You need to sign in or sign up before continuing.
Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
informative
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-paced
slow-paced
dark
emotional
reflective
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
This was tough book to get through at times - but I'm really glad I pushed through and finished it. This story is dark, uncomfortable, and tragic but also had moments of humor and beauty. A strange reading experience, but ultimately also moving and insightful.
Badass. The original title, Notre Dame de Paris, is a better indication of the book's message - the cathedral is really the main character. Hugo's writing makes Paris come alive.
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-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
This book was so heartbreaking! It ends so badly for everyone involved. Certainly nothing like Disney's version!
‘Our Lady of Paris’ (the title translation that makes sense!!) is a tragedy of psychology, society, religion, and every variation of love gone wrong in the streets of medieval Paris.
The oppression, objectification, and visceral suffering of Esmeralda is vividly and painfully painted by Hugo. I truly have never felt more nausea and rage towards a fictional character before Cluade Frollo. Disney does not capture even one iota of his true creepiness.
And while chapters such as those on the embroidered shoes of Paquette’s missing child are admirable enough to make a literature teacher weep, there are other thirty-page essays on the history and architecture of the city that (by the end) bored even ME into skim reading. However, these are minor inconveniences as the obsessive tangents are purposeful and forgivable in an otherwise emotional and engaging narrative.
One example of this rich and complex larger narrative is one of my most treasured plots in fiction - tales of disparate characters and fates all being pulled together.
Despite its rough patches, Notre-Dame de Paris is a beautifully composed novel, and I have no regrets about this lengthy and tragic read.
The oppression, objectification, and visceral suffering of Esmeralda is vividly and painfully painted by Hugo. I truly have never felt more nausea and rage towards a fictional character before Cluade Frollo. Disney does not capture even one iota of his true creepiness.
And while chapters such as those on the embroidered shoes of Paquette’s missing child are admirable enough to make a literature teacher weep, there are other thirty-page essays on the history and architecture of the city that (by the end) bored even ME into skim reading. However, these are minor inconveniences as the obsessive tangents are purposeful and forgivable in an otherwise emotional and engaging narrative.
One example of this rich and complex larger narrative is one of my most treasured plots in fiction - tales of disparate characters and fates all being pulled together.
Despite its rough patches, Notre-Dame de Paris is a beautifully composed novel, and I have no regrets about this lengthy and tragic read.