Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
This book has some amazing writing and great (but very strange) characters, but wow the end of the book is incredibly dark and depressing. Felt really off tone with the rest of it.
emotional
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This may be the oldest soap opera in existence. I enjoyed much of the story but Hugo had this way of taking one scene or description and turning into this extraordinarily long-winded multi-page scene or description that was exhausting. I tuned the cathedral architecture out so completely that I was suddenly like "Oh! People are talking! How long has that been happening?" Those parts kind of drove me crazy. And the "I love you" confession of Esmeralda's enemy felt like it took five pages. The first time. We got that treat a few times.
But I did really enjoy the writing outside of those moments. I enjoyed most of the story and I enjoyed seeing the origins of The Phantom of the Opera. Especially since the Gerard Butler/Emmy Rossum movie is one of my all time favorites. There's much to enjoy here.
But I did really enjoy the writing outside of those moments. I enjoyed most of the story and I enjoyed seeing the origins of The Phantom of the Opera. Especially since the Gerard Butler/Emmy Rossum movie is one of my all time favorites. There's much to enjoy here.
challenging
reflective
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Victor Hugo … who hurt you?
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame is a sad story about love, life, betrayal and death.
Quasimodo is a broken man. Broken in body and in spirit. He loves his adoptive father and he loves La Esmeralda and finds himself stuck in the middle.
You will read a lot about Gothic architecture as Hugo has endless pages dedicated to the cathedral.
The cathedral, is viewed as both a sanctuary and a cursed place.
At one point both Esmeralda and Quasimodo feel safe in the cathedral, this is where Quasimodo was raised and this is where Quasimodo hid Esmeralda when Phoebus is looking for her.
But at the same time, as Frollo, the archdeacon of the cathedral, is responsible for Esmeralda's downfall and inevitably Quasimodos heartbreak, this can also be viewed as the location that sets their lives on it's damned course
dark
emotional
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This is a fascinating Gothic take on power, corruption, and xenophobia. Once you make it through the first 60 pages, you really settle into the bones of the story. It's only fair to warn you that this is basically to the Disney movie what the Little Mermaid fairytale is to its Disney counterpart.
dark
emotional
funny
informative
sad
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Naming this book "The Hunchback of Notre-Dame" was brilliant, as it is exactly what the book was about. Half of this book was about the vibrant characters: their love and loss, their feelings, their souls; and then the other half is Hugo describing in great details about Paris and Notre-Dame. Painstaking details. I'm talking from the bottom of the steps of the stairs to a bird's eye view of the place. Incredible. It was like listening to a tour guide who has spent his entire life documenting every single detail of the place. I've never read a book more passionate about a building as much as this one.
It took a bit of build up with this book. I was reading the first four chapters in confusion. I didn't know what I was reading, but I made myself go on anyway. It picked up after that but whenever he starts going on about the church, I'm torn between being in disbelief or in awe. My dude can really write about every crack in the pavement.
I loved the scenes between the main characters. French literature always has a flair for the dramatics and I'm often sitting up straight whenever they interact with one another. Some of the scenes were quite violent, that it had me clamping my mouth with my hand in shock.
Quasimodo reminded me of Frankenstein's fiend. Mary Shelley's "All men hate the wretched" quote came to mind when reading this book. Particularly in this scene:
"He was mischievous, indeed, because he was savage, and he was savage because he was deformed. As he grew up, he had found around him nothing but hatred. What wonder that he should have caught it! He had contracted it--he had but picked up the weapon that had wounded him."
There were so many beautiful lines in this book, so I'm really interested in his other works. My phone was filled with pictures of pages from the book, and that's how you know how much I enjoyed reading it. Once I started getting comfortable, I was quickly zooming through it. Book 8, particularly, had so many great lines that I was constantly taking notes. At times, I'd even shriek a little because of how great his writings were. It blew me away.
I devoured half the book in one evening and my heart felt heavy when I reached the last page. The final paragraph painted a scene so beautiful, I didn't want it to end. This book made me cry several times so yes, I am definitely recommending this to everyone who's reading this! I didn't expect to enjoy it this much and I am so glad I picked it up. Au revoir, Quasimodo!
It took a bit of build up with this book. I was reading the first four chapters in confusion. I didn't know what I was reading, but I made myself go on anyway. It picked up after that but whenever he starts going on about the church, I'm torn between being in disbelief or in awe. My dude can really write about every crack in the pavement.
I loved the scenes between the main characters. French literature always has a flair for the dramatics and I'm often sitting up straight whenever they interact with one another. Some of the scenes were quite violent, that it had me clamping my mouth with my hand in shock.
Quasimodo reminded me of Frankenstein's fiend. Mary Shelley's "All men hate the wretched" quote came to mind when reading this book. Particularly in this scene:
"He was mischievous, indeed, because he was savage, and he was savage because he was deformed. As he grew up, he had found around him nothing but hatred. What wonder that he should have caught it! He had contracted it--he had but picked up the weapon that had wounded him."
There were so many beautiful lines in this book, so I'm really interested in his other works. My phone was filled with pictures of pages from the book, and that's how you know how much I enjoyed reading it. Once I started getting comfortable, I was quickly zooming through it. Book 8, particularly, had so many great lines that I was constantly taking notes. At times, I'd even shriek a little because of how great his writings were. It blew me away.
I devoured half the book in one evening and my heart felt heavy when I reached the last page. The final paragraph painted a scene so beautiful, I didn't want it to end. This book made me cry several times so yes, I am definitely recommending this to everyone who's reading this! I didn't expect to enjoy it this much and I am so glad I picked it up. Au revoir, Quasimodo!
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
Has been on my list for years and I finally read it and I was very surprised by how much I enjoyed it. Unlike the Disney movie most people know it from it is not the story of Quasimodo but more the story of Esmeralda and Frollo told through a narration of Parisian architecture.
Reasons I Recommend:
1) each character brings something to the story and you don't know who to root for - the hunchback, the gypsy, the captain, the priest
2) the intricacies and political regime in the Court of Miracles is very interesting to sed
And 3) it is full of hellfire and witchcraft, love and hate, fear and forgiveness. A truly amazing story. #recommended #fiction #bookworm #briereads #goodreads #bookstagram #thehunchbackofnotredame #victorhugo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Reasons I Recommend:
1) each character brings something to the story and you don't know who to root for - the hunchback, the gypsy, the captain, the priest
2) the intricacies and political regime in the Court of Miracles is very interesting to sed
And 3) it is full of hellfire and witchcraft, love and hate, fear and forgiveness. A truly amazing story. #recommended #fiction #bookworm #briereads #goodreads #bookstagram #thehunchbackofnotredame #victorhugo ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️