When I was a teenager, I once stayed up all night reading a novel called The Albatross. The story opens with a sailboat sinking and the few survivors having to face the immediate challenge of survival on their little lifeboat. I was riveted.
When someone, today, asks me if I’ve read a certain book, my answer is, pretty often, "Well... I started it." Other times, the first part of a book will drag a little for me, until suddenly, I'm into it! I get over the hump and it's all downhill enjoyment from there.
The Hunchback of Notre Dame is likely the most complex and difficult book most of the students have read. And, were I their age, I might not have the patience to get through the first 70 pages on my own. By the time Hugo has finished describing the Palace of Justice in chapter one, the sailboat in the The Albatross has already sunk and the survivors probably attacked by sharks.
Through the first 70 pages our novel, we waded through exposition. And though the characters are fascinating and the settings evocative, the main story-line isn't developed much--a pretty big hump! In fact, the one hint of action, so far, fills about two pages—the attempted kidnapping of Esmeralda by Quasimodo, and the subsequent rescue by Captain Phoebus.
Today, however, at the end of class, I heard an enthusiastic chorus of students shouting: "I LOVE this book!" And, the interesting thing is, last night's reading... was more exposition.
There wasn't anything particularly suspenseful or which advanced the plot. The chapter we read described a seemingly new character's back-story. So, what was it that got the students hooked?
We were introduced to Pacquette Chantefleurie, but as many students discovered on their own, or figured out during class, she isn’t as unknown to us as she’s made out to be. Picking up from the clues in the chapter, and connecting those to what they knew of the other characters, they started seeing links:
The horrible creature left in the crib belonging to Paquette's stolen baby daughter was, they figured out, Quasimodo.
“She’s the recluse in Roland tower who hates Esmeralda!” one student observed enthusiastically, referring to a character briefly introduced 40 pages earlier.
And, in their excitement at seeing the story's threads come together, the students started sharing their hypotheses for more potential connections. "Pacquette is Esmeralda's mother!" suggested Cal excitedly.
As the students started preparing for the next class, I heard one sentence repeated several times midst the chorus described above: “It’s all CONNECTING!”
It wasn't shark attacks or sinking ships which was thrilling them. It was the integrations they were starting to make on their own. The puzzle pieces, gathered through the first 70 pages, were coming together, and their minds were smoothly piecing them in place.
As one student would later tell me in private, “I thought this book was kinda boring, but now I love it!”
Yep, they’ve gotten over the hump, and they're hooked!
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