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The Hunchback of Notre Dame
- Narrated by: George Guidall
- Length: 22 hrs and 15 mins
- Categories: Literature & Fiction, Classics
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Editor reviews
Victor Hugo's The Hunchback of Notre Dame tells the sad-yet-hopeful story of Quasimodo who loved kind Esmeralda to death. This classic example of French gothic literature has inspired numerous adaptations because of its enchanting story and beloved characters. George Guidall gives a performance deserving of Hugo's masterpiece. He effortlessly handles characters' French accents and engages the listener's imagination with well-placed pauses. This audiobook is a cathartic meditation on love and loyalty, enjoyable for every moment of its 22 hours.
Summary
Translated by Catherine Liu.
What listeners say about The Hunchback of Notre Dame
Reviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Tad Davis
- 02-09-13
Overwhelmingly sad
George Guidall is the perfect choice to narrate this sad tale: he brings a gravity to the story that adds to the pathos but does not drag down the narrative.
If you're not familiar with the story, or know it only from the sanitized film versions, be forewarned: there is little here but heartbreak. Quasimodo's fate is more closely tied to Esmeralda's than you might imagine, and Phoebus and Pierre Gringoire are both unmitigated scoundrels. The famous attack on Notre Dame, beaten back by Quasimodo, is not a heroic action but the result of a tragic misunderstanding. It's not a kid's story, maybe not even one for sensitive adolescents.
The novel has some weaknesses. I've read it several times, and I still get annoyed by the long essay on Paris architecture that Hugo drops into the middle of the story. I know his digressions have fans, but I'm not one of them. If the audiobook were organized by chapters, I would suggest skipping over these, especially if this is your first time reading it; but unfortunately it's organized by CD.
All that aside, though - the digressions, the overwhelming sadness of the story - it really is a masterpiece, and in Guidall's hands it retains both its pace and its power. A drop of water and a little pity, says Quasimodo. That's what it was all about.
34 people found this helpful
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Overall

- P. Carson
- 05-03-05
Tragic endings in Paris of 1482
The story of the hunchback is not as well known as that of Les Miserables. There are fewer movies and no Broadway play. The Hunchback of Notre Dame is facinating and horrifying and tragic. I felt immersed in Victor Hugo's Paris of 1482, with its gallows at every crossroads and its levels of local justice. I wept at the end and even felt pity for the evil Arch Deacon. The narrator is excellent although the sound quality, converted from type 1 to type 2, is marginal. The recording should be restored/reconverted properly.
21 people found this helpful
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- IPEVOINC
- 24-05-13
Mistake in Publisher's Summary section
This audio book is based on book of "The Hunchback of Notre Dame (Dover Thrift Editions)" translated by A. L. Alger, not by Catherine Liu.
Amazon link as follow
http://www.amazon.com/Hunchback-Notre-Thrift-Editions-ebook/dp/B007X0TZ0G/ref=tmm_kin_title_0?ie=UTF8&qid=1369418082&sr=1-3
7 people found this helpful
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Overall

- Elana
- 25-10-05
Good book, bad quality
While this is a great book the sound quality makes it really difficult to listen to in the car! I find myself cranking up the volume all the way and still having a hard time hearing it.
11 people found this helpful
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Overall

- Emily G.
- 07-11-06
Amazing
The reader does a wonderful job- accents and pronounciations are superb. The story is fascinating, though I see why Disney wanted to rewrite the tragic ending. A bit of the description of Paris is rambling, without a map to help envision the locational references the author makes. Sound quality could be better, but it's not bad. A must read classic- highly recommended.
7 people found this helpful
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- Philip O'Neill
- 19-04-19
Guidall is excellent
I wasn’t a great fan of the story. Even if you’ve only seen the Disney iteration, you have an idea of what you’re in for.
Guidall is a fantastic narrator. He handles the voices and languages with superb skill.
The con: my major complaint with this recording is that at times the audio becomes muffled as though the narrator was at times distant from the mic. I only noticed this in the last few chapters, but it is bothersome.
1 person found this helpful
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- Keri L Burns-Booth
- 13-11-17
Beautiful classic
Full disclosure I am a huge fan of the classics. This book provides a wonderful visual description of France 1500s so beautifully written that you feel as though you are there. The narrator’s voice is silky smooth and almost meditating. Will listen to more than once. Audible 20 review sweepstakes entry
1 person found this helpful
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- Matt
- 22-04-17
Masterpiece
What made the experience of listening to The Hunchback of Notre Dame the most enjoyable?
His pronunciations are perfect! Even so perfect that I can understand him, and I'm very terrible with French after trying to learn it twice.
Any additional comments?
One of my absolute favorite stories that Disney ever did - so after finding out it was a book, I rushed to find it. Finally I can listen to it, too! However, I gave it a overall of 4 because of the fact that some of what is read seems to run together from story to... what's the word? authors notes? That's what it sounds like. I've never been able to actually find a hardcopy of it.
But despite that, it's a damn near perfect book. Finished it in one day
1 person found this helpful
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- Andrew Michael Schwarz
- 26-05-16
just amazing
Get past the first 5 or so hours and you wont be able to put it down. The Hunchback of Notre Dame is all that it should be. Tragic love, gothic beauty and horror and the straddling of the knife's edge between dichotomies that Victor Hugo is so well known for.
1 person found this helpful
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- Roxanne
- 27-05-09
Great story
Great story. Author evokes the setting and times very well. Lots of intrigue and suspense. Entertaining. Good reader.
2 people found this helpful