thenatfantastic 's review for:

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo

5.0

challenging dark funny reflective sad tense slow-paced

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

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I enjoyed this book way more than I thought I would. People who complain or laugh at Hugo’s segues and references fail to understand that that is the point. Hugo isn’t trying to write a novel and getting sidetracked by info-dumping, he’s trying to trick you into reading an info-dump by tying it in with a novel. 

People also seem to really underestimate just what a funny book this is. There’s a lot of farce that really makes it a fun read - the chapter with Quasimodo in court in particular, or when Frollo is complaining how hard he has it to Esmerelda. This is an info-dump with a lot of humour. 

Victor Hugo really wants you to understand what Paris was like at that time. He wants you to come away with more knowledge about the time period, and about Notre Dame, than you arrived with. If you had fun doing it and enjoyed the story, that’s a bonus. So please, stop complaining about A Bird’s-Eye View of Paris. Victor Hugo wanted to write A Bird’s-Eye View of Paris. He needed to write the rest of the book to convince you to read it!