Page count: 513
Original publication date: 1831
Original publication date: 1831
Get a free copy from Project Gutenberg
The story of the beautiful gypsy Esmeralda, condemned as a witch by the tormented archdeacon Claude Frollo, who lusts after her. Quasimodo, the deformed bell ringer of Notre Dame Cathedral, having fallen in love with the kindhearted Esmeralda, tries to save her by hiding her in the cathedral's tower. When a crowd of Parisian peasants, misunderstanding Quasimodo's motives, attacks the church in an attempt to liberate her, the story ends in tragedy.
My Review
Before reading
Victor Hugo's classic whenever
someone mentioned, The Hunchback of Notre Dame
I usually thought of this...
I'm
sure I'm not the only one.
However,
since reading it I now picture this...
It's
actually quite shocking. These two ideas could not be more different
from one another. (Although I would be lying if I said the Disney
music didn't play through my head the whole time I was reading).
In
reality, this book is much more gruesome than Disney would have us
believe. There is much more violence than I would have expected. This
is not to say that it is too much or that it is gory. But it is dark.
There are few (if any really) bright and shiny scenes, where
everything work out. In my opinion this makes it much more gritty and
much more interesting. The characters are more human, they have more
depth.
I
found this version (i.e the real version) really helped you get to
know the “villains” of the story. In particular Frollo. My
previous opinion of him was a cold hearted, sadistic man, who cared
for no one and nothing but himself. In actuality there is so much
more to him than that. You really get to know him and his history.
Though not pure by any means, he's not heartless either. He actually
ended up being one of my favourite characters in the book.
The
one tragic flaw of this book, however, is it's repeated history
lessons. Be prepared for very long descriptions of French
architecture, music, the printing press etc. Hugo spares no detail!
These often went on for pages, and a couple of times I was very
tempted to abandon the book because of them. But if you can survive
them they will add a nice touch to the story, in that all your
settings will be much more vivid and the class divisions touched upon
will make much more sense.
All
in all, this is a good book. It's longer than it needs to be, but the
story is solid and the characters are well thought out. In true
Gothic fashion it is dark and dreary but it's not that depressing.
There's action, adventure and mystery. If nothing else it will ensure
that visiting Paris and Notre Dame will be added to your bucket list.
About
the Author
Victor-Marie Hugo was a French poet,
playwright, novelist, essayist, visual artist, statesman, human
rights campaigner, and perhaps the most influential exponent of the
Romantic movement in France
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I had no idea there was a disney version until now! This is the first real review I'm reading on The Hunchback etc.. It sounds encouraging, especially as I've been meaning to try it sometime. :)
ReplyDeleteYou must watch the movie!! It's so different from the book but it's worth it for the music! One of the best Disney soundtracks In My Humble Opinion.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you feel encouraged to read it now! I think for those that have the determination to get through the slow parts there are a lot of great things to take from this novel.
I think when you're talking about classic books, they always tend to be longer than necessary because of the much more flowery vocab that was used. I really enjoyed reading Frankenstein last year, which clarified all the misinformation about that character from its different incarnations (and is very gothic).
ReplyDeleteThe Man in the Iron Mask is one book I would never think to read after that horrible film made starring Leonardo Di Caprio. I laughed through most of it, which I'm sure was not Dumas' intention :p
Great review and idea for a blog tour!
I've never read any Victor Hugo though I always think I should. I'll consider this one.
ReplyDeleteI'd quite forgotten the Disney version!
ReplyDeleteIt's a while since I read the book, but I do remember loving the story and the characterisation, but getting rather bogged down in all that detail.
I love the Disney version, the soundtrack is awesome. I agree that this book is very dark. I'm always shocked by how the characters wind up in the end. You won't find that in a Disney film.
ReplyDeleteI saw the Disney movie when I was little, but I remember very little about it. Your review makes me want to go out and grab a copy of this book ASAP. I've never read anything by Victor Hugo, but this seems like a great place to start. It's definitely less intimidating than Les Miserables. :)
ReplyDelete@Jackie - I didn't know there was a movie with Leo! I must watch that (if only to witness how cheesy it is!)
ReplyDelete@fleurfisher - it's a tricky one because the story is so solid but you've got to fish it out among the detail. Often makes you question if it's worth the effort
@Jenn It sort of reminds me of the real Little Mermaid compared to the Disney one...
@Darlyn - Yay! I'm so happy to have inspired the reading of this book! Hunchback is definitely less intimidating (and easier to read) than Les Mis. But honestly if you had the time to put into Les Mis it's definitely worth it. One of my favourite books of all time.
This is such a beautiful book, EXCEPT for the long section I remember that I think was about the cathedral and the city. Yawn!
ReplyDelete