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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
Not as good as Les Miserables, still a fantastic story.
3.75 stars*.
I absolutely adored this book in concept, but only partially loved it in execution. As a result, I think this book will be one that I enjoy having read more than the process of actually reading it.
I think I (and, in all honesty, most readers) would have benefitted more from an abridged version of this novel. Whilst the sequence of events is enthralling, each one providing a new, unforeseen twist that is truly gripping, the potential smoothness with which the story could have progressed was unfortunately spoiled by Hugo's massive tangents concerning historical, geographical, and architectural information relevant to the time period but mostly irrelevant to the plot--which all in all took up a decent chunk of the book.
This is expected due to Hugo's main ambition in this novel being to encourage the public to preserve, rather than to tear down, the Gothic architecture characteristic of the thirteenth century (when this novel is set). Whilst Hugo was ultimately successful in achieving this goal upon its publication in the seventeenth century (it is thought that the majority of the Gothic buildings still seen today have been left standing purely due to this novel), it unfortunately stands in the way of a) the smooth transitioning between scenes and b) the character development that there was so much damn potential for. I'm genuinely craving a spinoff for Quasimodo, Esmerelda, and Frollo; these characters had potential to be so multifaceted and morally grey, and yet (I felt) weren't nearly done enough justice by them being portrayed as a lovesick idiot, a damsel in distress, and a crazed priest. So much more could have been done with these characters, and yet due to these historical/geographical/architectural diversions, they were reduced to their basic character archetypes, rather than explored deeper. Frollo especially is a character that I know will never leave me, mainly because I feel so dissatisfied with how much more he could have been explored. I mourn this unfulfillment of potential even more when I consider how eloquently yet succinctly Hugo is able to sum up the emotions that we so often endure and yet cannot explain.
Regardless of these qualms, I absolutely adore this story. It is deeply moving, haunting, and, of course, depicts the Hugonian lack of justice within the justice system itself. It is gritty and dark, and despite the (many) tangental rambles Hugo went on, the fragments of backstory scattered throughout the book were all tied together seamlessly by the end.
I absolutely adored this book in concept, but only partially loved it in execution. As a result, I think this book will be one that I enjoy having read more than the process of actually reading it.
I think I (and, in all honesty, most readers) would have benefitted more from an abridged version of this novel. Whilst the sequence of events is enthralling, each one providing a new, unforeseen twist that is truly gripping, the potential smoothness with which the story could have progressed was unfortunately spoiled by Hugo's massive tangents concerning historical, geographical, and architectural information relevant to the time period but mostly irrelevant to the plot--which all in all took up a decent chunk of the book.
This is expected due to Hugo's main ambition in this novel being to encourage the public to preserve, rather than to tear down, the Gothic architecture characteristic of the thirteenth century (when this novel is set). Whilst Hugo was ultimately successful in achieving this goal upon its publication in the seventeenth century (it is thought that the majority of the Gothic buildings still seen today have been left standing purely due to this novel), it unfortunately stands in the way of a) the smooth transitioning between scenes and b) the character development that there was so much damn potential for. I'm genuinely craving a spinoff for Quasimodo, Esmerelda, and Frollo; these characters had potential to be so multifaceted and morally grey, and yet (I felt) weren't nearly done enough justice by them being portrayed as a lovesick idiot, a damsel in distress, and a crazed priest. So much more could have been done with these characters, and yet due to these historical/geographical/architectural diversions, they were reduced to their basic character archetypes, rather than explored deeper. Frollo especially is a character that I know will never leave me, mainly because I feel so dissatisfied with how much more he could have been explored. I mourn this unfulfillment of potential even more when I consider how eloquently yet succinctly Hugo is able to sum up the emotions that we so often endure and yet cannot explain.
Regardless of these qualms, I absolutely adore this story. It is deeply moving, haunting, and, of course, depicts the Hugonian lack of justice within the justice system itself. It is gritty and dark, and despite the (many) tangental rambles Hugo went on, the fragments of backstory scattered throughout the book were all tied together seamlessly by the end.
*Popsugar 2015 Reading Challenge*
**A Book More than 100 Years Old**
One of the more gloomy and macabre stories I've ever read, there really was a bright spot to be found anywhere, nothing to make you laugh or smile. Chilling.
**A Book More than 100 Years Old**
One of the more gloomy and macabre stories I've ever read, there really was a bright spot to be found anywhere, nothing to make you laugh or smile. Chilling.
3.5 stars.
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed reading this novel. It was really dark and atmospheric, which is something I really enjoyed. I did, however, find it hard to read at times. This was mainly due to the fact that there were many aspects of the history and culture of this time in France that I was not all that familiar with, which meant that some aspects of the story weren't entirely clear to me, although I didn't feel like this necessarily detracted from my reading experience as it highlighted those aspects of human life that are different, but also those that are the same as in modern-day society. The long descriptions also made the reading process a bit more difficult.
Hugo definitely had a thing for architecture. This can be seen in the way he describes the buildings and style of Paris in the middle ages in this novel. I found many moments of these descriptions very well executed and I enjoyed the atmosphere it created, especially when it was linked to the history of the city, since Paris and especially the Notre-Dame cathedral plays such an integral part in the novel. I also, however, found at times that it distracted from the story and made me feel less engaged in the book. There was, for example, one chapter which consisted entirely of descriptions of Paris as seen from the roof of the Notre-Dame cathedral, which I think was meant to give the reader an impression of the layout of the city. I found this chapter really hard to read and all the information given in this chapter just left me feeling confused and disoriented instead of giving me an idea of the relation of different places that play an important part in this novel, as I think it was supposed to do.
While these moments did take me out of the story a bit, I did find the book as a whole much more engaging than I expected I would. The darkness and atmosphere of it drew me in, and I was also surprised to find quite a few humorous and slightly satirical moments in the book that made me chuckle and broke up the darkness easier to handle. These humorous moments were also very well-handled in my opinion, as they mainly consisted of darker humor or making fun of the silliness of humans, which fitted in well with the rest of the novels themes and didn't distract or detract from the atmosphere in general.
I also found it suprising how many relatable moments there were in this novel, despite the fact that it takes place on another continent in the 1400's. Certain characters, for example, Claude Frollo's little brother Jehan provided many of these moments, for example when he goes to ask his brother for money, which he then promptly spends on booze. I found these moments really interesting and they definitely added to my enjoyment of the book.
I'm the type of reader that enjoys character-driven stories more than plot-driven ones and I generally find that the characters in a novel determine my overall opinion of the novel. There are, however exceptions to this and this was one of those. I didn't like any of the characters in this novel, Esmeralda was too naive and Frollo was downright creepy. The only one I felt like I could potentially like was Quasimodo, however the way in which he was written didn't really allow for it, especially during the first part of the novel. While usually this, for me, would mean that I didn't like a book, in this case I felt like it added rather than detracted from the overall atmosphere and darkness of the book. I would have like a bit more depth or dimension to some of the characters, especially Esmeralda, but I also appreciate Hugo's reasoning for writing the characters as they were, as I felt like one of the main themes of the novel is the corruptible and dark nature of human beings.
Overall I found this novel to be at times extremely engaging and at others the complete opposite. Certain parts made me feel like this was a five star read, while others made me wish I was reading something else.
I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed reading this novel. It was really dark and atmospheric, which is something I really enjoyed. I did, however, find it hard to read at times. This was mainly due to the fact that there were many aspects of the history and culture of this time in France that I was not all that familiar with, which meant that some aspects of the story weren't entirely clear to me, although I didn't feel like this necessarily detracted from my reading experience as it highlighted those aspects of human life that are different, but also those that are the same as in modern-day society. The long descriptions also made the reading process a bit more difficult.
Hugo definitely had a thing for architecture. This can be seen in the way he describes the buildings and style of Paris in the middle ages in this novel. I found many moments of these descriptions very well executed and I enjoyed the atmosphere it created, especially when it was linked to the history of the city, since Paris and especially the Notre-Dame cathedral plays such an integral part in the novel. I also, however, found at times that it distracted from the story and made me feel less engaged in the book. There was, for example, one chapter which consisted entirely of descriptions of Paris as seen from the roof of the Notre-Dame cathedral, which I think was meant to give the reader an impression of the layout of the city. I found this chapter really hard to read and all the information given in this chapter just left me feeling confused and disoriented instead of giving me an idea of the relation of different places that play an important part in this novel, as I think it was supposed to do.
While these moments did take me out of the story a bit, I did find the book as a whole much more engaging than I expected I would. The darkness and atmosphere of it drew me in, and I was also surprised to find quite a few humorous and slightly satirical moments in the book that made me chuckle and broke up the darkness easier to handle. These humorous moments were also very well-handled in my opinion, as they mainly consisted of darker humor or making fun of the silliness of humans, which fitted in well with the rest of the novels themes and didn't distract or detract from the atmosphere in general.
I also found it suprising how many relatable moments there were in this novel, despite the fact that it takes place on another continent in the 1400's. Certain characters, for example, Claude Frollo's little brother Jehan provided many of these moments, for example when he goes to ask his brother for money, which he then promptly spends on booze. I found these moments really interesting and they definitely added to my enjoyment of the book.
I'm the type of reader that enjoys character-driven stories more than plot-driven ones and I generally find that the characters in a novel determine my overall opinion of the novel. There are, however exceptions to this and this was one of those. I didn't like any of the characters in this novel, Esmeralda was too naive and Frollo was downright creepy. The only one I felt like I could potentially like was Quasimodo, however the way in which he was written didn't really allow for it, especially during the first part of the novel. While usually this, for me, would mean that I didn't like a book, in this case I felt like it added rather than detracted from the overall atmosphere and darkness of the book. I would have like a bit more depth or dimension to some of the characters, especially Esmeralda, but I also appreciate Hugo's reasoning for writing the characters as they were, as I felt like one of the main themes of the novel is the corruptible and dark nature of human beings.
Overall I found this novel to be at times extremely engaging and at others the complete opposite. Certain parts made me feel like this was a five star read, while others made me wish I was reading something else.
I need some more time to process this book, it's all very epic, very grand.
The only background I have of this is the Disney film, and as you can imagine there are huge differences.
The first is that while Quasimodo the hunchback is in the book, he is more of a supporting character and a catalyst for the action.
The story is set in medieval Paris. It is the story of three men and their relationship to a beautiful (on the outside and the inside) Esmeralda.
There is Frollo, a priest that lusts after her and is driven into jealousy and rage. There is Phoebus, a young captain that Esmeralda loves but is only using her, and Quasimodo who only wants to protect her. Because of his deformities he does not even wish for her but only wants to see her safe.
The story gets going after Frollo attempts to murder Phoebus out of jealousy. Esmeralda is tried and convicted of the crime and sentenced to be executed. Quasimodo saves her and claims sanctuary in Notre Dame.
The story also has a lot of asides and themes about justice and injustice with Esmeralda and Quasimodo serving as symbolism for society's outcasts. Also about the corrupt church and it's oppression of the people.
My only disappointment is the same as many others on here: it's too long! Victor Hugo spends long passages describing the history and setting of Paris. (I skimmed these.)
The only background I have of this is the Disney film, and as you can imagine there are huge differences.
The first is that while Quasimodo the hunchback is in the book, he is more of a supporting character and a catalyst for the action.
The story is set in medieval Paris. It is the story of three men and their relationship to a beautiful (on the outside and the inside) Esmeralda.
There is Frollo, a priest that lusts after her and is driven into jealousy and rage. There is Phoebus, a young captain that Esmeralda loves but is only using her, and Quasimodo who only wants to protect her. Because of his deformities he does not even wish for her but only wants to see her safe.
The story gets going after Frollo attempts to murder Phoebus out of jealousy. Esmeralda is tried and convicted of the crime and sentenced to be executed. Quasimodo saves her and claims sanctuary in Notre Dame.
The story also has a lot of asides and themes about justice and injustice with Esmeralda and Quasimodo serving as symbolism for society's outcasts. Also about the corrupt church and it's oppression of the people.
My only disappointment is the same as many others on here: it's too long! Victor Hugo spends long passages describing the history and setting of Paris. (I skimmed these.)
emotional
informative
inspiring
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
THIS IS THE MOST BEAUTIFUL BOOK EVER. DON'T TOUCH ME I'M TOO BUSY CRYING.
All I have to say is: this is one of my favorite books of all time.
Delightful story, very interesting characters.Takes you on a great adventure and gets darker as the story progresses..