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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
So finally I was able to make my way through the boring maze of a large collection of unnecessary words, Hugo called: "Notre Dame de Paris."
I really wanted to like this book. In fact, I enjoyed Bug Jargal and Hans of Iceland, he previous books but this...this was just torture. (And I'm no stranger to classics.)
2 stars is as high a rating I can honestly give it.
Characters: 2
I kept thinking it would get better, there would be better characters coming along. As a matter of fact Gringoire is the most sensible of them all. Maybe Quasimodo after but the rest behaved in such unrealistic manner that it was just a pain to read.
Esmeralda...I kept secretly hoping that the priest would just kill her and have it all over with. (No spoilers, that's just what I wanted him to do).
Just not impressed at all by any characters.
Plot: 2
While plot had very good potential, it really got quagmires by tens of pages of unnecessary information that was randomly and for no reason at all put as full chapters in between the actual story chapters. Just when I found myself getting immersed into the story. BAM! Let's talk about how the printing press killed architecture. For a WHOLE chapter. No connection to anything. Just a very random immersion killing technique.
Setting: 1
I just could not make myself care for the setting. There was something there, but the level of descriptive details ruined it.
There is absolutely no reason to spend 30 or 35 pages talking just about every street Paris has...
Or another 20-30 pages talking about architecture and art. It literally felt like Hugo felt that his PhD thesis was being wasted and decided to just randomly plug it into a book. It's just not needed and destroys the whole mood, making me want to just stop reading.
Overall, books should be a fun time spend. This one wasn't. I'll probably try Hugo's another work as I liked his other books I've read, but I need to go into Hugo detox after this travesty of a book.
Would absolutely not recommend. Unless you maybe get an abridged version? Do yourself a favor and skip a full one.
Roman "Ragnar"
I really wanted to like this book. In fact, I enjoyed Bug Jargal and Hans of Iceland, he previous books but this...this was just torture. (And I'm no stranger to classics.)
2 stars is as high a rating I can honestly give it.
Characters: 2
I kept thinking it would get better, there would be better characters coming along. As a matter of fact Gringoire is the most sensible of them all. Maybe Quasimodo after but the rest behaved in such unrealistic manner that it was just a pain to read.
Esmeralda...I kept secretly hoping that the priest would just kill her and have it all over with. (No spoilers, that's just what I wanted him to do).
Just not impressed at all by any characters.
Plot: 2
While plot had very good potential, it really got quagmires by tens of pages of unnecessary information that was randomly and for no reason at all put as full chapters in between the actual story chapters. Just when I found myself getting immersed into the story. BAM! Let's talk about how the printing press killed architecture. For a WHOLE chapter. No connection to anything. Just a very random immersion killing technique.
Setting: 1
I just could not make myself care for the setting. There was something there, but the level of descriptive details ruined it.
There is absolutely no reason to spend 30 or 35 pages talking just about every street Paris has...
Or another 20-30 pages talking about architecture and art. It literally felt like Hugo felt that his PhD thesis was being wasted and decided to just randomly plug it into a book. It's just not needed and destroys the whole mood, making me want to just stop reading.
Overall, books should be a fun time spend. This one wasn't. I'll probably try Hugo's another work as I liked his other books I've read, but I need to go into Hugo detox after this travesty of a book.
Would absolutely not recommend. Unless you maybe get an abridged version? Do yourself a favor and skip a full one.
Roman "Ragnar"
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, Cultural appropriation
Moderate: Child abuse
Minor: Confinement, Kidnapping
ACTION! DRAMA! TRAGEDY! SO SAD! MILDLY UNINTERESTING CHARACTERS!
I was attracted to The Hunchback of Notre Dame by its quintessential "Gothic" label. At parts, Hugo delivers upon this promise by conjuring grand images of a dark church, and characters which believe in witches, and ghosts. And of course by Tyrannical feudalism and the anxiety of the lower classes. GOTHIC. But as the reader, we are often able to look beyond these conjurations of mysticism which these characters feel.
Luckily, Hunchback became much more than a scary story. At points it resembles a sprawling action movie, like The Avengers. We are provoked not by any sense of details within the characters, but out of concern as to what will happen next. The possibilities being infinite.
Hugo is a master at constructing a tragedy which contains actual action, actual excitement. The writing in these movements read like an action movie, not like a writer describing some prolonged moment. Each of the introductory elements are expertly resolved by the novel's conclusion. As a result, throughout the novel's last sections I often shouted aloud, "THAT'S SO SAD". Take that how you will.
Hugo manages to create a gripping sense of action behind a backdrop of unlikable characters, and beautifully weaves this sense of flaw into a dirty, Medieval Paris. This sense of setting ingeniously broods over the entire novel and evokes a sense of the entire city being one with the novel's events. There are beautiful sections in the novel's first half where Hugo elaborates upon this role of setting, and even has the courage to include an entire essay on the importance of architecture on culture.
That is to say, Hugo does have a point with all this. But in the end, his sense of drama is unceasingly enamoring; Almost suitable for a Disney movie.
I was attracted to The Hunchback of Notre Dame by its quintessential "Gothic" label. At parts, Hugo delivers upon this promise by conjuring grand images of a dark church, and characters which believe in witches, and ghosts. And of course by Tyrannical feudalism and the anxiety of the lower classes. GOTHIC. But as the reader, we are often able to look beyond these conjurations of mysticism which these characters feel.
Luckily, Hunchback became much more than a scary story. At points it resembles a sprawling action movie, like The Avengers. We are provoked not by any sense of details within the characters, but out of concern as to what will happen next. The possibilities being infinite.
Hugo is a master at constructing a tragedy which contains actual action, actual excitement. The writing in these movements read like an action movie, not like a writer describing some prolonged moment. Each of the introductory elements are expertly resolved by the novel's conclusion. As a result, throughout the novel's last sections I often shouted aloud, "THAT'S SO SAD". Take that how you will.
Hugo manages to create a gripping sense of action behind a backdrop of unlikable characters, and beautifully weaves this sense of flaw into a dirty, Medieval Paris. This sense of setting ingeniously broods over the entire novel and evokes a sense of the entire city being one with the novel's events. There are beautiful sections in the novel's first half where Hugo elaborates upon this role of setting, and even has the courage to include an entire essay on the importance of architecture on culture.
That is to say, Hugo does have a point with all this. But in the end, his sense of drama is unceasingly enamoring; Almost suitable for a Disney movie.
Esmeralda is one of the most useless, spineless, naive female character ever created and yet a man was ready to literally go to hell for her and another one went as far as sharing her fucking grave just because she was pretty and knew how to dance. Unbelievable. I swear men will always amaze me with their stupidity.
Anyway this was a treasure to read. You have to give it to Hugo the man is incredibly pretentious but he knows his craft. This was dark, beautiful, mesmerizing and I loved every second of it.
Anyway this was a treasure to read. You have to give it to Hugo the man is incredibly pretentious but he knows his craft. This was dark, beautiful, mesmerizing and I loved every second of it.
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This book is extremely different from the movie. It is intense - full of violence, lust, and rage. I liked it much better than Hugo's Les Miserables in the fact that Hugo did not get sidetracked nearly as often in this novel as he did in that one. The story flowed much more quickly and although it was a slow start, once I started it was difficult to put down.