The Hunchback of Notre Dame

by Malvina G. Vogel (Adapter), Victor Hugo

Outcast by society because of his hideous appearance, Quasimodo lives under the protection of Claude Frollo and the cathedral of Notre-Dame. His world revolves around the bells, but once the beautiful gypsy girl, La Esmeralda, enters their lives, things can never return to the way they were before.

Genres: Classics, Fiction, Childrens, Historical Fiction, Chapter Books, Novels, Literature

239 pages, Library Binding

First published January 1, 1994

Reviews

[Megan Zaffini]

This book is the best book and it's one of my favorites. My favorite part is the first scene during the play when they pick the hunchback of Notre Dame to become their king of fools. The whole book was great. I loved when the hunchback saved Emerald Dahlia from her death only to have a few days later they both die. It is sad because Emerald Dahlia was kidnapped and killed by being hanged later when men were going to make a new burial spot, they had to throw all the old bodies away they found the hunchback skeleton holding onto Emerald Dahlia's skeleton the end
- Faye

[Evelyn]

Obviously the original gets 5 stars and is superb in all ways. My review here is more for the Great Illustrated Classics series in general. If you are looking for good children's adaptations of classic works, these are a pretty good place to start. They keep to the original storyline, as much as possible (not all children's adaptations do...in which case, why not let them watch the disney version and be done with it?) They also have a picture on every page (or nearly in some of them) which my younger kids like.
All that said, this series does have a few shortcomings. First, in every single one I've read, there have been horrendous editing mistakes and typos. Second, they do not attempt to keep any of the author's original style or language. These books are simply to introduce the child to the plotline and characters of the original (which does of course have merit, it makes reading the original a lot easier later on when they are already familiar with the story). Also, once in a while you might come upon a character taking the Lord's name in vain, but I just edit this to a 'my goodness' or whatever when I'm reading to my kids, and my older ones obviously know to edit it when they are reading to themselves.
I recommend this series in general, however for some classics there are better children's adaptations available.

[Miriam]

I read this when I was 9 and I was so touched by it that I was crying. I ended up writing a letter to Quasimodo in my journal telling him that if I lived in his time I would be his friend, etc. I then studied the Notre Dame Cathedral for weeks: read books, put together 3D puzzles, etc. It really touched my heart by the sadness of the story and helped me think about how I can make a difference in the lives of people around me by my words and actions.

[Gil K]

Kinda a cheap version. Of course the story is there, and its cleaner- as in I would recommend this version to my siblings. But it doesn't capture it well at all. I read it very quickly and it was duller than it should have been.

[Renee]

This was not like the Disney movie. 10/10 tragic.

[Ryne]

I read the original Hunchback novel (or most of it, anyway) during a family road trip, but I was too young to grasp a lot of it, or remember most of it. As many reviewers have no doubt noted, the Disney film had set up my initial expectations, but those were quickly subverted...especially my main impression, which is that Phoebus is a huge dirtbag. For real.

These are great for introducing kids to the classics, and they might eventually go on to read the real classics for themselves in their fullness!

[Marsyee]

This book made me shed pitiful tears. My heart went out to Quasimodo. He was brave, loving, and kind but was ostracised by society simply for being disabled. From the start, The Hunchback of Notre Dame was filled with colourful happenings and characters. It was simply one of those books that you would devour quickly. Plus the big font, simple language and beautiful illustrations made this book so much easier to digest and be loved.

I remember reading that Victor Hugo wrote this book as a way to save Notre Dame and I think it was greatly written; anyone who has had the privilege to read this book would keep Notre Dame alive too. This would be another addition to my fave classics, no doubt.

[Christy]

Don’t underestimate this series! It’s a great way to get an overview of a classic, and decide whether you want to slog through the original or not. In this case, I decided on “not.” I actually did read the original once, as a teenager, but I didn’t remember much of the plot--only that the book had a terrible ending. (Some of the movie versions have Esmerelda getting off, but it doesn’t happen here.) The quick overview reminded me of all the wretched details, and I left it at that.

[Đinh Anh Phương]

Not until now have I done reading the plot of this famous story (I'm 21 now), and I'm astonished since Disney created a movie for children out of this tragedy.

Moral of the story in my opinion: learn to let go and move on from people you love but do not love you back, or have gone for so long. Just don't spend your life in rage, jealousy and bitterness.

[McKinley Terry]

As far as Illustrated Classics go, this was weaker than most. But also, it was depressing. I’m sure the original is poignant and tragic, but this version was just frustrating.

Owen’s Review: 3/5 milk bottles. I want heroic rescues of damsels in distress because I am Sir Owen the Observant. Instead we get dummy Phoebus.

[Arjun]

This was another book I read while in school. At that time my naive self believed that this was the original book. Now I know that what I read was an illustrated book for children. But I guess this was a good pick considering my age at that time.

[Meahgan]

I've never read the original version by Victor Hugo. I think I will be doing that. This was a good introduction for my 8 year-old.

[Steven Jerris]

This book was a easy read. I really liked it, and I thought It was a good story. It also had a good amount of pages.

[Gina]

Claude Frollo reminds me of those guys online who say they're nice guys but become monstrous when rejected. Phoebus turns out to be a real jerk, too. Also, if you like happy endings, skip this one.

[Shannon Ann Bliesner]

A very well written (although abridged version) story. The characters were well done, however was a sad ending for all, well except for those characters you come to hate.

[asiya | アセヤ (free palestine)]

Like I said before for these books, not really my type, however, it was really good! I think I might read the original.

[Veronica F]

It's a pretty twisted story. I love that Great Illustrated Classics stayed with the real story and not the cute Disney version. My middle schoolers will love this next year.

[Patricia Kaniasty]

Very romantic. Beautiful story. Quick read.

[Leo]

Super interesting and I didn’t know that this was such a big story. It is one of my favorite books now.

[Avery]

This book was a great classic but probably not my favorite. I would still recommend this to people though.

[Greg Hovanesian]

Even as an illustrated book for children, the sheer power of Hugo's work came rampaging through these pages. Amazing.

[presley green]

3.75

[Jaida]

This book is nothing like the movie so don't think if you watched it first you shouldn't read the book

[Jazz_can_read (semi active)]

Slay funny I like when they shriek and rip out they hair and gnash they teeth☝️🤓

[Kane B]

holy shit that was so depressing my god

[Nekochimachan (⁠｡⁠•̀⁠ᴗ⁠-⁠)⁠✧]

Phoebus is a jerk,
Esmeralda is delusional,
Frollo is kinky,
Djali is a trained goat,
And Quasimodo is the unlucky guy.

[Kaitlyn Smith]

Very simplified version of the story, but I don’t mind!

[Maggie]

I liked this book a lot, I was sad when Esmerelda died though. She didn’t die in the movie.

[Shabana Mukhtar]

I know the edition I read is not by Victor Hugo, but I loved it. It also made me think, I am impressed with the adapted version, what's the OG like?

Detailed review to come.

[Marcelaine]

I read Les Miserables and really liked it. I am finding that this book has the same issues as Les Miserables. When he's actually telling the story, it's great and I can't put it down. But then he starts telling about architecture or trivial, boring things, and I just can't seem to pay attention--unfortunately, these parts seem to last for a hundred pages every time. Maybe some people like that, but I'm having a hard time with it. Like I said, I love the book when it gets to the actual story again, but the other stuff is tough to get through. This and Les Miserables are two of the only books where I would recommend choosing the abridged version.

And for some reason I feel like I need to make it clear that I'm reading the unabridged version (actually, listening to the unabridged version on CD in the car), not the great illustrated classics version. If I were reading the GIC version, I would have finished it in a day. I'm just having a hard time finding the actual Hunchback of Notre Dame in the midst of all the Disney books with the same title or words.

Update: Okay, definitely not like the Disney movie. I didn't go into the book expecting that, of course, but they took like three things from the book and made an entirely different story for the Disney version. Phoebus is not the kind and noble character from the movie, that's for sure. What a selfish jerk. Not that I'm that impressed with La Esmeralda's intelligence either. Also, even the story parts are getting tedious. I bet this book would have been better if it were about 300 pages.

Another update: Frollo is lame. La Esmeralda is lame. I wish she would stop saying, "Oh, my Phoebus." Would it be that hard to say, "Look, there's this guy that's been stalking me forever. I don't know who he is, but he's the one who killed Phoebus." I've been rolling my eyes a lot lately as I listen to this book. Granted, the reader on the CD isn't great, but it's largely the text.

Another update: I've given up for a while. Maybe forever. I think I've read enough, except I kind of want to find out how everyone dies.