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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
funny
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would. People who complain or laugh at Hugo’s segues and references fail to understand that that is the point. Hugo isn’t trying to write a novel and getting sidetracked by info-dumping, he’s trying to trick you into reading an info-dump by tying it in with a novel.
People also seem to really underestimate just what a funny book this is. There’s a lot of farce that really makes it a fun read - the chapter with Quasimodo in court in particular, or when Frollo is complaining how hard he has it to Esmerelda. This is an info-dump with a lot of humour.
Victor Hugo really wants you to understand what Paris was like at that time. He wants you to come away with more knowledge about the time period, and about Notre Dame, than you arrived with. If you had fun doing it and enjoyed the story, that’s a bonus. So please, stop complaining about A Bird’s-Eye View of Paris. Victor Hugo wanted to write A Bird’s-Eye View of Paris. He needed to write the rest of the book to convince you to read it!
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Despite containing one of the most famous characters in all of literature I really had no idea what the plot of the story was. Unfortunately, the book didn't either. Half to two thirds of the book was completely unrelated to the plot, and none of the characters received any real development. While it's not at all unusual for Hugo to add hundreds of superfluous pages to a book, this book stood out for the complete lack of any plot movement in the first half of the book. In addition there was absolutely no development of the characters motivations. Even in Romeo and Juliet the characters spoke to each other. Here, someone was seen across the square and will kill or die just to be near the object of their affection. Maybe this works once, but three times? Read the Cliffs Notes, you won't miss anything.
dark
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I read this because i was cast in the stage play as Clopin and just wanted to see how it was written to be. Once you get past the architecture chapters it moves along well enough. It's beautifully written. Heart wrenching. The play is a meshing of the Disney movie and this novel. I'm glad I read it.
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
3.5 out of 5 stars for the Hunchback of Notre Dame by Victor Hugo.
My parents took me to Paris on a European vacation when I was in high school so when this book came up as a group read in Catching Up on Classics group on GoodReads, I was immediately interested. Notre Dame is a beautiful cathedral and I still remember it like it was yesterday. It was definitely a cool experience and something I will remember for the rest of my life.
Hunchback is primarily a story of lust and obsession, and it has plenty of memorable characters. I really liked the characters Gringoire and Claude Frollo the most, but the main characters, Quasimodo (the "Hunchback"), and Esmerelda (and her goat, Jolly) were good characters too.
Hugo did a good job with the setting in the city of Paris and Notre Dame Cathedral, but he did get too detailed with it at times, which made the pacing of the novel drag at times. There were also some plot points that didn't seem to help the flow of the storyline, and I kept thinking to myself "what does this have to do with the plot?" For these reasons, I knocked of 1.5 stars. It may be actually closer to a 3, but I liked the ending so that added back a half point for me.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame is definitely worth the time. It is fairly long, and does get bogged down in history and architecture lessons, but it has some good action scenes, (especially toward the end), and it is very well written.
A quick note on the narrator - this unabridged version of the audiobook (cd's) by Tantor Media was read by David Case. He was very entertaining which made this probably the best audiobook I've ever done.
P.S. This is my first Victor Hugo reading experience and I will give Les Mis' a try now that I kind of know what to expect.
My parents took me to Paris on a European vacation when I was in high school so when this book came up as a group read in Catching Up on Classics group on GoodReads, I was immediately interested. Notre Dame is a beautiful cathedral and I still remember it like it was yesterday. It was definitely a cool experience and something I will remember for the rest of my life.
Hunchback is primarily a story of lust and obsession, and it has plenty of memorable characters. I really liked the characters Gringoire and Claude Frollo the most, but the main characters, Quasimodo (the "Hunchback"), and Esmerelda (and her goat, Jolly) were good characters too.
Hugo did a good job with the setting in the city of Paris and Notre Dame Cathedral, but he did get too detailed with it at times, which made the pacing of the novel drag at times. There were also some plot points that didn't seem to help the flow of the storyline, and I kept thinking to myself "what does this have to do with the plot?" For these reasons, I knocked of 1.5 stars. It may be actually closer to a 3, but I liked the ending so that added back a half point for me.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame is definitely worth the time. It is fairly long, and does get bogged down in history and architecture lessons, but it has some good action scenes, (especially toward the end), and it is very well written.
A quick note on the narrator - this unabridged version of the audiobook (cd's) by Tantor Media was read by David Case. He was very entertaining which made this probably the best audiobook I've ever done.
P.S. This is my first Victor Hugo reading experience and I will give Les Mis' a try now that I kind of know what to expect.
dark
sad
slow-paced