Hugo's commentary on the death penalty

books:


	• The Hunchback of Notre-Dame (Signet Classics) Victor Hugo Signet Classics, 2001 - 512 pages average customer review:based on 84 reviews view larger image
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highly recommended

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Short and ugly ain't no fun. Either is being a witch.

If you aren't interested in fifteenth century Paris, France, and a considerable amount of detail about the odd large building there, don't read this book, you will find it somewhat on the tedious side.

The interesting part of course is that you know something nasty is coming between the accused girl, the authority figure that wants to do her over, the dumb pretty boy, and the smarter would-be saviour Quasimodo.

A Delightful Read

This delightful novel has rekindled my desire to read or re-read the classics. I picked it up for no particular reason other than I had never read Hugo. I didn't expect much: My experience with the classics in high school and college was that they are dull and not worthy of modern reading. But, to my pleasant surprise, I discovered a fascinating book that is rich in wonderful characters and vivid descriptions of 13th century Paris. This is a very good book and it's easy to see why it has stood the test of time.

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A Great Book for Kids

If you are the kind of person who likes scary-romantic stories, you're the person who'd probably like this book! I suggest you try it out. There are a few sad parts in this book, although it is a very good story.
- 8yr old homeschool student, California

Hugo's commentary on the death penalty

This novel was written as an argument against the death penalty. The victim was a young, naive innocent girl caught at the wrong place at the wrong time. She was falsely charged by an overzealous prosecutor, then condemned to death for a crime that didn't even take place!

After being rescued by Quasimoto and hiding from the crowds, the King, thinking the mob wanted her hanged, ordered her death, with no knowledge or even any interest in her situation. Thus, she was murdered.

I never previously paid much attention to the debates charging that the death penalty should be abolished, nor did I understand the reasons. I must say, however, that as hard as it was for me to read this book, (I'm not experienced at reading the classics) it changed my mind and made me see the problems with the death penalty.

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Notre Dame de Paris -- C'est perfect!

After a recent trip to Paris with my son on a business trip, I decided it was crazy that I had been to Paris and inside Notre Dame so often yet had not read this classic novel. As someone who loves modern Paris, this book captivated me with its vivid portrayal of life in medieval Paris. What a far cry from Baron Hausman's modern Paris -- a Paris with teeming with squalor, poverty, vagabonds -- and the King's Court. Hugo paints wonderful portraits of the main characters -- the hunchback bellringer of Notre Dame, Quasimodo; the tormented archdeacon, Claude Frollo; the exotically beautiful gypsy, Esmeralda.

All of these characters and the city of Paris come to life in a way that transports one back 650 years. My only criticisms of the book are the couple of chapters that painstakingly outline the street detail of Paris and the layout of Notre Dame. For me, these interrupted the flow of the story, the development of the characters and left me quite bored. As soon as Hugo got back into the core story and plot, I was re-captivated.

I do wish that the original French title was preserved -- Notre Dame de Paris -- rather than the English "Hunchback of Notre Dame". While Quasimodo is certainly a core character, the book is a story about medieval Paris, the daily life of the city, the ordinary citizens of the growing city,the privileged class and themes of love, passion, death and honor. For someone misled by the title, this book is far richer, deeper and more complex than just the story of a deformed bell-ringer of Notre Dame in spite of the images that are etched in most people's minds, a great many who haven't read the book.

This is truly one of those novels that deserves its rightful place in the pantheon of literature classics.

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reviews: page 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10

This extraordinary historical novel, set in Medieval Paris under the twin towers of its greatest structure and supreme symbol, the cathedral of Notre-Dame, is the haunting drama of Quasimodo, the hunchback; Esmeralda, the gypsy dancer; and Claude Frollo, the priest tortured by the specter of his own damnation. Shaped by a profound sense of tragic irony, it is a work that gives full play to Victor Hugo's brilliant historical imagination and his remarkable powers of description.

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