A review by davidaguilarrodriguez
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo

dark emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

What a book! Hugo’s writing is powerful, moving, and genuinely SWEEPING. He tries to capture all of society, from the lowest outcast to the Church and the military and even the literal King of France, in a haunting Gothic tale of doomed love focused on characters and events swirling around one location: Notre Dame de Paris. Yes, the cathedral is maybe the main character of the book, but that’s not to say the other characters aren’t mind blowingly fantastic. Claude Frollo - the devil. Phoebus - the literal worst. Quasimodo - my heart breaks for him. Esmeralda - tbh one of the dumbest and most annoying characters ever. Gringoire and Djali - hilarious and the best. And on and on, such a wonderful and terrifying and beloved and detestable cast of characters. 

I actually have never seen the Disney movie, but this book is TRAGIC. In the Shakespearean sense. A towering, terrifying, haunting, beautiful work of Romanticism — it is so dark, but also so funny, so informative, and moving. I just read the synopsis of the Disney movie because after the end of the book I thought “now how on earth did they think this was appropriate for children??” Apparently the movie barely has anything to do with what happens in the book. Shame, because this is a great one, though certainly no Disney movie!