_kathryn_ 's review for:

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo

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I read this novel as part of a project in which I'm reading the original works which Disney movies are based on. While the novel was certainly darker than the movie, I am intrigued by the fact that Hugo's detailed descriptions of the architecture of Paris brought the Notre Dame particularly to life, almost as explicitly as if the gargoyles had actually talked, as they do in the Disney movie. I was also struck by similarities to Great Expectations, particularly when it came to the mysterious backstories of Quasimodo, Esmeralda, and the Sachette. Other than these characters, and in some ways Frollo, as twisted as he was, I found all the characters quite shallow. It the was in some ways unsettling to read, but moments like the Sachette's fierce protection of Esmeralda, Esmeralda's kindnesss to Gringoire and Quasimodo when they were at the mercy of the justice systems of Paris, and Quasimodo's cries of "Sanctuar!" grounded the story. I was intrigued that Hugo addressed the injustice of the "justice" system and society in general, particularly through the device of the Court of Miracles, which, as it turns out, is no more arbitrary or cruel than the actual Palace of Justice. Despite the heavy material and tragic ending, the novel was at points quite funny and, once I got past the entirely architectural chapters, an absorbing read.