Group Read, March 2014: The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

Many of us loved Hugo's "Les Mis" as a Group Read in 2013. How will his The Hunchback of Notre-Dame measure up? Read on....

I've read about 20 pages and already we've had an insane digression about how if Henri IV had not been assassinated in 1610, there would have been no burning of the Palais de Justice in 1618 to destroy the records, and then the building would still be standing now in 1830, and then I Victor Hugo would not have to describe to you how it looked in 1482.
I mean, I love French history as much as the next guy, and the Medici Cycle happens to be the topic of a lecture I am giving this week (including Henri's assassination), but really it just made me laugh! And took me back to the pages and pages on Parisian sewers in Les Miserables.

Is anybody else reading this book? I didn't even vote for it!
So, I'm about 1/4 through. I am a little surprised that the book seems still to be so well-loved, judging at least by the reviews on Amazon and here. It's very very slow and doesn't have the immediate political fervor that Les Miserables had, that sense of an argument about injustice which you got right from the beginning there. This one has an argument about... architecture. In French the title of this one is Notre Dame de Paris and in some way the cathedral is clearly the center of Hugo's drama -- the cathedral and, again, the city whose history it views and embodies. But even for me, an art historian, the long detailed descriptions (and rants against restoration and renewal) get a little wearisome. I also have yet to be captivated by the characters.

I have got it lined up and ready to go. I will start at the weekend, it's been really hectic with me.

I read this gem a year or so ago and yes the long detailed descriptions is a bit tiresome but over all I loved the book so it is so worth it.

I'd agree. When the story starts happening, it's very much worth it.

I'm reading it. I'm about 8% in (I think?) and have actually found it pretty easy to read after the first few pages. But I may have had my attention captured by the political descriptions so far because it's all about the Flemish ambassadors and people from Ghent, where I was just recently living.

#7, that's cool! I can see how it would grab you then. And for French people, or those who live in Paris, it must be fascinating. If you know modern Paris like the back of your hand, it would be intriguing to try to imagine the medieval city Hugo so carefully maps out as underlying it. But I'm just not there with Paris. I could do Antwerp...

>8 annamorphic: Yeah, I felt lucky because otherwise I'm pretty sure I would have been skimming. Like I will be for the mapping out of Paris. ;) We'll see; I'm only on the chapter where Esmeralda is introduced, so I'm barely getting started.

I did the Group Read on Les Miserables and it's very interesting to read another, much earlier work by Hugo now. Certain character types really mean a lot to him, in particular the Man with an Obsession who is driven to destroy that which is good. And Esmerelda is the germ of Fantine, the beautiful innocent who falls in love with the feckless but handsome young man. But in Notre Dame de Paris the characters are much flatter, or almost archetypes instead of characters.

One thing that really bugs me here is the Captain. His whole character, including his handsome uniform that smites the hearts of fair damsels... it's all from the 19th century. Nothing like him existed in the 15th century. It's funny because although Hugo is so incredibly careful about how the physical aspect of Paris has changed, to him the army is an immutable institution in its Napoleonic form.

I have been slowly working through this, but haven't had much time to post.

I've just over half way through now. It really does feel a bit like Les Miserable's younger brother doesn't it?

I definitely had to trudge my way through the description of Paris from the top of the tower...I just had no frame of reference and found my brain switching off! However, in typical Hugo fashion once he started describing the bells at the end of that book it just came to life! I loved it. His scene setting is brilliant.

It's definitely picking up now though, all the pieces are on the board now and I'm excited to see how Hugo is going to play them.

I finished my re-read of this today.... decided to participate in the group read because I thought it would be interesting to see whether I still liked the book as much after reading Les Miserables. I did, though as others have said, I felt at times I was reading a lighter "Les Miserables."

I still find Hugo's digressions somewhat jarring --especially the King of France portion-- but otherwise I find I really enjoy the oddball cast of characters he manages to come up with for his novels.

Yes, the King of France's neuroses interrupting the climax of this book was just insane!
I am almost done. Glad to have read it as a kind of cultural touchstone, in there between the Gothic novel and the modern one. Interesting.

I had forgotten about his asides, I am two books in - trying to read a book a day. I now read the notes at the back of the book before reading a chapter, that way I am not constantly interrupting my reading.

I'm about half way in now. I am really enjoying Hugo's writing - he builds up the back stories impressively, and gives depth to the key players through this. The asides help build the stage for the drama, but at half way to the end I'm still waiting for the drama to get underway - like having an overture that lasts as long as the opera.

I finished this today and thoroughly enjoyed it. The central story is very operatic - exaggerated characters, doomed love, tragic reunions, revenge..., and there are few writers who can match Hugo for setting a scene. Hugos' signature asides slow the pace at the start, but second half is story-telling at its best. 4.5/5

Just finished Book 7, the pace has picked up and I am really enjoying it. Exaggerated characters - precisely!

It really picked up, read the last 100 pages in a oner! So much going on in one book.

I've been reading this for over a month now and still there are 20% left...
This is my 3rd or 4th try to read it, and this time I am determined to finish it. I can't say I dislike it, I just have to force myself to pick it up because the story doesn't capture me at all. I loved reading the individual character descriptions, but their interaction somehow doesn't interest me much. Maybe because no-one is likeable enough that I'd care for their fate.

Anyone else wondering about the goat? Why is it forever mentioned how cute she is and how can Gringoire miss her more than Esmeralda?

#19. The trial of the goat put me in mind of the British comedy Blackadder where a horse eventually produces a signed confession to the court that his master is the Prince of Darkness! As someone else stated the characters in this lend themselves to a cartoon adaptation, and every cartoon needs a cute animal.

#20: Cartoon adaptation... well, it's not exactly cartoon, but I found out last weekend that I own the Disney version on VHS, clearly a present, still in plastic. Wondering what they did with the goat. And with the ending.... this isn't exactly Disney material.
(Okay, the original Pinocchio hasn't anything to do with the Disney movie either, but at least it has a happy ending. )

Finally finished this book. I rated it with 3 stars, but didn't like it much, especially in comparison with Les Miserables.

I know I'm very far behind schedule, but I'm finally going to begin this book on audio - tomorrow. I only skimmed the comments above in order to avoid spoilers (I'm only slightly familiar with this story and have never read the book), but I'm hoping that having an audio version will make the long-winded, detailed descriptions easier to get past.

#22, I listened to it on audio too, it was pretty good. But for some reason my audio version was missing a totally crucial chapter, "This Will Destroy That." Because I was following along in the print version I caught this problem and just read it. It's not crucial to the plot but it's important to Hugo's whole philosophy about the Middle Ages -- had a big impact on French scholarship about that period, in fact.

#23 What audio version did you have? I don't have a print version to follow along with. Mine is by Recorded Books, read by George Guidall.

Apparently that was one of two chapters that got lost before the book was published, so the first edition did not have them. Since Hugo intended for them to be in the book, when they were later found, he had them included in the next edition.

That's pretty interesting - I'll be curious if my book includes them or not.

#24, I think mine was Naxos Audiobooks, anyway not the one you have. I cannot imagine that chapter getting "lost!" It's like the central statement of Hugo's philosophy of history.

#27 Oh, I finished that chapter just today! I'm so glad I've got an audio version of the book - I don't think I'd have made it through in print. He does ramble on and on, doesn't he? I found myself sort of tuning him out and thinking about other things while the book was playing. However, I thought his summing up about how, due to the power of the press, the messages contained in the great historical architectures is reduced to mere art, was pretty interesting. It sure doesn't add anything to the "story", but since the book seems to have been intended primarily as a treatise on the preservation of medieval architectural treasures, I guess this really has to be considered an important chapter.