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5.45k reviews for:

O Fantasma da Ópera

Gaston Leroux

3.77 AVERAGE

challenging dark sad slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes
dark mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: No
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark mysterious medium-paced

This is easily one of my new favorites! I am blown away - this was phenomenal! I just finished the book and I already want to read it again. I loved the way it was narrated and the plot was so interesting! I really like the musical so I was very nervous going into this but WOW. I was not disappointed in the slightest. This was even better - I am in love!

Mood while reading:

dark mysterious slow-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
adventurous dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious sad tense 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

A true classic. Published the year my grandma was born. This was my SO's favorite soundtrack when we first started dating. This is my second read-through of the book; first was print probably 15 years ago. 

Ralph Cosham brought a whole lot to this reading, including a willingness to play 'serious as a heart attack'
Carlotta's croaking solo,
and all the discussions engendered by it. Steady, narrative-paced reading right until the humorous/ humiliating bits, and then steady again without missing a beat - masterful. 

This work is such a cultural touch-point that it's obliquely referenced in works published in 2006 without explanation - it's expected to be simply understood, or not at the unenlightened reader's loss. 

I could wish to be more interested in Paris of the commune years - they were heavily referenced as needed information in understanding the architecture under the opera house. Maybe I'll get interested ahead of my next reading pass. 

Relatedly, on this pass, I googled the lake - it's a concrete reservoir built, as indicated, to keep the opera out of the swamp, and modernly used for fire suppression and rescue dive training. 

And sure enough, knowing that before this reading pass, I heard the book's narrator explain those points. (So it's not even a spoiler after all my confusion on my first reading pass.)

Expand filter menu Content Warnings
dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: Complicated
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

El fantasma de la ópera, fue escrita y publicada en 1910 por Gaston Leroux. Desde entonces ha sido adaptada en muchas ocasiones tanto en la gran pantalla como en teatros. La obra está basada en hechos reales que el autor investigó exhaustivamente y que hacen de este, un texto realmente valioso. Ha resultado ser una auténtica sorpresa para mí, pues desconocía la historia que nos es narrada.

La historia está ambientada en Paris a finales del siglo XIX, en una ópera que fue construida sobre un lago subterráneo. En dicho lugar, corre el rumor de que habita un fantasma causante de incidentes y que atemoriza a los empleados. Christine Daée, una vocalista que actúa en varias funciones llamará la atención de este ser y se verá envuelta en una historia puramente pasional y oscura.

Lo que hallaremos entre sus páginas es una trama original e intrépida que no deja ninguna duda sin resolver, acompañada de un estilo narrativo cuidado, ligero, con un vocabulario exquisito y que rebosa información de una investigación minuciosa. El ambiente angustiante de terror gótico será constante y revelará una existencia que resultará dramática y que estará dotada de una tristeza acongojante.

El romanticismo también tiene un lugar importante en este libro que recrea el mito de La bella y la bestia. Un ser oscuro que revive su pasado y que oculta su apariencia bajo una máscara con el fin de conquistar a su amada. Pasear por el subterráneo, descubrir trampas, cadáveres y misterios resultará ser una aventura que desembocará en un final estrambótico y diferente.

En general es una novela muy innovadora para la época, que mezcla y combina distintos géneros pasando por el gótico, policiaco, romántico, trágico y en ocasiones cómico. Os recomiendo leer esta novela en su idioma original si tenéis la posibilidad, sino os invito a buscar una edición con una buena traducción, con el texto integral y todas las notas a pie de página explicativas que hacen de esta una experiencia exquisita de lectura.

i imagine this was the summer i turned pretty for ppl in the late 19th century
adventurous emotional sad