The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Classic Fiction)

Rating:
Summary: Book of stone
Review: Victor Hugo sculpts from the stone of Notre Dame characters and story that become molten and pour onto the pages of this grand edifice of a novel. Hugo wrote: "...human thought, in changing its form, was about to change its mode of expression; that the dominant idea of each generation would no longer be written with the same matter, and in the same manner; that the book of stone, so solid and so durable, was about to make way for the book of paper" In Gothic architecture story was carved in stone, many gospel stories are sculpted in the stone of Notre Dame for example, and with the advent of the printing press Hugo sees the decline of this storying in stone. He places his novel on the cusp between stone and print and even seems to create Quasimodo from one of the stone gargoyles that ornament Notre Dame. In one scene where Quasimodo has created a fire on Notre Dame to melt lead to rain down on attackers below the stone figures seem to come to life: "The restless light of the flame made them move to the eye. There were griffins which had the air of laughing, gargoyles which one fancied one heard yelping, salamanders which puffed at the fire, tarasques which sneezed in the smoke. And among the monsters thus roused from their sleep of stone by this flame, by this noise, there was one who walked about, and who was seen, from time to time, to pass across the glowing face of the pile, like a bat in front of a candle." The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a magnificent novel polished by the author into a brilliant gem.


Rating:
Summary: Religion gone a muck
Review: victor Hugo's passionate story of the unfortunate Quasimodo is also a great expose' on how religion controled the masses in those days. While Esmeralda is liked for her dancing and tricks; she is also feared and scorned for being in league with the devil. This is because Frollo the priest who is madly in love with the young gipsy girl has cast her as much. Yet his hypocrisy shines through when later he declares his love for her. As well, notice when Esmeralda is living in the cathedral the priest mad with lust nearly rapes her. Thus he is using his position and power for less then holy deeds. In addition the church held great influence over the justice system. This book is more then a mere love story but a brilliant attack I think on the abuse of power and the evil it brings. I truly enjoyed this production from Naxos with its musical interludes between the text. The reader really brought the characters to life and read the book with the right amount of animation. I highly recommend it for those who love to listen to classical literature then read it. another Naxos production to add to my collection.
this audiobook contains 2 CD'; it features period music along with the reading of the text. The Naxos version is also available on audio cassette.

Rating:
Summary: Not like the Disney movie
Review: Written by Victor Hugo in the 1800's, this masterpiece is set in medieval Paris. The story jumps around, yet when you finish the book, it all makes sense. One minute it is in the middle of celebrations, and then it jumps to fifteen years before. It tells multiple stories at once: the story of the hunchback, Quasimodo, his keeper, Dom Frollo, The gypsy, La Esmeralda and other random people whose stories all tie into the whole story. Even though I don't speak French very well, and I've never been to Paris, I can imagine it vividly. The dialogue between the characters is very engaging. There are multiple twists and the plot is so thick you could cut it with a knife. Hugo wrote it beautifully, and the language is understandable. It is just so wonderful that when you get to the exciting parts, you can't put it down! He wrote it and it tugs at all of the human emotions. This book makes you laugh with triumph, cry, filled with anger towards evil, and sympathetic to the characters who don't know any better or have no options. One minute you love a character and the next you despise them with a passion. If you remember the Disney interpretation, and try to incorporate it into your reading, it won't work. The book is much more tragic than the light-hearted movie. It is beautifully written and would recommend it to everyone that thinks it is on his or her level.