The Man Who Laughs - Classic Gothic Novel by Victor Hugo | Perfect for Literature Lovers & Book Club Discussions

I loved this book back when I read it for a college class assignment in my early twenties and recently re-read it again when I discovered there was a French language movie version being produced for release in 2012.There are synopsis' in the other reviews, so I won't rehash. I loved the layers of the story, the characters, and the masterful way Hugo threw out plot threads that you had no idea were important - until he tied them together (the (long and rambling) list of peers on Ursus' board, the signed confession in the bottle when the Comprachico's ship sinks, all the backstory on Clancharlie, Charles II, Lord David, Queen Anne, and the Duchess Josiana; the workings of Barkilphedro's malicious mind - they all come together in a brilliant and tragic climax.I love the characters of Gwynplaine, Dea, and Ursus, and I love the story. The only drawback I think for modern readers is that this story is very much written in the style of its time. There are HUGE swaths of narrative 'telling', massive backstory infodumps, and Hugo had a tendancy toward excessive and repetitive metaphor - he often goes pages giving us one metaphor after another describing the same emotion or act.But please don't let that put you off, this is one of my favorite books of all time, and I will never forget the way I felt the first time I read it and came to the last page. I remember closing the book and just sitting there with tears running down my face. I can't wait to see the 2012 movie adaptation when it comes out on DVD, please let them have stayed true to the storyline.