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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
Long. But excellent. Don’t rely on the movie plots you may have seen; they don’t all follow the novel.
Librivox
Librivox
Now that I have finally read the book, I understand even less why Disney thought it would make a good animated family film. However, this is a classic for a reason and the writing was brilliant. I love that it is actually a work of historical fiction. Hugo's attempt to add his modern opinions on politics and aesthetics amused me. Glad I read it, glad I don't have to read it again.
A great book that holds lessons even today. Those who use their power for evil end up loosing all. Those who use their power for good: in the end get their appropriate reward. Even if that reward comes after death. Wonderful read.
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Confinement, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Murder
Moderate: Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking
Minor: Death of parent
dark
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
dark
emotional
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I love how he wrote the characters, but it is a tedious read...
Hugo definitely embodies the romantic style of his era. Unfortunately for my tastes, he embodies it a bit too much.
I remind you that this is a book of almost 700 pages. I have read other books of its size (the 5th Harry Potter book comes to mind), and while they're always a handful to read, with some passages that could have been skipped for the sake of the reader, they're not usually so taxing. In this book, the first 300 pages were torturous to read. Hugo dedicates almost 3, long chapters to describe Notre Dame and Paris to pain-stacking detail. While I was intrigued by the description of the church itself, since it plays a vital role to the story, the rest of the descriptions were exhausting to read.
Also, in some chapters, Hugo goes all the way to compare actions and appearances to many other similar things, almost covering half a page with them. We get it; Esmeralda's contour was like that of a melt chocolate. Yet, he'll compare it to chocolate, brown fields in the spring, the fine trunk of a tall tree, the seeds of freshly cut coffee. After a while, I had to skip some paragraphs, because those comparisons drew you away from the story itself.
Now, after the 300+ page mark, it gets interesting. The characters are finally getting to meet one another, and Hugo neatly places them together, ties their destinies with well thought plots, and explains the basic drives of their actions. Quasimodo is driven by kindness, Frollo by unbearable lust, Phoebus by his greed and vulgarity, Jehan by his love for everything that makes him feel alive no matter how sinful, Esmeralda by her freedom and Gringoire, well, by his own drama! All of them play important roles in the final fate of each other. At that point, specifically when Gringoire visits the Court of Miracles, I found myself unable to leave the book down.
All in all, if you find long, detailed descriptions of buildings and stories not relevant to the immediate plot boring, you should probably pass on this book. If you can manage to forgo, or even love the long introduction, then you will probably read one of the most tragic stories of the romantic genre. My opinion: give it a chance.
As for me, I found Frollo to be the most fascinating character of all, followed closely by Quasimodo.
I remind you that this is a book of almost 700 pages. I have read other books of its size (the 5th Harry Potter book comes to mind), and while they're always a handful to read, with some passages that could have been skipped for the sake of the reader, they're not usually so taxing. In this book, the first 300 pages were torturous to read. Hugo dedicates almost 3, long chapters to describe Notre Dame and Paris to pain-stacking detail. While I was intrigued by the description of the church itself, since it plays a vital role to the story, the rest of the descriptions were exhausting to read.
Also, in some chapters, Hugo goes all the way to compare actions and appearances to many other similar things, almost covering half a page with them. We get it; Esmeralda's contour was like that of a melt chocolate. Yet, he'll compare it to chocolate, brown fields in the spring, the fine trunk of a tall tree, the seeds of freshly cut coffee. After a while, I had to skip some paragraphs, because those comparisons drew you away from the story itself.
Now, after the 300+ page mark, it gets interesting. The characters are finally getting to meet one another, and Hugo neatly places them together, ties their destinies with well thought plots, and explains the basic drives of their actions. Quasimodo is driven by kindness, Frollo by unbearable lust, Phoebus by his greed and vulgarity, Jehan by his love for everything that makes him feel alive no matter how sinful, Esmeralda by her freedom and Gringoire, well, by his own drama! All of them play important roles in the final fate of each other. At that point, specifically when Gringoire visits the Court of Miracles, I found myself unable to leave the book down.
All in all, if you find long, detailed descriptions of buildings and stories not relevant to the immediate plot boring, you should probably pass on this book. If you can manage to forgo, or even love the long introduction, then you will probably read one of the most tragic stories of the romantic genre. My opinion: give it a chance.
As for me, I found Frollo to be the most fascinating character of all, followed closely by Quasimodo.