Review: The Hunchback of Notre-Dame

Book Title : The Hunchback of Notre-Dame
Author : Victor Hugo
Publisher : Gosselin
Date Published :
Genre : Roman


In this novel there’s many characters such as Quasimodo; the bell ringer of Notre-Dame, and he’s a hunchback. Esmeralda is the young beautiful gypsies. Claude Frollo; he’s the priest of the Notre-Dame Cathedral who in love with Esmeralda. Captain Phaebus; he’s the captain of the France archer army. Pierre Gringoire; he’s a poet who fall in love with Esmeralda. Jehan Frollo; he’s Claude young brother, he’s a troublemaker who dependent from his brother with money.
This novel is a Classical Roman Novel. I interested with the language that construct in this novel, so many word that come from Mid-English. This novel translated from French into English. The part that make me interested is when the time people who wants attack comes to Cathedral of Notre-Dame to killed Esmeralda because people thinks Esmeralda is a witch, and Quasimodo guard her until Esmeralda escaped.
For me this novel is rather hard to understand because its language or order of vocabulary. Sometimes I didn’t catch the story very well. I have read many classical novel but they used bahasa such as Atheist, Siti Nurbaya, other books come from 30’s, 45’s, 66’s, 80’s. So, this novel makes me remembered when I was in High School and when I love to read. Overall this novel was a great
This novel teaches us that love can make everyone blinded, just like a proverb said “love is blind”. People who fall in love sometimes do the things irrationally. This novel tells us that we cannot point out someone in order from the cover, but we must point out someone with its heart.
The author has done to attract the reader. The story flows fluently in the systematic form or we can say the author used the forward plot. He used the French classical situation as background that makes this novel colorful. I just noted once when the time the attack of Cathedral is over; Quasimodo has gone elsewhere. I think the author must make a great ending such as Quasimodo killed when the time he protect Esmeralda for last time before Esmeralda escaped. So this situation make a better ending, the sad ending.