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Title: The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Classic Fiction) by Victor Hugo, Bill Homewood ISBN: 9-6263400-6-1 Publisher: Naxos Audiobooks Ltd. Pub. Date: 01 September, 1994 Format: Audio CD Volumes: 2 List Price(USD): $15.98 |
Average Customer Rating: 4.52 (71 reviews)
Rating: 5
Summary: Review of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"
Comment: "The Three Musketeers", "Frankenstein", "Around the world in 80 days", all those samples of nineteenth century literature have become true icons of popular culture in our time. Acknowledging that, I decided to read the literary works that originated some of those cultural concepts, in order to better understand their true meaning. That's how I decide to read "The Hunchback of Notre Dame". This little review is based on my impressions on this great piece from Victor Hugo. Since the high quality of "Hunchback" is universally accepted, a text intended to prove that Hugo's work is a good book would be truly pointless. Rather. this review is meant to comment on why it would be interesting for readers going beyond the popular imagery generally surrounding this important piece of literature and actually reading it.
Though I've read an English version of the book, I know the original French title reads just "Notre Dame". That's probably because the focus of the story is not really Quasimodo, the deaf and deformed hunchback in charge of ringing the bells of Notre Dame. The true main character in the book is the cathedral itself. In the story, this edifice is in the center of a series of plots that help to portray medieval Paris.
In fact, one could approach "Hunchback" as a true history treaty, due to extensive descriptions of the medieval city and explanations on medieval culture that the scholar Victor Hugo included on his work.
However, in Hugo's romanticized portrait of a Paris of times gone by, it's possible to list some characters that stand out as true key figures in the drama. Those most outstanding in the book's plot are the aforementioned Quasimodo; Dom Claude Frolo, the taciturn Archdeacon of notre Dame and Quasimodo's foster parent; La Esmeralda, the gypsy girl, who seems to enchant all around her with her charm; Gringoire a foolish and impoverished poet and Captain Phoebus, a selfish and feeble spirited nobleman who holds a position of military officer.
Another misleading notion about "Hunchback" is the belief that it's some sort of gothic version of "Beauty and the Beast", staring the bestial Quasimodo and beautiful La Esmeralda. Quasimodo indeed falls deeply and thoroughly in love with the pretty gypsy, yet, the only feelings her beloved can offer in return are pity, gratitude and tenderness. Despite that, the lady never quite overcomes a deep feeling of disgust towards the bell ringer's hideous figure. Contrary to what many might think, this book is not some mild hearted fable about love and kindness overcoming exterior appearance. In addition to being a historical study about medieval Paris, this piece of literature is an amazing essay on human wickedness. The book is a powerful portrait of several manifestations of evil in the hearts of people. Because of some twists and turns in the story, all those samples of human cruelty portrayed end up being channeled against poor la Esmeralda, causing the complete undoing of she who is the only truly good hearted character in the whole book. Among the examples of how evil can manifest in human's hearts present in the piece's pages, there is the case of Dom Claude who, torn between celibacy and lustful feelings for the gypsy girl, nourishes a love for La Esmertalda stained by mortal hate towards her. There are the towns people who, while charmed at the little gypsy who make dancing performances on the streets to collect some spare change, also despise her for being a vagabond and supposedly a sorceress. There are the officials of law who ruthlessly and mercilessly ensue penalties of torture and deaf under the most improbable accusations. We also see Phoebus, a petty and vulgar man used to taking advantage of women for the sake of his own sexual satisfaction, who, although does not perform any evil toward others, is responsible for the most tragic events just for omitting himself in face of the distress of others. This huge gallery of malefice conspires to bring La Esmeralda her doom, and the only one who comes forth to protect her against such a dark state of affairs is the crippled hunchback Quasimodo. This book conveys a rich yet dark portrait o human psique. Therefore it is truly not advisable to draw from its story a script for some light hearted animated movie for children.
As a final remark, it's important to reinforce that though one might think that is well acquainted with the concept of the popular icon "The Hunchback of Notre Dame", the piece of literature that has given rise to it can prove to be much richer than any preconceived notions we might have about it. The purpose of this tiny review is to provide a very brief idea of what one can expect to find by actually reading this great book.
Rating: 4
Summary: A Book for the Lonely
Comment: I don't know why this is, but classic books are often bound into heavy, dark tomes and printed in the tiniest print with almost no space between the lines. Perhaps the publisher imagines these books will not actually be read anymore, but instead are supposed to serve as fillers for the large shelves in aristocratic libraries and behind lawyers' desks.
Well, for those of us who still like to dust off the classics and read them, TOR's edition of the Hunchback of Notre Dame serves nicely. It's bound in a modern style--small, with an intriguing cover, with easy-on-the-eyes print. And, it's complete and unabridged (accept no substitutions on this point, otherwise you're depriving yourself of the grand vision of the artist). Also, TOR's 458-page mass market paperback is only [$]--when was the last time you got so many hours of entertainment for so little?
The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a dark, desperate novel, filled with mist and moonlight and echoes in the lonely streets of 15th century Paris past midnight. In the main, it tells the intersecting stories of three lonely characters, each aching in their own way. There's Claude Frollo, archdeacon of Josas, who's spent his whole life cloistered in the tight garb of Catholicism. There's La Esmeralda, an enchantingly beautiful gypsy who's searching for her long lost mother. And, of course, there's Quasimodo, the malformed, hunchbacked figure haunting the shadows of the Cathedral of Notre Dame.
Hugo knows how to tell a story--there is plenty of irony, a few good surprises, and some excellent characterization. He paints the dark places of humanity: people struggling to survive, to find hope in the midst of horror, each clinging in some way to a dream that can never be realized.
One drawback of the book is its pacing, which, at times, slows to a crawl. For example, there is a long chapter on the layout of Paris in the 15th Century, which, if you're not a city planner or fastidious historian, can get pretty long and boring. Even Hugo seems to know it becomes boring, because he recaps so often. Also, Hugo often breaks the fourth wall and directly addresses the reader, which can be distracting and anti-dramatic at times. Thirdly, I would have liked to spend some more time with that loveable wretch, Quasimodo. He has a big part in the end, but not much more. But don't let these minor annoyances stop you from reading a great story.
If you have patience, The Hunchback of Notre Dame will rebuild the gothic Notre Dame of stone in words; if you have imagination, it will acquaint you with the adventures of some extraordinary characters; and if you have a heart, you will shed a tear for Claude Frollo, La Esmeralda, and Quasimodo.
Rating: 5
Summary: The Genius of Victor Hugo
Comment: Quasimodo, Esmerelda, Claude Frollo, the "Sack Woman", Gringoire, Captain Phoebus, Djali. What signifies these characters to linger in the reader's concscience long after they have read Victor Hugo's Notre Dame de Paris (or Hunchback of Notre Dame)are their humanitarian qualities that reflects so much raw passion, life, and such exquisite Gothic images within their characteristic interior. Quasimodo, Esmerelda, and Claude Frollo are the most familiar names in this book, as well as in literary culture. And Djali is in fact one of the most famous animal characters in literature. The Notre Dame catherdral, the streets, the people, and the sounds of Medieval Paris also signifies Victor Hugo's genius and utmost respect for describing the Paris of the past to compliment the Paris of today (or at least at his time). How Victor Hugo has carefully and so perfectly arranged so many plots filled with humor, depth, emotion, darkness, redemption, obsession, lost, hate, regret, and love in each character, as well as so magnificently described Paris so fluently with as much detail as possible, is just undeniably spectacular. Like Les Miserables (which to me personally is one of the most definitive epics of human life that i have ever read), Victor Hugo brings out these common, lost, neglected, misunderstood, and strange characters from the dark and expresses their human qualities of love, hate, fate, revenge, and devotion in the light. When i think of the Disney movie version of this classic novel, the more i feel that Disney obviously didn't read or follow the concept of this novel. For kids, sure it makes sense that a theme out of this is that evil falls, and that people will love you no matter how deformed your face looks. But i believe if they really read this book, they would realize that a story like this isn't for children. The story is not nice at the end (it's the most haunting and tragic part of the whole novel). The story isn't about the love of Quasimodo and Esmerelda. The story isn't even about Quasimodo. It's about a mixture of important and random characters that creates a chain of plots and emotions that intertwines with one another to create a whole story where everybody in the novel has had some influence or some importance to the whole story. And that's the problem with a majority of movies based on classic novels like Hunchback, Jane Eyre, etc. Movies take away the poetry and aesthetic quality of the story, while taking away so many minor characters, and plots. And through my observation, it seems to always soften up the original tale instead of bearing the true dark images that the original novels portray (such as A Farewell To Arms,where there was actually more dialogue in the movie than the book itself, and so much more emotion at the end which didn't even happen in the book. If you want to check that out, read the book first, i recommend that as well). To me it's a waste of such a wonderful classic that deserves to be read rather than seen through celluloid. If you saw the laughable and extremely make believe and rewritten version of Disney's Hunchback of Notre Dame, or saw any other movie version, then you definitely must read the book. I believe it will be more worthwhile and more understanding, it will definitely make you laugh, cry, smile, and think, very much.
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