It's possible to read a book from more than one viewpoint and have more than one interpretation. Doesn't make either of you wrong. Just means the book is layered with possibilities and you each came away with a different impression. You shouldn't be disappointed with the person who recommended the book...but delighted that a book could be interpreted in such different ways (you can guess I have no patience with people who insist I see a book their way or no way). What I don't agree with is that books written decades ago are necessarily "bad" just because the writing style doesn't fit in with our modern sensibilities. Hunchback deserves some recognition as a classic even though it is a child of its time, with the stylistic encumbrances of its age. What we write today will seem equally "bad" to someone a hundred years from now (if there is anyone around a hundred years from now to read what is written today).