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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
Somehow, I had never actually seen the show, so I was going into this not quite blind, but not as fully informed as I might otherwise had been. And you know, it was a fun time. Leroux created a pretty solid story, full of intrigue, mystery, and danger.
It's also full of sentences that will make the reader say "Wow, that is a very French way of saying that." Which really adds to the fun, in my opinion.
It's also full of sentences that will make the reader say "Wow, that is a very French way of saying that." Which really adds to the fun, in my opinion.
adventurous
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
One of my favorite quotes of all time comes from this book it was a delight to read, especially since I love the musical.
I am not a learned opera aficionado. So some (all) of the references to operatic scenes our songs its lost on me. The setting is foreign and the writing is 19th century. But I still enjoyed this book! Of course I have the music of the modern (Weber's) version in my head as I read the narrative and I struggle with the colloquialism and have to look up the meaning of or try to discern the inference intended of many of the references in this book. But the story is gripping, the plot is thick, the characters have depth and that is what its all about -not the hokey pokey.
Bottom line: a good read. 4 stars.
Bottom line: a good read. 4 stars.
adventurous
dark
funny
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I'm not sure why I felt inclined to pick this up. I've never seen the musical, though I do know ow a bit about it. I guess this shortish classic just enticed me. I liked it. It was mysterious and spooky. The main reason why I didn't love it is that I really didn't connect with the narrator as much as I would have liked to.
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Empieza algo lento, pero el acto final es una joyita
I really enjoyed listening to this on CD. The changes they made with the musical - most notably the complete erasure of the Persian, were kind of a bummer. Why get rid of the Persian and have Giry do his important bits? It probably didn't save time. Alas. I'll always be a book purist, I guess even when I read the book after!
This has to be the worst "classic" I've read. The story is full of holes and loose ends. The writing is amateurish. The antihero is unlikely and inconsistent. The "hero" is a whiny, immature 20yo. The heroine is all but a flat piece of stage decoration. It mystifies me that the plot and characters fascinate anyone. And, by the way, the plot and characters differ from those of the musical.