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betwixt_the_pages's review against another edition
5.0
"The Opera House dwindles in the distance until it seems no bigger than a doll's house in the shadows...a diminutive lost kingdom shrouded by the thick Parisian mist.
Seventeen years, Erik--too long for bitterness, too long for hate. Your genius was not wiped from this earth without trace, and I have brought him here tonight, like a young pilgrim to a shrine, in final payment of a long-outstanding debt.
I, who shared so unwillingly in your tragedy, now find myself, by some ironic twist of fate, left alone to glory in your triumph. This brilliant, loving boy, who calls me father in his innocence, has taught me so many things I might never have grasped about love. I see the world through his eyes now, I glimpse my appointed place in the grand order of things. Like a weary sparrow I can look with fond pride on the giant I have raised as my own. My feathers have grown sparse and shabby in a difficult quest, but I am warmed and comforted by his presence now. I dread the day when I must lose him to the fame and glory that unquestionably await.
His sons will continue the proud Chagny line and I shall take my secret with me to the grave without resentment...almost without regret.
The cuckoo, you see...
The cuckoo is a beautiful bird!"
--
I will never again be able to watch The Phantom of the Opera in the same way. This book--with its lilting, gorgeous prose and the demanding, incessant character growth--brought the Phantom to life for me. Before, I regarded this character as he is portrayed in the movie--a madman, a sad story of a man with a terrible (though mostly mysterious) past. Due to the beautiful, narrowed focus of this book, Susan Kay managed to make me feel something for a villain that I didn't realize I needed before--a love I don't think I've ever felt for another "bad guy" in my life.
This book needs to be read more often, by people who enjoyed The Phantom of the Opera and wish to know more about the ghost himself. This book will make you reconsider everything you thought you knew of this character.....and make you realize you never knew nearly as much as you thought.
I highly recommend reading this!
Seventeen years, Erik--too long for bitterness, too long for hate. Your genius was not wiped from this earth without trace, and I have brought him here tonight, like a young pilgrim to a shrine, in final payment of a long-outstanding debt.
I, who shared so unwillingly in your tragedy, now find myself, by some ironic twist of fate, left alone to glory in your triumph. This brilliant, loving boy, who calls me father in his innocence, has taught me so many things I might never have grasped about love. I see the world through his eyes now, I glimpse my appointed place in the grand order of things. Like a weary sparrow I can look with fond pride on the giant I have raised as my own. My feathers have grown sparse and shabby in a difficult quest, but I am warmed and comforted by his presence now. I dread the day when I must lose him to the fame and glory that unquestionably await.
His sons will continue the proud Chagny line and I shall take my secret with me to the grave without resentment...almost without regret.
The cuckoo, you see...
The cuckoo is a beautiful bird!"
--
I will never again be able to watch The Phantom of the Opera in the same way. This book--with its lilting, gorgeous prose and the demanding, incessant character growth--brought the Phantom to life for me. Before, I regarded this character as he is portrayed in the movie--a madman, a sad story of a man with a terrible (though mostly mysterious) past. Due to the beautiful, narrowed focus of this book, Susan Kay managed to make me feel something for a villain that I didn't realize I needed before--a love I don't think I've ever felt for another "bad guy" in my life.
This book needs to be read more often, by people who enjoyed The Phantom of the Opera and wish to know more about the ghost himself. This book will make you reconsider everything you thought you knew of this character.....and make you realize you never knew nearly as much as you thought.
I highly recommend reading this!
mlcutter's review against another edition
5.0
Amazing book for anyone who wants to know the origins of the Phantom of the Opera. A must read!
greenapplesauce's review against another edition
5.0
I honestly wish there was a way to log the books you have read and then re-log them when you have read them again. My absolute favorite novel, for whatever reason. I can honestly say it's the only book I have reread once a year since its original release 26 years ago.
laura250's review against another edition
5.0
4.5 stars
Ok guys, this is going to be a longer one. First, I want to say, that I am not very good at writing reviews, but let me try :)
You have to know, that my expectations for this book were very high from the beginning. I guess there is no one who reads this book without being in the fandom, as you have to know the story of the original book/musical. Since I am eight, I am a huge fan of “The phantom of the opera” and when I saw this book on Goodreads, I instantly knew I had to buy it. So much for the record. I finished the book in one day and I have to admit, that I could not put it down. So let me tell you how it went:
The first part:
The first ten pages already got me crying. The whole story started with so much emotion and I discovered a part of me, which I thought was long gone. Even though I did not think about TPOTO for a few years, the story still gets me every time. So there I was, curled up in my blanket, crying. The different parts and stations of Erik’s life were shortly written and I enjoyed every single one. The part in Rome was so sad again, and I definitely did not see the ending coming. Until then the book was a 5 star read and I was so happy I discovered it, even though there was hardly any part where I did not cry.
Unfortunately, things changed.
The ending:
I read many reviews, which said the book should have ended where TPOTO begins, and I totally agree. From this point on, the whole story was rushed and in my opinion poorly written. After 3 hours of a beautiful story, I was almost angry. The writer took the whole magic out of the happenings and I did not enjoy reading this part at all. Looking back on this part of the book, I am very disappointed things were like it.
However, the book was a beautiful experience to read and I do not regret a thing. In a few months, I am probably going to reread the first 300 pages and let myself feel the magic all over again. Every true fan should read this book at least once, because it is a good addition to the original story. It still hurts that I cannot give this book 5 stars, but the ending was so bad, I can’t overlook it.
I hope you get what I am trying to say, even though my English is not that good.
This review is probably the longest I have ever written, but I want to try writing more. :)
Ok guys, this is going to be a longer one. First, I want to say, that I am not very good at writing reviews, but let me try :)
You have to know, that my expectations for this book were very high from the beginning. I guess there is no one who reads this book without being in the fandom, as you have to know the story of the original book/musical. Since I am eight, I am a huge fan of “The phantom of the opera” and when I saw this book on Goodreads, I instantly knew I had to buy it. So much for the record. I finished the book in one day and I have to admit, that I could not put it down. So let me tell you how it went:
The first part:
The first ten pages already got me crying. The whole story started with so much emotion and I discovered a part of me, which I thought was long gone. Even though I did not think about TPOTO for a few years, the story still gets me every time. So there I was, curled up in my blanket, crying. The different parts and stations of Erik’s life were shortly written and I enjoyed every single one. The part in Rome was so sad again, and I definitely did not see the ending coming. Until then the book was a 5 star read and I was so happy I discovered it, even though there was hardly any part where I did not cry.
Unfortunately, things changed.
The ending:
I read many reviews, which said the book should have ended where TPOTO begins, and I totally agree. From this point on, the whole story was rushed and in my opinion poorly written. After 3 hours of a beautiful story, I was almost angry. The writer took the whole magic out of the happenings and I did not enjoy reading this part at all. Looking back on this part of the book, I am very disappointed things were like it.
However, the book was a beautiful experience to read and I do not regret a thing. In a few months, I am probably going to reread the first 300 pages and let myself feel the magic all over again. Every true fan should read this book at least once, because it is a good addition to the original story. It still hurts that I cannot give this book 5 stars, but the ending was so bad, I can’t overlook it.
I hope you get what I am trying to say, even though my English is not that good.
This review is probably the longest I have ever written, but I want to try writing more. :)
boobookowl's review against another edition
4.0
This book quenched my thirst for all things phantom as it goes deep into the back story of Erik and gives great insight into his horrible past. I enjoyed this book at some points it seemed more like a fan fiction while other times the writing was descriptive and took me back into the world of The Phantom Of The Opera!
eleanorblythe's review against another edition
4.0
4.5. Erik is a precious cinnamon roll and he deserves love.
danjvrobertson's review against another edition
5.0
One of those books that will always have the power to make me cry. I admit it.
siglerbooknook's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Phantom by Susan Kay is a must read for anyone obsessed with the story of the opera ghost.
I adored this book start to finish. It is gut wrenching and sad, hopeful and beautiful. Every scene is painted so vividly I felt like I was watching a movie.
I loved the glimpse into Erik's past and what made him the mad genius we know from the original novel by Gaston Leroux. Kay does a beautiful job weaving the little facts we learned originally into her tale in a convincing way that makes me feel like I only knew half the story before finding this book.
There are a few points of violence which became rather uncomfortable for me and several typos later in the book that made me read a sentence two or three times before I understood it and pulled me out of the story for a moment which is the only reason this isn't a perfect 5 star novel in my opinion.
I adored this book start to finish. It is gut wrenching and sad, hopeful and beautiful. Every scene is painted so vividly I felt like I was watching a movie.
I loved the glimpse into Erik's past and what made him the mad genius we know from the original novel by Gaston Leroux. Kay does a beautiful job weaving the little facts we learned originally into her tale in a convincing way that makes me feel like I only knew half the story before finding this book.
There are a few points of violence which became rather uncomfortable for me and several typos later in the book that made me read a sentence two or three times before I understood it and pulled me out of the story for a moment which is the only reason this isn't a perfect 5 star novel in my opinion.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Drug use, Addiction, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Grief, Murder, Abandonment, Body horror, and Body shaming
Moderate: Death, Mental illness, Pregnancy, Child death, Death of parent, Sexual assault, Rape, and Confinement
Minor: Animal death, Slavery, Toxic relationship, Torture, Terminal illness, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, and Animal cruelty
ashkitty93's review against another edition
5.0
After all this time?
Always.
That quote can really apply to just about any romantic story, but especially the Phantom of the Opera. And this book, in particular. I'm coming back to this now after 10-ish years and it still holds up and I'm so content right now.
Okay, so here's my life story with this whole phenomenon. Apparently my mother had the musical cast album when I was a kid but it scared me (not something I remember, I was probably 2ish). Got obsessed with the musical to the point of writing fanfiction/drawing fanart/dressing as POTO for Halloween, loved the 2004 movie (ohhhh 2004 me, you poor dear) and read just about anything I could find to do with it, starting with the original novel (which I disliked at the time bc NOT ROMANTICCCC), the Phantom of Manhattan, an erotic retelling, even a book where Erik met Sherlock Holmes.
But of everything I read in that 2-3 year period of obsession pales in comparison to this book. This isn't so much a retelling as an origin story, a la [b:Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West|37442|Wicked The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (The Wicked Years, #1)|Gregory Maguire|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1437733293s/37442.jpg|1479280]. Erik's life is utterly fascinating, from his infancy to his time spent among the Romany, honing his magicianship, to working as a mason and then an architect alongside some of the greatest minds in the world, and as an assassin in the court of Persia. This book really gives Erik a life of his own, something we are sorely without in the original Leroux novel. And all this so that when Christine and Raoul finally do surface in these pages, we can analyze Erik like any other character because we have a solid grip on where he's been and what he's had to deal with and rise above in getting to his house on the lake.
Susan Kay writes masterfully, weaving through everywhere Erik goes and pinning it all down in a historical context -- the amount of research staggers me. If nothing else, treat this as a historical fiction novel and be amazed.
Always.
That quote can really apply to just about any romantic story, but especially the Phantom of the Opera. And this book, in particular. I'm coming back to this now after 10-ish years and it still holds up and I'm so content right now.
Okay, so here's my life story with this whole phenomenon. Apparently my mother had the musical cast album when I was a kid but it scared me (not something I remember, I was probably 2ish). Got obsessed with the musical to the point of writing fanfiction/drawing fanart/dressing as POTO for Halloween, loved the 2004 movie (ohhhh 2004 me, you poor dear) and read just about anything I could find to do with it, starting with the original novel (which I disliked at the time bc NOT ROMANTICCCC), the Phantom of Manhattan, an erotic retelling, even a book where Erik met Sherlock Holmes.
But of everything I read in that 2-3 year period of obsession pales in comparison to this book. This isn't so much a retelling as an origin story, a la [b:Wicked: The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West|37442|Wicked The Life and Times of the Wicked Witch of the West (The Wicked Years, #1)|Gregory Maguire|https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1437733293s/37442.jpg|1479280]. Erik's life is utterly fascinating, from his infancy to his time spent among the Romany, honing his magicianship, to working as a mason and then an architect alongside some of the greatest minds in the world, and as an assassin in the court of Persia. This book really gives Erik a life of his own, something we are sorely without in the original Leroux novel. And all this so that when Christine and Raoul finally do surface in these pages, we can analyze Erik like any other character because we have a solid grip on where he's been and what he's had to deal with and rise above in getting to his house on the lake.
Susan Kay writes masterfully, weaving through everywhere Erik goes and pinning it all down in a historical context -- the amount of research staggers me. If nothing else, treat this as a historical fiction novel and be amazed.
coliecat73's review against another edition
4.0
This novel is dark, as it delves into the phantom's dark past. Good read, but definitely for older audiences.