Take a photo of a barcode or cover
ablotial 's review for:
The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
by Victor Hugo
Here's a classic I've owned for years and never gotten around to reading. And unlike most people I talked to, I never saw the Disney version of this, so I really didn't know what to expect. I only knew of the existence of who I thought were the two main characters: Quasimodo, the deformed and "ugly" hunchback bell ringer, and Esmeralda, the beautiful girl -- who I assumed he loved, and she didn't love him back at first until she gets to know his inner beauty, and then they end up together in the end because that's how Disney movies work. Beauty and the Beast, you know.
Of course, the book is nothing like this. While Quasimodo is important, I almost think his guardian, Claude Frollo, is more of the main character.
Overall - I actually liked the plot of the story and can see why it became a classic novel. However, I'd say the plot and moving forward with it made up only about a third of the book, if that. I was very frustrated when I was more than halfway through a ~460 page book and felt like I was still reading the introduction, meeting the characters, not much had moved forward yet. Not to mention the two longest chapters by that point had no plot at all, but were (to me at least) exceedingly boring descriptions of the history and layout of Paris, and the history and architecture of Notre-Dame respectively. I'll admit to having skimmed much of those chapters. But in the second half of the book, the plot moves a lot more, although still very, very slowly by modern standards.
I give it 3* - but probably had I been a reader in the 1800s I'd give it a full 5. But as a modern reader, while it was interesting, it just didn't keep me coming back for more.
Of course, the book is nothing like this. While Quasimodo is important, I almost think his guardian, Claude Frollo, is more of the main character.
Overall - I actually liked the plot of the story and can see why it became a classic novel. However, I'd say the plot and moving forward with it made up only about a third of the book, if that. I was very frustrated when I was more than halfway through a ~460 page book and felt like I was still reading the introduction, meeting the characters, not much had moved forward yet. Not to mention the two longest chapters by that point had no plot at all, but were (to me at least) exceedingly boring descriptions of the history and layout of Paris, and the history and architecture of Notre-Dame respectively. I'll admit to having skimmed much of those chapters. But in the second half of the book, the plot moves a lot more, although still very, very slowly by modern standards.
I give it 3* - but probably had I been a reader in the 1800s I'd give it a full 5. But as a modern reader, while it was interesting, it just didn't keep me coming back for more.