Tuesday, August 27, 2013

The Phantom of the Opera (Book #13)

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux


OH MY GOD!!  I LOVE THIS BOOK.  I know that may be a little emphatic, however, those of you who know me, know that I get seriously perturbed by the characters in the “Phantom of the Opera” opera.  Whenever I watch it, there’s just always been something in the back of my mind that has been incomplete about the three main characters: Christine Daae, the Phantom, and Raoul.

The book is much fuller in the explanation of these characters and SURPRISE the book is not solely about the girl.  I mean, don’t get me wrong the story revolves around her, however, we never hear from her point of view, instead we hear from the point of view of an investigator who is looking into the disappearance of Christine Daae some odd-number-years ago, Raoul, and the point of the Persian (WHO IS SUPER IMPORTANT).

Whenever I watch the opera, I always feel sympathetic towards the Phantom, but after reading the book I don’t feel that way.  I don’t want to give too much away because I really think you should read the book.  But his whole character is different in the book, and we get to see where he lived and what he did before he came to the Opera House in Paris.

It is also a little clearer of the role of the managers in the story, and how the “ghost” affects them.  The phantom actually has a name, which I don’t think is ever mentioned in the opera.  His name is Erik.  There is also the Persian, who is (SPOILER) a former Royal policeman from Persia and he plays a significant role in Erik’s life, which I don’t remember occurring in the opera. 

The ending is a shocker; in that it doesn’t occur like it does at the end of the opera.  It’s an easy read and it took me a little over a week to finish with maybe reading no more than 2 hours a day.  But I’m not a super fast reader, and I’m unsure of the time.  READ THIS BOOK!  It’s free on Amazon.com as an e-book, or you can buy a regular copy. 


Read on!

No comments:

Post a Comment