Trying to Read "The Hunchback of Notre Dame"

This is the most mis-titled book I have ever come across.

Unlike Frankenstein, which is free for my Kindle, The Hunchback of Notre Dame is a book you have to pay for. Granted, it's just under one dollar, but when money is tight, you do your best to save every penny. That's why I downloaded the PDF version of the book. I should probably make an entire blog entry about the Pros and Cons of having PDF files. This is, for sure, not this entry, this is specifically about the book.

I'll start by saying I'm a reader that's somewhat familiar with older English phrasing, reading it, and enjoying it. This book is not only in older English, it also has many Latin phrases, and historical references. This is not a book about Quasimodo. This is not a book about his life, his times or anything like that. This book is quite literally about the the world of Paris surrounding Notre Dame Cathedral. The French name for this book literally translates to "Our Lady of Notre Dame". I don't know who in their right mind decided that a good English translation of the title would center around one of the characters.

Quasimodo doesn't even show up in the book until 50 pages in. This book spends most of its time telling the reader about the world around Notre Dame, the streets, the buildings, the neighborhoods. It does mention some pivotal characters, but the characters lives haven't been as elaborated on as the steeples and bells.

I'm 200 pages in the book, and I've realized that I have to stop being a cheepie peepee and fork over the buck to buy the Kindle version. When reading this book, I feel like I need two things: a map of Paris, and a direct internet connection to look up the many phrases and historical people that are mentioned. Without them, I'm really not going to get all out of it that I want. I refuse to give up on this book; I love Gothic literature, but I never thought it would be this tough.But, for all the tough parts, there is a beauty in the world that Victor Hugo is painting, and a music to the sentences that just isn't found anymore.

I think, after reading it, I'll write a formal review, instead of just a review of how difficult it is. But I know that it's worth the work.