The Hunchback of Notre Dame

If you watched Disney's "The Hunchback of Notre Dame" you do not know this story at all. It is completely different, and in a good way. Victor Hugo is a master storyteller. He introduces plotlines that twist and turn and you think "Why is he telling me this? Why all this exposition?" And then everything ties together in a crazy climax. It is gutwrenching. One of the most tragic stories ever written. Just read it, it's a classic.

I will admit, this is a hard book to get through. It was the first unabridged classic I've read and it's not easy getting through some of the monologues, historical descriptions, and rants about philosophy. The first half of the book was especially difficult, because so many of the characters and scenes don't seem important to the plot. But trust me, they are. Victor Hugo brings everything together in a powerful ending that scrubs your heartstrings with iron wool and leaves you reeling for days! But this book, as Victor Hugo himself explained, isn't just about the adventure and romance. It's supposed to kindle in the readers a deep appreciation for gothic architecture. It's also supposed to capture and bring to life the culture and lifestyles of 15th century Paris- a time period that is increasingly overlooked and forgotten. So even though the tough parts of this book feel long, they still have tremendous value, and I'm so thankful I didn't stop reading halfway through (like I almost did). This book has had an incredible, lasting impact on me. It is now one of my most cherished reads.So, yes, I absolutely recommend this book to anyone willing to read it. I also recommend listening to it on audio. The reader Philippe Duquenoy is phenomenal! He brings the characters to life and even reads through those long, tedious descriptions in an engaging way. Plus, if you get tired of the the descriptions, you can just tune them out until the actions picks up again, without giving up on the book! Also, really make the time you spend reading it fun. Watch the play. Listen to the soundtrack. Learn the music on an instrument. And whatever you do, don't give up on this incredible book!! It's a world-reknown classic for a reason. And you don't want to miss out.

Honestly, I knew it was coming since I read the reviews, but I still underestimated how tiresome most of this book is.As other reviewers have said, the actual story of Quasimodo and co. is such a small portion of the book in comparison to the actual length of the work. It was really quite difficult to get through.If you find that the novels you read in high school (think Dracula, Hamlet, Catcher in the Rye, etc.) waxed poetic far too much for your taste, I would maybe look into an abridged version (no shade, that's what I was about to do) instead.Quasi's story is rather good, but it's buried under lengthy descriptions of settings that (in my opinion) did little to enhance the reading.

Les Misérables is one of my favorite books. I have read it twice in French and three times in English. I had read The Hunchback of Notre Dame in English during high school and did not remember it very well, so it was fun to re-read in this translation. Unfortunately the book is weighted down with lots of politics and archeology that I found quite boring. The basic story is so captivating however that I read till the end. Fantastic for anyone interested in French history of the 18th and 19th centuries.

Believing Les Miserables to be a fine work of literature, I undertook the reading of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. One must persist through Hugo's long preliminaries to appreciate the tragedy of the tale. These somewhat tedious preliminaries are integral to the power of the whole. It is well worth the effort. Human nature and human folly are timeless.

Such a great story! I can't believe it took me this long to discover this book. This is my first Victor Hugo attempt and I really enjoyed it.It may be detail heavy on certain things, may ramble and go into seemingly different directions, and may go overboard on certain descriptors: but it adds character to the story and gives the characters more dimension.The Gypsy girl trying to discover her past, the obsessed priest who secretly delves into witchcraft and alchemy, and the outcast Hunchback (who oddly enough does not play a major role in the story). All the characters in my opinion are well developed and have depth.What really got me was the human element of the characters and how easily I was sucked into the storytelling.Top notch storytelling in my opinion. Thanks!

Good book, but I feel it loses something in the translation. This version seems to make more sense than some of the other versions I took a look at. More straightforward language is used. I have enjoyed it though and recommend it as far as the story goes.

I loved this classic. It took a few pages to grab me in the very beginning but once it did I was hooked. If you are as dismayed by the dismaying state of the "real world" this book can be your escape into an entirely different world. That is it's appeal and why it is a much deserved classic. This is story-telling at its finest. it is sometimes easy to be intimidated by "classics", but don't hesitate to dive into this tale as it is not a difficult book. You won't regret it. This is the same writer who wrote Les Miserables, which I also intend to read one day as soon as I can recover from the epic, but rather ham-fisted movie version of a few years ago.

The story is good, but this version is full of typographical errors.It looks as though the text was scanned in from a hard copy, but never checked. On most pages you'll find a mix up between 'h' and 'b' or 'i' and 'l'. Early on in the book, there's a random '58' which I assume is where they accidentally scanned in a page number. Some of the chapter headlines are confused with the opening sentences, and although this story has 11 parts, only the first 9 are listed and accessible via the contents. I guess they just gave up.

These type of books are classified as "classics" for a reason, and that reason is the quality of the story. Unfortunately the quantity was (as usual for VH) a bit verbose. Lots of Latin I did not understand, but you soon get to know which bits to speed read and when to settle down and immerse yourself in this crackin yarn.The book has some typos, but in general good value for money. You might want to read Les Miserables by VH. Most of the above comments apply to this.

Firstly, the wrong book was delivered.After getting the correct book, the text is as you would expect but... Damn this is one ugly book. Even Quasimodo wouldn't choose baby blue with golden pages. Having said that, if you're just looking for a read and dont care how it looks on the shelf, it's a decent deal.

This is a slow burner, particularly if you are like me and get bored of endless description. Believe me though when i say that once you get past 35% you will be engrossed.

a kaleidoscope of characters; twice he built up the tensions; felt slightly let down by his dismissal of his main protagonists at the end