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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
dark
sad
medium-paced
Victor Hugo is a great writer. But he often can feel like a parody of himself. The romance is overly romantic, the tragedy completely depressing, and the characters so distinct they don't even feel real. But I am totally into that. As always, he meanders into pointless tangents (he spends almost a fifth of this novel just describing Notre-Dame). But when you get a novel as beautifully written and heartbreaking as this, it's easy to forgive.
dark
emotional
inspiring
reflective
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:
Yes
Moral of the story: the medieval French Justice system sucks
Where do I start in critiquing this classic? The descriptions are so detailed that they are both beautiful and boring at the same time. Often times the perspective will turn to random characters, simply to give a fuller view of the city but adds little to the plot. Many of the characters are frustrating at best. This book will spend pages and chapters describing one thing (like the cathedral) or a character who is pointless to the plot. Hugo’s other most famous book, Les Mis, does this similarly, but in that one each character is presented in detail to move forward the plot, whereas in this one, random characters feel purposeless. Saying that, the descriptions are extremely lush, presenting a view of Paris which Hugo clearly loved. In the end, my feelings were mixed about this book.
Full review on my blog: https://madamewriterblog.com/2019/08/21/book-review-notre-dame-de-paris-by-victor-hugo/
Full review on my blog: https://madamewriterblog.com/2019/08/21/book-review-notre-dame-de-paris-by-victor-hugo/
Loved it, really loved it. A beautiful written book, but with an ending that got me kind of upset
love is like a tree: it grows by itself, roots itself deeply in our being and continues to flourish over a heart in ruin.
the flipping classics. here we go again.
first of all, wow. this is dark.
as a 90s kid, i grew up watching disney's adaptation of the hunchback of notre dame and, quite frankly, it didn't always sit well with me. i remember being particularly distrubed pretty early on by frollo's obsession with esmeralda and the song he sings in front of the fire place. major red flag, even if i didn't fully understand it at the time.
the book goes, naturally, way beyond the adaptation. it is a story of the characters, of paris, of the cathedral. the main character, with the most focus, is quasimodo, the hunchback, deaf, impaired and deformed, adopted by archdeacon frollo. both quasimodo and frollo are in love with a gypsy called esmeralda who, in turn, is in love with captain febo.
hugo's writing felt, to me, too heavy, especially when one considers how heavy the plot was already. it was also very descriptive and with very little dialogue, which made the book feel like it was dragging. i mean, there are entire chapters about paris, about the cathedral. while they provide a very rich sense of the time and place where the book takes place, it also means that nothing is happening, plot wise.
extra points for gringoire because, in the midst of madness, all he cares about is his goat. honestly, relatable. i think, at one point, i was only interested in the goat, too.
the flipping classics. here we go again.
first of all, wow. this is dark.
as a 90s kid, i grew up watching disney's adaptation of the hunchback of notre dame and, quite frankly, it didn't always sit well with me. i remember being particularly distrubed pretty early on by frollo's obsession with esmeralda and the song he sings in front of the fire place. major red flag, even if i didn't fully understand it at the time.
the book goes, naturally, way beyond the adaptation. it is a story of the characters, of paris, of the cathedral. the main character, with the most focus, is quasimodo, the hunchback, deaf, impaired and deformed, adopted by archdeacon frollo. both quasimodo and frollo are in love with a gypsy called esmeralda who, in turn, is in love with captain febo.
hugo's writing felt, to me, too heavy, especially when one considers how heavy the plot was already. it was also very descriptive and with very little dialogue, which made the book feel like it was dragging. i mean, there are entire chapters about paris, about the cathedral. while they provide a very rich sense of the time and place where the book takes place, it also means that nothing is happening, plot wise.
extra points for gringoire because, in the midst of madness, all he cares about is his goat. honestly, relatable. i think, at one point, i was only interested in the goat, too.
emotional
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Has some chapters that are waste of time. If you're interested in the 15th century France then you might like it.