Rating: 
Summary: Wonderfully entertaining...
Review: Few authors can "hook" a reader as well as Victor Hugo: as soon as you crack the spine, he has you. Notre Dame is short when compared to Les Miserables, but it is still a long book, taken on its own. Yet Hugo manages to bring you through at breakneck speed (with the notable exception of his long digression into architecture).
I have seen Hugo referred to as a romantic writer, but he is one of the most cynical authors I have ever read - at least when it comes to human nature. I think that is the one aspect of his writing that is most often lost (or ejected) when translating his work to stage or screen. Fans of the show Les Mis may be a bit shocked to find out how un-sentimental the book is. Similarly, I'd seen movie versions of The Hunchback, but I was surprised how modern Hugo's characterizations are. The closest thing to a hero is Quasimodo, whom Hugo describes as "evil." The "heroine" is La Esmeralda: even though she is basically a good woman, she is capable of being cruel towards Quasimodo, and she is jaw-droppingly stupid. There are two pseudo-heroes: Pierre Gringoire and Phoebus. Gringoire is a foolish, happy-go-lucky playwright who loves Esmeralda's goat as much as he loves her. Phoebus is really a cad - a villain who is not worth Esmeralda's affection. The most surprising thing about the book is its massive-downer ending. This may not be a Disney film, but it is one of the most entertaining works of classic literature.
Rating:
Summary: Fabulous French Fiction
Review: Having little knowlegde of The Hunchback of Notre Dame, I failed to realize how drastically different the Disney version was from reality. The story does not focus on a loveable hunchback who finds happiness in the end, rather it is about the cathedral itself. The action and characters all feed off of Notre Dame and represent its values, but they are merely secondary aspects of the book. It is also a violent, depressing, and sometimes even erotic book, none of which of course comes through in a Disney movie. Many things make this book an incredible read. The most obvious is the incredible prose. Hugo was a beautiful writer and his writing flows so smoothly. He also described with incredible detail the Paris of the late 15th century--the city's skyline, its culture, some of the notable people, and the issues of the day. He spent three years researching the book and he turned his noted into an historical epic. Finally, the action and characters of the book are well developed, exciting, and unique while still representing the values and controversies Hugo wanted to explore. I originally picked this book up when I was in the 7th grade and was unable to make it more than 20 pages without giving up in frustration, but having more knowlegde of European history, a greater appreciation for literature, and more patience with a book that admittedly starts slowly, I am very glad I came back to it. I don't think this is a book that a young reader will find interesting--though the story itself is great so an abridged version would keep them reading--but any fan of great literature, beautiful prose, French history, architecture, or Victor Hugo will love this book if they give it a chance and do sit patiently while it revs up for 30-40 pages. I highly recommend it.
Rating:
Summary: A masterpiece of French Romanticism
Review: Having read and studied Russian writers in the 19th century, and being not only amazed at their complexity (particular Dostoyevsky's) in terms of philosophy, plot, and generally forboding prose, reading Hugo was delightful. What he may lack in comparison to some great Russian authors in terms of hard-core atheist philosophy (Ivan Karamazov) and intense psychological study, he makes up for with beautiful prose, decorated with gorgeous similes and haunting images (the novels final image is one that will stay with me forever), and a truly great love story. Not a Hollywood-esque love story, but a true love story, one of dangerous passions, haunting obsessions, irrationality and fatal mistakes. Read this novel then read Les Miserables. Both books manage to create a feeling that no other novel is able to create. Dostoyevsky is a brilliant philosopher and amateur (that is, not officially qualified) psychologist, while Hugo is one of the great humanists and, without a doubt, perhaps the greatest French Romantic. It is no wonder that he was buried in the Pantheon.
As may be obvious, this book bears no resemblance to the Disney story. It is incredibly serious, at times saracastic, harrowingly dark, and poignantly brutal. Take the Disney version and turn it on its head. It is that different.
Read this book. Do not skip a chapter, even when Hugo goes off on one of his historical, literary or any other sort of seemingly un-related discourses. They are crucial, perhaps not to the plot, but to the themes of the novel.
Again, read this book.
Rating:
Summary: Monumental tragedy
Review: 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.
Rating:
Summary: It was completely different that I thought it would be
Review: I really liked this book. Unfortunately, years ago I saw the Disney cartoon and so never felt compelled to read the story. I feel embarrassed to compare the cartoon with this book that has stood the test of time, and will be remembered long after the name Disney is forgotten. But I only do so for those, who like me, may have been put off by the thought of retreading a storyline that you basically know. If you've only seen the movie, you do not know the story. The characters in this story are wonderful. The motivations and emotions that they convey are believable and compelling. Claude Frollo, despite his sinister actions, is my favorite character of the book. His motivations, his sufferings, and his raw emotions captivate. I have found with this book, as I have with so many other classics, that its reputation as a difficult read is overstated. There are only a couple of chapters that grow tedious, but on the whole the book is magnificent and accessible. If you enjoy reading about passionate characters, whose emotions and feelings are confronted by realistic obstacles, then this book is sure to please. I love how these characters wrestle with their emotions and how - as in real life - they are not always able to gain their heart's desire. Wonderful.
Rating:
Summary: Start with the reviews below me. This is a HUZZAH to them!!!
Review: If you DO feel compelled to read my words, then listen here: DO NOT THINK THIS BOOK HAS ANYTHING TO DO WITH THE DISNEY MOVIE.
Disney's movie was more... a piece of original writing that was set in more or less the same place, and ripped off a few of Hugo's character names. No, not even the personalities are kept REMOTELY intact.
All right, maybe Frollo.
But one thing about Disney makes me really wonder who was writing that script... how on EARTH did they make a movie based on this book, and leave out the MAIN CHARACTER?!?!
For all the unenlightened, take heed: Quasimodo, the Hunchback, is not a central character. He doesn't even enter the story until somewhere around page 133, if I recall. Also, he doesn't sing like in the movie. In fact, he doesn't even talk. He's DEAF, my friends.
The main character, if you can name one single individual, is a man Disney neglected to even mention: a poet by the name of Pierre Gringoire. He is primarily responsible for most of the plot-driving actions in the story, or, of not responsible, at least somehow involved in them. He is a writer-turned-gypsy, formerly a student of Frollo, who marries Esmeralda. How do you leave someone like that out of the movie entirely?!?! And that's to say NOTHING about Jehan. Who is Jehan, you ask? Well, I'll tell you. Jehan is Frollo's brother. Surprised? Read the book, you'll understand.
No really, read the book. Don't be scared by the fact that it was written several centuries ago. This is not, absolutely NOT a piece of static, austere Gothic literature. This is FRENCH, my friends. It's full of quirks and twists and as much humor as you could wish for intermingled with the tragedy, the darkness, the mystery.
Be prepared, though: this is a book with multiple plots, all of which ultimately lead into each other by the end. Yes, they're all important. Pleas don't skip the chapters about the woman in the cage with the shoe. You can skip the endless ramble in the middle about the technicalities of the architecture, though. But DON'T SKIP THE SHOE.
Man, this is a good book.
Rating:
Summary: A brilliant and heartbreaking book
Review: This is one of the greatest love stories ever written.
Rating:
Summary: The Book will destroy the Edifice
Review: This is one of those "masterpieces of literature" one always hears about but never gets around to reading (unless forced to in high-school!). Hugo was never required reading in any of my high-school English classes, so finally, after recently visiting Paris and seeing Notre Dame for myself, I felt obliged to read Hugo's novel. Over the course of a few weeks, and some wistfully long rainy days, I became enthralled with Hugo's seemingly eye-witness acccount of 15th century Paris. The most developed character of all is of course, the cathedral, and Hugo devotes whole chapters to its history. Another chapter on the invention of the printing press is fascinating not only for its historical value, but Hugo's comparisons to architecture, the middle-ages, and society. The highly symbolic character of Esmeralda, who takes refuge in Notre Dame's walls, is the "other" protagonist of the novel, and the object of both the repressed Claude Frollo, and the grotesque, Quasimodo. She falls tragically in love with Phoebus de Chateaupers, a typically arrogant and callous soldier who treats her like a prostitute (i.e. Mary Magdalene). The characters of Jehan Frollo (Claude's brother), and the destitute poet Pierre Gringoire, are enjoyable to follow throughout the story, which weaves in and around the streets surrounding the dominating towers of Notre Dame (which all visitors are obliged to climb after reading this beautiful novel for just as beautiful views of Paris). Without giving away the story or ending, I'll just say that despite having known about this story all these years, it held many surprises and interesting scenes for me. Understanding that Hugo is a quintessential 19th Century Romantic, the reader will encounter two different worlds in one here, as Hugo creates a 19th Century gothic romance using exquisite research and detail from the late 15th Century. His general commentaries on architecture and history are worth reading in themselves. Without being overly dry or pedantic, Hugo manages to convey the importance of historical preservation (the popularity of this book was greatly responsible for refurbishing Notre Dame to its present well-being), as well as creating an enthralling, imaginative human story which is accessible to every reader throughout time. Esmeralda & Notre Dame (strangely, not Quasimodo, "the Hunchback") remain the most memorable and haunting characters to me. Overall, Notre Dame is an impressive accomplishment, especially for a story with an edifice as its central character!
Rating:
Summary: The Book will destroy the Edifice
Review: This is one of those "masterpieces of literature" one always hears about but never gets around to reading (unless forced to in high-school!). Hugo was never required reading in any of my high-school English classes, so finally, after recently visiting Paris and seeing Notre Dame for myself, I felt obliged to read Hugo's novel. Over the course of a few weeks, and some wistfully long rainy days, I became enthralled with Hugo's seemingly eye-witness acccount of 15th century Paris. The most developed character of all is of course, the cathedral, and Hugo devotes whole chapters to its history. Another chapter on the invention of the printing press is fascinating not only for its historical value, but Hugo's comparisons to architecture, the middle-ages, and society. The highly symbolic character of Esmeralda, who takes refuge in Notre Dame's walls, is the "other" protagonist of the novel, and the object of both the repressed Claude Frollo, and the grotesque, Quasimodo. She falls tragically in love with Phoebus de Chateaupers, a typically arrogant and callous soldier who treats her like a prostitute (i.e. Mary Magdalene). The characters of Jehan Frollo (Claude's brother), and the destitute poet Pierre Gringoire, are enjoyable to follow throughout the story, which weaves in and around the streets surrounding the dominating towers of Notre Dame (which all visitors are obliged to climb after reading this beautiful novel for just as beautiful views of Paris). Without giving away the story or ending, I'll just say that despite having known about this story all these years, it held many surprises and interesting scenes for me. Understanding that Hugo is a quintessential 19th Century Romantic, the reader will encounter two different worlds in one here, as Hugo creates a 19th Century gothic romance using exquisite research and detail from the late 15th Century. His general commentaries on architecture and history are worth reading in themselves. Without being overly dry or pedantic, Hugo manages to convey the importance of historical preservation (the popularity of this book was greatly responsible for refurbishing Notre Dame to its present well-being), as well as creating an enthralling, imaginative human story which is accessible to every reader throughout time. Esmeralda & Notre Dame (strangely, not Quasimodo, "the Hunchback") remain the most memorable and haunting characters to me. Overall, Notre Dame is an impressive accomplishment, especially for a story with an edifice as its central character!
Rating:
Summary: Beautiful writing, interesting but overrated story
Review: This novel is so well-written that I'm giving it five stars despite the fact that I wasn't greatly impressed with the plot. Hugo's penchant for digressing from the story and thoroughly engaging the reader in various discourses is perhaps the most brilliant aspect of his style. In Notre-Dame the educated layman gets convincing arguments in several subjects: philosophy, religion, science, human temperaments, architecture, justice, and others. On top of all that you get a good deal of humor. Quasimodo's trial before the deaf judge had me rolling on the floor. You may have seen a play or the Disney movie based on this novel. These productions are by necessity abridged down to the bare plot. Unfortunately, the plot is really not what earns this title entry into the annals of the classics. On its own merits, the story is rather absorbing (and tragic) but replete with random coincidences that are often crucial to the progress of the tale but detract from its believability and by extension the likelihood of total immersion. For example, Phoebus's appearance near the end of the chapter "The Little Shoe" is a contrived coincidence. Events like these make the plot itself more suitable for teens than for adults. Thirty-one years later Hugo would use similar plot devices in the otherwise wonderful Les Miserables. There's really not much else to say. Notre-Dame is one of the finest classics ever written. You're surely missing out if you haven't read it!
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