The Hunchback of Notre-Dame by Victor Hugo | 1831 | Wordsworth Editions | Paperback $ 6.99
One of the first great novels of the Romantic era, Victor Hugo’s The Hunchback of Notre Dame has thrilled generations of readers with its powerfully melodramatic story of Quasimodo, the deformed hunchback who lives in the bell tower of medieval Paris’s most famous cathedral.
Feared and hated by all, Quasimodo is looked after by Dom Claude Frollo, a stern, cold priest who ignores the poor hunchback in the face of his frequent public torture. But someone steps forward to help — the beautiful gypsy Esmeralda, whose single act of kindness fills Quasimodo with love. Can the hunchback save the lovely gypsy from Frollo’s evil plan, or will they all perish in the shadows of Notre Dame?
I’m a little embarrassed to admit that I’ve had a paperback copy of this book on my shelves since high school, but have never managed to finish reading it. Based on the dog-eared pages, I’ve only ever gotten about a quarter of the way through at most. I was determined to get through the whole dang thing this time.
I will also admit that this book was still a little bit of a struggle for me. I can’t help but feel that I ought to have enjoyed it more than I actually did, mainly because of its focus on and wonderful descriptions of Medieval Paris. Hugo’s writing is truly immersive, inviting the reader to fully experience a bygone time and place.
The author actually produced this book partly as an effort to advocate for preserving the historical architecture of the city, particularly the titular Notre Dame de Paris. The cathedral itself is essentially a kind of perpetually-present background character in the story, a silent witness to the events of the plot but also to the changes of the city around and including it. This perspective is, to me, all the more poignant after the massive structural fire that caused extensive damage to this historical building a few years ago, which is still being repaired. The French version of the title of this book leaves out all mention of the hunchback (Quasimodo), in fact; he is a main character, but not really THE main character, if that makes sense.
Alas, I struggled. Hugo’s emphasis on the lovingly crafted, super detailed descriptions of the city and its culture seems to outweigh any concern for plot or character development. If I wanted to read a nonfiction history book about Paris, I would have picked up a nonfiction history book about Paris! Please try to concentrate just a little bit on the STORY, sir.
Perhaps that isn’t entirely fair. In retrospect, I do think that some of the characters are either fascinating or kinda funny. Claude Frollo in particular is a deliciously developed villain. (For all the massive modifications made to this story for the animated film by Disney, I actually think that version of this character is beautifully spot-on.) But that level of interest, to me, really only applies to the antagonists and a couple of side characters. The two main protagonists, Esmeralda and Quasimodo, are just sorta slightly pathetic but mostly two-dimensional vessels for the violence of the plotline.
In the end, I’m glad that I FINALLY finished reading this one, but it’s probably not a title I’ll ever want to revisit.
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Publication information: Hugo, Victor. The hunchback of Notre-Dame. Hertford, UK: Wordsworth Editions, 1998. Print.
Source: Personal library.
Disclaimer: I am not compensated, monetarily or otherwise, for reviews of books or other products.
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