2025 Reading Challenge discussion

Tell us what you thought of the book! You can leave your review here. Even if you read the book outside of the group, please feel free to let us know what you thought of it.

Please make sure to mark your spoilers by typing [spoiler] at the start and [/spoiler] at the end but replacing the [] with <>.

(view spoiler)[At times I loved it (the bells, Quasimodo being all heroic) and at times I hated it (looking at you Frollo and Phoebus). I had decided it was a 4ish star book right up until the ending, where everything sucked and nobody was happy (and seriously, what the heck was up with the Pierre and the goat???). (hide spoiler)]

Well I read this a month late but I'll put my thoughts here anyway...

As with Les Mis, Hugo could use a really good editor and get this down to where it's just the story and not long forays into architecture and politics. The story was really good and incredibly depressing. Some things, down to the dancing goat, were actually fairly accurate in the Disney movie. Though the Disney movie doesn't go into quite as much horrendous detail of what actually happens...

(view spoiler)[The recluse lady was the saddest part for me. Her daughter was kidnapped by Egyptians (Gypsies I assume?) and she carries around her little shoe. Turns out her daughter is Esmerelda and she has the other little shoe. They are reunited right before Esmerelda is hanged for attacking Phoebus, even though she didn't. Frollo did. Quasimodo kills Frollo and then goes and dies next to dead Esmerelda in her tomb and his bones turn to dust when they tough him.

Basically powerful men think everything they want is for the taking, women included, and the women end up suffering for it. A story that transcends time and fiction. (hide spoiler)]