The story of Quasimodo, the hunchback bellringer of Notre-Dame cathedral and his devotion to the beautiful gypsy dancer Esmeralda. When the demented archdeacon Frollo sets out to abduct Esmeralda, he uses Quasimodo to do the evil deed on his behalf. However, Quasimodo turns from captor to saviour.
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Most Helpful Customer Reviews
13 of 13 people found the following review helpful
By Peter Reeve
VINE™ VOICE
Format:Paperback
Hugo's Notre-Dame de Paris is usually translated into English as The Hunchback of Notre-Dame, giving the impression that Quasimodo, the hunchback, is the hero of the novel. In truth, this is a story without a true hero or a true villain. The original French title is more apt because the central character is the cathedral itself, overshadowing, shaping and constraining the merely human lives that are played out in and around it. If the story has a villain it is Fate; blind, merciless and unremitting. There is however a heroine, La Esmeralda, and she alone of all the characters makes us laugh and cry.
Hugo can be prolix. For what Dickens will say in a sentence, and Dostoevski in a paragraph, Hugo will employ a chapter, when the mood takes him. I hate the idea of abridgements and I would normally never recommend skipping or skimming any part of a great work, but Hugo is a possible exception. The thirty-odd pages devoted to A Bird's Eye View of Paris can be safely skipped over, unless you are a bird. Everything else is essential, or at least worthwhile. Neither does the author skimp on the use of coincidence, and the plot relies on one 'who-should-it-be-but' coincidence in particular which is so convenient and unlikely that most readers will groan when they realize what it is. The charitable interpretation is that the book is after all about Fate and its inevitability.
Despite those quibbles, the novel is a resounding 5-star must-read. It is astonishingly imaginative and includes scenes, especially those in the prison, and at the very end, that are as powerful, disturbing and memorable as anything in literature. I will say no more about them, because I hate spoilers even more than I do abridgements. Needless to say, if you think you know the story from movie versions, you don't.
14 of 15 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
I felt daunted at the prospect of this book. it looked thick and the words were all really tiny, but i took the plunge anyway and my god! first off, it has very little to do with Quasimodo; yes, he plays his role, but it is merely incidental, the real main charecter is Dom Claude Frollo, the Archdeacon. He's not a villian, he's a tragedy, he lost his parents at an early age and took to raising his younger brother alone, unfortunately, irregardless of his efforts his brother declined, and in the face of this personnal failure Frollo turned to religion and the aquisition of knowledge. He gave up his heart for knowledge and turned away from society, in return he was rendered bitter and unforgiving. Upon encountering the infant Quasimodo he sees a chance to redeem his lost loving soul of the mistakes made with his brother and strives to raise a just and caring monster. Enter La'smerelda; to his reason and religion by society's rule she is a heathen and a devil, but to his heart and loins she is his last desperate hope to live. His actions drive the book, his desire fighting against his religious dogma, he knows it would mean his chance at heaven gone if he were to be with Esmerelda, but he chooses to anyway. she, of course, does not. Only the actions of others by chance (including that of Quasimodo) set fate's course from his goal. the other suprise is that the book is hilarious, Gringoire, whom i interpreted as the personification of the author, is a bumbling chancer, a writer and a poet who chooses to live with the city's undesirables to enhanse his cultural cool, again he is incidental, but carries the entire novel along with an easy and greatly readable enjoyment. it took me five days to get through it, is that really all that long?... Read more ›
8 of 9 people found the following review helpful
By A Customer
Format:Paperback
Quite unbelievable piece of literature and to my mind Hugo's greatest work, with Les Miserables a close second. It tells of how life has dealt Quasimodo numerous kicks in the teeth and of his fight to protect La Esmeralda. The most harrowing scene is where Quasimodo receives a public flogging for no particular reason other than being deaf, after being prosecuted by a deaf judge. A must read for all ages.
1 of 1 people found the following review helpful
Format:Paperback
In this book Victor Hugo shows the depths of his creativity. Instead of writing a long and complicated story such as 'Les Mis' he wrote this book in the style of a 'Penny Dreadful'. I admit that there are a lot of descriptions of Paris in the Middle Ages but this helps to put the story in context. The characters are believable, even though there are a lot of coincidences, but then again this is a gothic novel. There is no hero as such, the English title being a bit of a misnomer. Quasimodo or the Hunchback as we usually call him is a dumb and disformed character who may be slghtly dysfunctional but shows that he does have emotions and can act more honourably than his peers. Hugo gave us in this a twist on the Beauty and the Beast theme and has obviously influeneced countless authors since, as for instance 'The Phantom of the Opera'. What I like about this book is that Quasimodo, a person who is considered to be below everyone else shows that he is more capable of what are considered to be the highest human attributes and ultimately puts to shame his 'superiors'. It is due to this that the book hasn't aged as much as people suppose, as it is in it's way an attack on bigotry which we still have today.
Most Recent Customer Reviews
5.0 out of 5 stars
Brilliant book
Always wanted to get this book and enjoyed reading it very much on the train commute to london and back.
Published 6 months ago by sam
3.0 out of 5 stars
No Real Verite
If you are looking for a book that encapsulates Paris then avoid Hunchback. The prose is very gilded and just doesn't stick in the mind. Read more
Published 9 months ago by D. Smith
5.0 out of 5 stars
What a story!
Let me start off by quoting one of the people who gave this triumph of a book one star:
If you are dull witted and have no patience, read something modern. Read more
If you are dull witted and have no patience, read something modern. Read more
Published on 26 Mar 2010 by Comic Book Guy
5.0 out of 5 stars
Heartbreaking
I have read all the reviews and even the bad ones have a point but this story is one of the best ever written. Read more
Published on 25 Oct 2007 by Ms. Kristel Knights
1.0 out of 5 stars
You need patience....
The fact that this book is a classic was the only reason I wanted to read it. Unfortunately I didn't manage to get past three chapters of this book, the elaborate and mundane... Read more
Published on 20 Jun 2006 by Katya
1.0 out of 5 stars
hard to get into
starting this book i had such high expectations, afterall it is a classic. it may be something to do with it's translation but i found it unreadable. Read more
Published on 16 Jan 2006 by "claire237"
2.0 out of 5 stars
I really did try
I really did try to enjoy this book. Yes I can understand its place in literature but I admit I struggled. Read more
Published on 27 Oct 2003
5.0 out of 5 stars
Fantastique
This book has everything that you could possibly want from a book. there are a couple of chapters that are really boring, and you just want them out of the way, but by midway, the... Read more
Published on 1 May 2000
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