The genius of Hugo (and Dickens) is that he understands that everyone is the hero of their own life. They aren't just accessories in someone else's. In that sense he's one of the world's most democratic writers. The story of each character is worth listening to for its own sake.

I've been a fan of this story since I was in middle school. To this day, I still believe it's one of the greatest stories ever written. However, I do have to insist that for the average listener, the abridged version might be better. In this unabridged version, Victor Hugo goes off on tangents that, to really understand, you have to have a great deal of European history knowledge. To someone who can't remember their days of world history class, it can be incredibly confusing and overwhelming at times. But it's not all bad, as Hugo's inner-story commentaries are insightful and interesting. The narrator does an excellent job, switching to french when necessary for a given effect.

This is an extremely long book to listen to. Hugo takes many rabbit trails and explains things in detail that make the story drag out, but the story is excellent. For some reason it is an "Audible Kids" edition, but this is not a kid's story. Frederick Davidson does an excellent job at using different voices for different characters consistently. He comes across at first as being haughty and arrogant in his reading, but either I got used to it, or he improved as he read it.

Victor Hugo at his best is amazing, but he frequently wanders all over the place. Try an abridged version.

I adore the narrator, David Case/Frederick Davidson (I only recently learned they are the same person). I can't believe anyone would fault him for his singing voice. I doubt someone with a better singing voice could hold one's attention and use inflection better than he does. His ability to switch between characters and maintain their personas is unsurpassed in my opinion.
Several years ago, I listened to the unabridged version that I checked out from my public library. Wishing to revisit it, I recently purchased it on CD, not realizing it was the abridged version. I am now downloading this version because there is a lot that has been skipped. Yes, it is long but I get a lot of laundry folded, dishes washed and other mindless tasks completed while immersed in this book and the characters!