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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
adventurous
dark
mysterious
fast-paced
challenging
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
N/A
Loveable characters:
N/A
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
medium-paced
I was that person who had only watched 2004 adaptation of the book. Then I watched the recorded play for 25th anniversary and love it, which finally led me to seek the spruce material.
It's surprising how different the novel is from most of the adaptions they have made over the years.
For starters, the og story bends more towards the horror rather than romance. If you thought play / movie Erik is terrible and villanesque, wait til you read novel Erik. He's not only monstrous in apparence, but what he does to Christine and the people around him is terrifying to say the least !
Among some of the things I considered harrowing were (SPOILERS AHEAD):
• He's willing to blow the whole Opera House and to kill himself among hundreds of people (Raoul and Christine included ofc) if Christine doesn't agree to marry him.
• He has set lots of traps in the cellars under the Opera House, 2 of the most scariest being the siren lake and the torture chamber.
• Yes, he even has a torture chamber. In this room Erik has the ability to control temperature and turn the whole thing into a dangerously hot enviroment resembling a jungle. Since Erik is also a magician and a trickster he goes as far as to imitate sounds of predatory animals and parasitic insects like the tsetse fly to play around with the prisoners minds.
• He's being physically violent with Christine, pulling her hair and blaming her for forcing him to show himself with no mask. He also claps at her hand and runs her fingernails over his face, making her rip the skin in the process, to make the experience even more disgusting for her.
2) Other thing that I've found surprising that got lost in translation over the years (sadly) is the change in Christine's personality.
She's actually clever and resourceful despite being the og Christine, appearing on the story for the first time in 1910. While still being young and naive, she's quick to realize Erik is no angel but a mortal man. Once the phantom starts forbidding her to meet other man or to even think about marrying them, she understands he has being fooling her for his own gain.
She also knows she should escape him but is unsure how, since she acknowledges that while still being a man, he has powers no ordinary man has.
3) Finally, there's the thing of the character of the Persian. He seems to be missing from all the adaptions of POTO, which is terrible bc he's great xD some of his story and personality seems to have been infused into Mme Giry (someone that in the og book sounds more like an old madwoman rather than an cunning woman who knows and protects the opera Phantom)
The Persian, unlike any other character, is not easily fooled by the Ghost. And while Erik's usually 10 steps ahead from everyone in the story, he knows, as someone who has been intimate with Erik, almost like a friend, what to expect from him and how to confront him. This new dynamic is refreshing since in almost everyone POTO story that followed the phantom is this longer that life creature that has no actual match. He just terrifies everyone and no Police no noble can stand up to him.
The Persian knows he's a formidable enemy, but he's also resourceful and is willing to face the Phantom for the greater good.
Seriously, what a guy !
I sincerely wish he's not cast aside in the future POTO adaptions. It would be great to see him in action.
While I enjoy a lot the will they won't they romantic Dynamic of Erik x Chrstine popularized by Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, I'm curious to see what type of story would play out if we shift the focus towards Erik's past. Some might say that would take away his mystique and allure but I imagine something along the lines of Wonka: you might spend a big chunk of the movie watching the chocolate master do his thing, but at the end of the day he stills rings like the other to the aufience bc of his quirks and unusual decision makings.
It's surprising how different the novel is from most of the adaptions they have made over the years.
For starters, the og story bends more towards the horror rather than romance. If you thought play / movie Erik is terrible and villanesque, wait til you read novel Erik. He's not only monstrous in apparence, but what he does to Christine and the people around him is terrifying to say the least !
Among some of the things I considered harrowing were (SPOILERS AHEAD):
• He's willing to blow the whole Opera House and to kill himself among hundreds of people (Raoul and Christine included ofc) if Christine doesn't agree to marry him.
• He has set lots of traps in the cellars under the Opera House, 2 of the most scariest being the siren lake and the torture chamber.
• Yes, he even has a torture chamber. In this room Erik has the ability to control temperature and turn the whole thing into a dangerously hot enviroment resembling a jungle. Since Erik is also a magician and a trickster he goes as far as to imitate sounds of predatory animals and parasitic insects like the tsetse fly to play around with the prisoners minds.
• He's being physically violent with Christine, pulling her hair and blaming her for forcing him to show himself with no mask. He also claps at her hand and runs her fingernails over his face, making her rip the skin in the process, to make the experience even more disgusting for her.
2) Other thing that I've found surprising that got lost in translation over the years (sadly) is the change in Christine's personality.
She's actually clever and resourceful despite being the og Christine, appearing on the story for the first time in 1910. While still being young and naive, she's quick to realize Erik is no angel but a mortal man. Once the phantom starts forbidding her to meet other man or to even think about marrying them, she understands he has being fooling her for his own gain.
She also knows she should escape him but is unsure how, since she acknowledges that while still being a man, he has powers no ordinary man has.
3) Finally, there's the thing of the character of the Persian. He seems to be missing from all the adaptions of POTO, which is terrible bc he's great xD some of his story and personality seems to have been infused into Mme Giry (someone that in the og book sounds more like an old madwoman rather than an cunning woman who knows and protects the opera Phantom)
The Persian, unlike any other character, is not easily fooled by the Ghost. And while Erik's usually 10 steps ahead from everyone in the story, he knows, as someone who has been intimate with Erik, almost like a friend, what to expect from him and how to confront him. This new dynamic is refreshing since in almost everyone POTO story that followed the phantom is this longer that life creature that has no actual match. He just terrifies everyone and no Police no noble can stand up to him.
The Persian knows he's a formidable enemy, but he's also resourceful and is willing to face the Phantom for the greater good.
Seriously, what a guy !
I sincerely wish he's not cast aside in the future POTO adaptions. It would be great to see him in action.
While I enjoy a lot the will they won't they romantic Dynamic of Erik x Chrstine popularized by Andrew Lloyd Webber's musical, I'm curious to see what type of story would play out if we shift the focus towards Erik's past. Some might say that would take away his mystique and allure but I imagine something along the lines of Wonka: you might spend a big chunk of the movie watching the chocolate master do his thing, but at the end of the day he stills rings like the other to the aufience bc of his quirks and unusual decision makings.
dark
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
This book was both creepier and sadder than the movie or stage play. I liked it more, but I do think the adaptations do it justice. There are more characters and more scary incidents in the book. It hits all the points for a great Gothic novel.
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Years of loving the musical brought me to finally read the book. Really satisfying, and the extra details in the book are great!! However I find Christine more irritating than I expected, a bit too swoony. On the other hand, I loved Raoul! If I could time travel I’d spend a day at the Opera in Paris in 1880 and cause some scandals..