actually the most interesting character and Esmeralda is actually painfully boring and mildly infuriating. Phoebus isn't a knight in shining armor and Quasimodo is somehow both heroic and pathetic.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Torture, Xenophobia, Death, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Ableism

masha__me's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny informative inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Grief, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Torture, Blood, Confinement, Self harm, Stalking, Abandonment, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Gore, Death, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Rape

Moderate: Classism, Fire/Fire injury, Ableism, Hate crime, Incest, Physical abuse, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Bullying

Minor: Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, and Infidelity

sarah_speaks's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Toxic relationship, Violence, Stalking, Murder, Death, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Racism, Racial slurs, Body shaming, and Torture

Moderate: Religious bigotry and Confinement

Minor: Cannibalism, Pregnancy, Animal death, Child death, and Abandonment

upthestairs's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism, Racial slurs, Pedophilia, Torture, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Death, Toxic relationship, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Infidelity, Sexual harassment, Sexism, Murder, Misogyny, Hate crime, Death of parent, Gore, Classism, Blood, Alcohol, and Adult/minor relationship

Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Stalking, Fire/Fire injury, Emotional abuse, and Sexual content

hattiefrankie's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

The relationships between the characters in this story evokes a strong empathy in the reader aswell as contempt. Hugo is the king of context and paints Paris in so much architectural, political and cultural detail that you can vividly picture the setting and time-period of this story. As a musician I found Quasimodo's connection with the cathedral bells heart-rending. Some contextual passages felt a little too slow-paced, but the storyline was so important and kept me engaged until the end.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Murder

Moderate: Ableism and Stalking

Minor: Torture

gemstone's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Ok this book was so frustrating BECAUSE when Hugo was writing about the plot and driving the plot forward it was fantastic. He created the most awful male protagonists to reflect the absolute depravity of Paris at the time (looking at you Claude Frollo) and he really angers you at points by showing the injustice of the judicial system and how innocent people were often those who suffered most. The contrast of Quasimodo with Phoebus also challenges the idea of beauty, and what beauty really is, whilst showing that people aren’t ready to accept these ideas. The way I don’t like a single man in this book (maybe except Quasimodo) shows how brilliantly Hugo has done his job - they’re all so toxic in completely different ways. Frollo is absolutely the worst though

super glad about his fate in Book Eleven

. There were even parts of the book that made me laugh out loud - and I can’t tell if it was intentional by Hugo, or if the bluntness of the writing is due to the French-ness of it . Either way I love it. Esmerelda deserved better, she and Djali should have left all the men behind and gone to live together in the country. Maybe with Quasimodo

and my girl stop pining over Phoebus. He is trash. Scum of the earth. So sad you couldn’t see that

. My only issue with this book - and the reason it’s 4/5 not 4.5/5 or 5/5 - is the chapters that don’t drive the plot forward - and these are some excruciatingly loonnnnnggggg chapters about… architecture. My word, this man really has a bee in his bonnet about Gothic Architecture. I have a particular hatred of ‘A Bird’s Eye View of Paris’, and I recommend to either skim read it or skip it completely - it nearly made me DNF it and that would have been a real shame. I wasn’t surprised to learn that this chapter and a couple of others like it were actually removed from the original version. Anyways, overall I really enjoyed this book. It made me laugh, cry, shake with anger and grin with triumph. 4/5.

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Torture, Murder, and Racial slurs

Minor: Kidnapping