Part II: Book I: The Everlasting Presence of the Past

Part II: Book I; Chapter 1: Lord Clancharlie
Part II: Book I; Chapter 2: Lord David Dirry-Moir
Part II: Book I; Chapter 3: The Duchess Josiana
Part II: Book I; Chapter 4: The Leader of Fashion
Part II: Book I; Chapter 5: Queen Anne

We’re doing something a little different, instead of me going by chapters I’m just going to do it all at once. Why? Well for one thing one these chapter are broken into four parts making them too long and second I’m not sure about these chapters. They have some mild interest like the history and Josiana was amusing but I scarily recall anything work talking about.

I will say some parts remind me of Hunchback, like Josiana being a prude and proud. Though she is not all that much like Esmeralda. Though what REALLY stood out that was like “Hello, I’m Victor Hugo and I wrote Hunchback” were Josiana’s fiancee, Lord David, belonging to a club where they discuss ugly men, oh if only they could have seen Quasimodo. He also belongs to teh Hell-fire club, (snickers). But what really caused he to stop was in the Queen Anne chapter when it said and I quote;

She rather liked fun, teasing, and practical jokes. Could she have made Apollo a hunchback, it would have delighted her.”

Just in case you didn’t know Phoebus is another way to say Apollo. Anyway I hope these chapter add to the plot because true be told I would rather read about Lady Josiana and he court pals and shenanigans that starving freezing child who don’t have names and certainly over descriptions of the ocean. If I wanted to read about the ocean I will read Oceans (Ecosystems (Facts on File)) or I will continue reading Your Inner Fish
which is more about evolution but specific about ocean  are mentioned albeit  frozen ones but it’s very interesting.

Book 3: The Child in the Shadow

Book 3, Chapter 4, Another Form of Desert

Ten-Year-old-Nameless-Boy and Little Girl turn out to be in Weymouth. He is still cold and hungry and can’t find any help. He considers just giving up and dying but he keeps going for the little one. That’s it, next chapter. Side note I read this chapter when I was VERY sleepy and when I had to remember what chapter I was one I thought this was two and giving Hugo’s wordiness I can believe that this could have been. Geez was Hunchback this wordy, i don’t think so. I mean by Book three think we were getting into the big essays and plot had happened.

Book 3, Chapter 5, Misanthropy plays its Pranks

FUCKING FINALLY! Something! Ten-Year-old-Nameless-Boy meets Ursus and Homo. Ursus gives them his food and grips about it, they kids go to sleep and that is pretty much it and it was a long chapter to boot. Geez this book.

Book 3, Chapter 6, The Awaking

So Ursus, Homo, Ten-Year-old-Nameless-Boy and Little Girl are going to be a family, so many yays. Oh and the girl is blind.

And on to Part II Book 1, oh come on. Nothing really happened in Part I really like four plot point and the say Part II what difference does it make to say Book 4? Oh well. I’m gonna finish this book and You’re going to finish it with me.

Book 3: The Child in the Shadow

We did it, cheers to Book 3, here’s hoping it’s better that Book Ocean is Scary Three. Also the title of this book reminds of the title of Hedgehog in the Fog, but that is just me. Highfives if you know that animation short (click here to watch)

Book 3, Chapter 1, Chesil

Chesil is a beach in Dorset, England. So we are back with our old/young pal, Ten-Year-old-Nameless-Boy. Basically this chapter tells us that our pal is stilling walking and it’s cold and snowy. He then sees smokes and head toward. At the end he finds the foot prints of a woman going in the direction of the smoke.

Book 3, Chapter 2,The Effect of Snow

Ten-Year-old-Nameless-Boy finds a friend, still no dialogue. In this chapter he finds his second corpse of the evening, a woman, the poor woman has a child with her, a little girl that the book says is about five or six but uses the word infant. Anyway this was a more interesting chapter.

Book 3, Chapter 3. A Burden Makes a Rough Road Rougher

Ten-Year-old-Nameless-Boy walk holding the little girl. We learn that it has been FOUR hours since Ten-Year-old-Nameless-Boy was left behind, and yet Hugo’s endless descriptions of the sea made it seem like it was so much longer. Anyway, he struggles more carrying the girl but he reaches a town however when he knocks on door no one answers.

Remember, Read The Man Who Laughs along with me and find the joy in Hugo’s very long descriptions about ocean waves, can’t seem to left this go.

Book 2: The Hooker At Sea

I gotta learn Roman Numerals……….if there isn’t a Final Fantasy number to it, I don’t know it and even then.

Book 2, Chapter 14; Ortach

Ok, I was kind of wrong with my guess of this chapter. Yes, Hugo explains the floating rock but no he doesn’t bog this chapter down with useless descriptions, he fills with useful ones. The crew of Maututina, our hooker, are being threatened by the rock but they managed to get away again, yay.

I will say this chapter uses some familiar Hugo-ism, like the word wretches and liking someone that is being led to the scaffolds.

Book 2, Chapter 15; Portentosum Mare

More storm, more scary rocks, more rough seas and then storm done and the people are safe. I skimmed this chapter, I confess.

Book 2, Chapter 16; The Problem Suddenly Works in Silence

The Storm ends, finally. I would make a House Baratheon reference here because their castle is called Storm’s end but the mention that I would mention it is enough.

Basically the chapter just explains that the storm is over until the end where they discover dun-dun-dun, a leak.

Book 2, Chapter 17; The Last Resource

In this chapter it is revealed that our new friends are fucked. I would feel more for them if you know we had ever learned their names. Well we learned one person name, the dude from southern Basque which is Ave Maria. And in the last chapter we learned the northern Basque guy is named Galdeazun. Though I remember them at all.

Book 2, Chapter 18; The Highest Resource

In this chapter we learn rest of the people names, like the doctor-Frollo-guy is named Gerbardus Geestemunde. Basically in this chapter he says that they being judged by the child they left behind, remember Ten-Year-old-Nameless-Boy, and they paying for the crime of perhaps leaving him to die in the night. I’m glad he is self-aware.

But isn’t that the problem? They left the kid which makes us not like them so I don’t care that they are dying now. We really only get to know the Doctor but with all the sea descriptions in this part of the book I don’t care anything for these people so it’s whatever if they live or die.

That ends Book 2, we did it my friends! And Book 3 only has six chapters, Hooray!

Book 2: The Hooker At Sea

Yup still snowing, though to be honest I’m writing this post on the same day as the last Man who Laughs post. High-Five for scheduling posts. (Though it probably is also snowing today.)

Book 2, Chapter 5; Hardquanonne

Ok, so Hardquanonne is the Doctor’s name or at least how he is credited which probably is a spoiler. More sea talk and a discussion about a gourd. The gourd belong to Hardquanonne and he was a friend of the cook. That’s all I got, Moving on.

Book 2, Chapter 6; They Think that Help is at Hand

If you said this chapter was more about the storm on the sea, you’d be right because it is. Seriously, book come on. Maybe storms on the sea was more exciting in 1869 but we’re are like at 15% with this book and it’s been like six chapters and prior to that the storm was starting and there is still more.

Book 2, Chapter 7; Superhuman Horrors

If like Hugo is just stalling. Was he payed by the word. Really, I got nothing. I mean this chapter was kind of fun to read fucks if it know what the point of it is. It’s a dark night, they’re at sea, there is storm, I’m not sure where that plot went, do you? I really hope this is adding to something because getting annoyed.

I should just say, I have never been much of a reader so pardon my ineptitude.

Book 2, Chapter 8; Nix et Nox

AGIAN, like the chapter before MORE on the storm at sea. I suppose in fairness to the book the Storm has mounted over the chapter to this chapter where it is the strongest and the people on the book think they are free and at the end they hear a bell. But 8 odd chapters of Sea and Storm imaginary is too much.

Ten more chapters in Book 2, I was wrong there are 17 chapters in Book 2 and not 12 but in my defense; Roman Numerals and Laziness.

Book 2: The Hooker At Sea

I know it’s a boat but I have to giggle at that title. And I’m REALLY starting to doubt my ability to blog about this book.

Book 2, Chapter 1; Superhuman Laws

So if you wanted to learn about the people on the boat and the group who abandoned our pal, ten year old nameless boy, well rejoice because you kind of get that but mostly these chapters are about the snow storm approaching, and living in New England I’m sick of Snow, in fact it’s snowing now as I’m writing this blog post and it more than likely will still be snowing when this gets posted.

Anyway I digress. This chapter is about the storm on the sea. That’s pretty much it. It’s getting redundant to talk about Hugo’s descriptions. If nothing else this gave me good night-time reading fodder, and that joke is getting redundant too.

Book 2, Chapter 2; Our First Rough Sketches Filled In

The title of this chapter is true. We learn something about the rag-tag team of people on this hooker, (giggles………phrasing). Mostly it’s not that super interesting until we get to the German dude and then it’s like “Oh, Hello Frollo fancy seeing you in this book.”
Hugo uses almost exactly the same description for this guy as he uses for Frollo. Like Baldness forming a tonsure. Also words associated with Frollo are flung in there, like Virgin and Cassock and dude isn’t a priest.

You can read the chapter here; http://www.online-literature.com/victor_hugo/man-who-laughs/19/ it’s at the very end.

Book 2, Chapter 3; Troubled Men on the Trouble Sea

Oh, what is this? Could it be the mythical and legendary Dialogue? I heard about it once in a book that was all descriptions. Seriously though finally someone says something and it not that interesting and it’s in Spanish.

The skipper chats with the Chief of the group who abandoned Ten Year Old Nameless Boy about the the old German Frollo-esque dude, who is called both The Sage and the Madman, of course he is.

Book 2, Chapter 4; A Cloud Different from the Others Enters the Scene

Well if a Cloud enters the scene you know what that means? PARTY-TIME! Probably not.

Here we get a conversation between the Skipper and the German guy. The Old German guy is concerned about the weather which means his dialogue is descriptions. Oh, you clever author. But we do get more actual conversation, The Old German guy prefers to be called The Doctor. The conversation isn’t that reveling, it’s still mostly about the sea and the weather.

I’m sensing a theme to Book II……

WordPress › Error

There has been a critical error on this website.

Learn more about troubleshooting WordPress.