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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Who at disney read this and thought it’d make a good kid’s movie?
I mean. It's Victor Hugo. It's obviously going to be brilliant.
Toto krásne magnum opus Victora Huga pozdvihuje ľudskú dušu aj po storočiach...
<3
<3
challenging
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I’ve been intrigued by Victor Hugo’s books—especially Les Miserables—for a long time, but haven’t gotten around to reading it yet. But when I found The Hunchback of Notre Dame in audio format, I decided to try it. After all, if Les Mis was good—and every version I’ve seen or read of the story so far has seemed to be that way—then this should be good, too, right?
I wish I had known before going into this story that it’s a tragedy. That’s something I’ve discovered that I don’t handle so well if it’s foisted on me, and honestly, if I’d known that, I probably wouldn’t have finished the book.
The first part of this story is SLOW. I don’t mind slow reads, and if they’re in audio, I can usually manage them—but with this book, even as a sped-up audiobook, I felt like I was dragging my way through the first half of the story. It does take off after around the 50 or 60% mark, but that first half…there are chapters I wish I’d skipped. Hugo wandered off into several tangents that really made no sense to me, and although I know that’s a part of old books, I still struggled with them.
As a whole, the story is interesting—the last half, anyway. I struggled with the way characters hated and feared the poor hunchback man and called him names, but at the same time, I do not doubt that that’s the way they viewed people back at the time this story is set. It was interesting to see how he made his way in the world, even though he came up against a lot of opposition. I fell in love with Esmerelda and her goat, and hated the archdeacon. There’s a decent amount of action in the story, and this story is also a good commentary on human nature in general—and especially what happens when people let their feelings and thoughts get out of hand. In some ways, this book felt almost like a commentary on the story of Prince Amnon and Princess Tamar in the Bible!
As far as content, this isn’t the cleanest of reads. There’s a lot of language in the story, and multiple times, there are references to people sleeping around.
Overall, while I found the story interesting, I’m not planning to ever read it again. I’m glad to know what it’s about, but if I’d known what I do now about the book, I wouldn’t have pushed myself through to the end. It’s not a bad story; it’s just not the kind of thing I generally like to read.
I wish I had known before going into this story that it’s a tragedy. That’s something I’ve discovered that I don’t handle so well if it’s foisted on me, and honestly, if I’d known that, I probably wouldn’t have finished the book.
The first part of this story is SLOW. I don’t mind slow reads, and if they’re in audio, I can usually manage them—but with this book, even as a sped-up audiobook, I felt like I was dragging my way through the first half of the story. It does take off after around the 50 or 60% mark, but that first half…there are chapters I wish I’d skipped. Hugo wandered off into several tangents that really made no sense to me, and although I know that’s a part of old books, I still struggled with them.
As a whole, the story is interesting—the last half, anyway. I struggled with the way characters hated and feared the poor hunchback man and called him names, but at the same time, I do not doubt that that’s the way they viewed people back at the time this story is set. It was interesting to see how he made his way in the world, even though he came up against a lot of opposition. I fell in love with Esmerelda and her goat, and hated the archdeacon. There’s a decent amount of action in the story, and this story is also a good commentary on human nature in general—and especially what happens when people let their feelings and thoughts get out of hand. In some ways, this book felt almost like a commentary on the story of Prince Amnon and Princess Tamar in the Bible!
As far as content, this isn’t the cleanest of reads. There’s a lot of language in the story, and multiple times, there are references to people sleeping around.
Overall, while I found the story interesting, I’m not planning to ever read it again. I’m glad to know what it’s about, but if I’d known what I do now about the book, I wouldn’t have pushed myself through to the end. It’s not a bad story; it’s just not the kind of thing I generally like to read.
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
What the heck, Disney? Your adaptation did not prepare me for this book.
Les Mis should have, perhaps, but DAMN that was heartbreaking.
Les Mis should have, perhaps, but DAMN that was heartbreaking.
A lot different than the watered down versions seen in most movie or theater adaptations, Hugo's characters are dark, depressing and for the most part, completely unlikable. His arguments to save the church are more compelling that the love triangles created for the melodrama portion of the plot. That said, his language is beautiful, his characterization of the city of Paris breathtaking to watch him develop and I'll admit, who doesn't enjoy a good melodrama every now and then?
Can't believe Hugo killed off Esmeralda… During women's history month no less!