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It is a stark contrast from the other tales with the handsome princes with bland personalities. Something about how the beauty could love the beast not for his looks, but his personality struck a note with me. Why do I love the Phantom so much? The beauty and the beast story has always appealed to me and been my favourite fairy tale. ![]() THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA BOOK REVIEW MOVIEPerhaps it would have been better if I’d read it before watching the movie because I cannot prevent myself from comparing the two. The humour comes from the managers and their crazy antics, and acts as a counter-weight. It was a good novel, but I wanted something more – I wanted to feel the same emotions the music makes me feel. The romance more comes from Christine and Raul, than Erik with his obsessive infatuation, and the story is quite dark. It is well written and the journalistic structure added to the realism of the play. The setting of the opera house is rich and intriguing, and the plot bounces back and forth between the managers of the Opera House and Christine and Raul’s story. Indeed, not all of the things that go on are Erik’s doing, adding to enigma that is the Phantom. The characters are quick to dismiss the strange events as an elaborate prank, or a ghost, or find some reasonable explanation. Whereas in the play Erik (yes, he has a name) is known from the beginning, in the book, he only comes in much later, and the whole thing is much more mysterious. Leroux blended fact and fiction in his novel, so to a degree the story is true – how true? Well, that’s up to you to decide. I’ve ordered some more books on the subject because I’m super curious to find out more. What I found most interesting was that the Phantom was a real legend and many people, including the author, believe he actually lived and died in the opera house. Thankfully, it was a good book – fast paced and dark – though my love of the musical overshadows it by a long shot. I was also quite surprised how closely the musical followed the book, and may even be sightly more in love with it because of how brilliant the adaptation is. Some positive reviews, and the feeling that I kinda had to read the book because I loved the musical so much, pushed me to finally pick it up. Naturally, I was nervous to read the book the musical was based on for fear that I would not enjoy the book and it would forever soil my opinion of the play. And of how, at the point of no return, Christine shows the Phantom that he can be loved and he lets her go. Of how Christine fears him and wants to run away with Raul. Of a disfigured man, gifted at music hiding in the tunnels below the opera house in love with the young Christine whom he teaches. It is my musical obsession and I’m also enthralled by the story itself. It is my dream to see the Phantom live in theaters (preferably somewhere cool like London or New York – but I’m not fussy). I’ve watched the movie numerous times, and have listed to the CD of the Orignal London Cast Recording enough times that I’ve memorized whole sections of the musical and play songs in my head at will. I’m an unabashed fan of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical of the Phantom. Despite this, it remains a remarkable piece of Gothic horror literature in and of itself, deeper and darker than any version that follows. Leroux’s work, with characters ranging from the spoiled prima donna Carlotta to the mysterious Persian from Erik’s past, has been immortalized by memorable adaptations. The phantom is in love, but it can only spell disaster. The voice, who is the deformed, murderous ‘ghost’ of the opera house named Erik, however, grows violent in his terrible jealousy, until Christine suddenly disappears. All goes well until Christine’s childhood friend Raoul comes to visit his parents, who are patrons of the opera, and he sees Christine when she begins successfully singing on the stage. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA BOOK REVIEW HOW TOAfter a time at the opera house, she begins hearing a voice, who eventually teaches her how to sing beautifully. Her father, a famous musician, dies, and she is raised in the Paris Opera House with his dying promise of a protective angel of music to guide her. THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA BOOK REVIEW SERIALFirst published in French as a serial in 1909, “The Phantom of the Opera” is a riveting story that revolves around the young, Swedish Christine Daaé. ![]()
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