Like many, my only exposure to the Hunchback has been through TV caricatures and the Disney bastardization. Forever distrustful of the Mouse Ears, I didn’t know what to expect reading the real deal. Hugo is an awesome storyteller. While perhaps he could be guilty of rambling on at several points, his descriptions of 15th century Paris are vivid. His writing is very intriguing, he always struck my curiosity. I found myself empathizing with the …showed first 75 words of 452 total…

…showed last 75 words of 452 total…Esmeralda. An unwanted child found, Quasimodo. A true King that is not a King, a beggar King who is truly a King; a lustful priest who would give up everything to have her; a husband made into a brother who would only take from her; a lover who could have her but doesn’t want her and a mother who does not have her but desperately wants her. Oh and a dancing goat. Pure genius.