After having this book on my shelf for many years, I decided to dive straight in. With the help of an audiobook of course. What a tragedy to read for the human condition to think our only value lies in our appearance. Quasimodo is just trying to do his best; Phoebus is a complete, utter dick; Frollo is a disturbed weirdo, and Gringoire... I mean he got his goat so he's happy? I will say, like many classics, it took so long for the story to go anywhere that I was interested in. While I value what Hugo was trying to do, I just wanted the meat and bones of this. The real connections and incidents, not the history lessons. Those connections are what earn this rating. Did I still cry at the ending? You bet your bottom I did. And I don't regret it for one moment.