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3.77 AVERAGE
3.77 AVERAGE
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
The slowest book on the planet, don’t think i’ll be picking it back up again. I’ve tried for 1.5 years
Odie a Raoul.
No es mi tipo de lectura pero es una obra maestra.
No es mi tipo de lectura pero es una obra maestra.
adventurous
challenging
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
informative
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
"If I am the phantom, it is because man's hatred has made me so. If I am to be saved it is because your love redeems me."
Synopsis:
Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel, The Phantom of the Opera, follows a narrator’s investigation into the actions and identity of the mysterious Phantom of the Opera. In the 1880s, strange events have been unfolding at the Paris Opera House, convincing people that the Opera must be haunted. The "Phantom of the Opera", as people decided to name him, has been said to appear as a black figure with a skull face covered in yellow, rotten skin with burning eyes. From the beginning, the narrator affirms that the Phantom does exist, but is in fact a human being, not a ghost.
“He was not, as was long believed, a creature of the imagination of the artists, the superstition of the managers, or a product of the absurd and impressionable brains of the young ladies of the ballet, their mothers, the box-keepers, the cloak-room attendants or the concierge. Yes, he existed in flesh and blood, although he assumed the complete appearance of a real phantom; that is to say, a spectral shade.”
The Phantom of the Opera revolves around the young, swedish Christine Daaé. 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. After a time at the opera house, she begins hearing a voice, who eventually starts teaching her how to sing beautifully. Christine interprets the appearance of the voice as being the angel of music that her late father sent her, and feels drawn to it.
"Music has the power to make one forget everything save those sounds that touch your heart."
On Debienne and Poligny’s last night as Opera directors, chaos erupts when ballerinas claim to have see the phantom. Moments later, Joseph Buquet is found dead, hanging beneath the stage.
On the same evening, Christine Daaé, a little-known soprano, replaces her colleague Carlotta, who is ill. Christine sings so beautifully that the public remains astonished, wondering why her talent has been hidden for so long. In the audience, Viscount Raoul de Chagny, Christine’s childhood friend, who is deeply in love with her, goes to talk with her backstage. However, Christine pretends not to recognize him, and later, Raoul hears her talk to a man in her dressing-room.
“‘Oh, tonight I gave you my soul and I am dead!’ Christine replied. ‘Your soul is a beautiful thing, child,’ replied the grave man's voice, ‘and I thank you. No emperor ever received so fair a gift. The angels wept tonight.’”
Overcome by jealousy, Raoul waits for Christine to leave so that he can confront this rival, but when the room opens, Raoul is shocked to discover that Christine’s dressing-room is empty.
As time passed, Raoul starts writing several letters to Christine, which she eventually ends up responding to.On a trip to their homeland, they end up remembering the childhood they spent together, while new feelings burst into their hearts. Christine ends up revealing the truth about the mysterious voice that visits her and sings to her, and that she thinks is the angel of music. Over time, however, it is discovered that the owner of the voice is another.
The voice, who is the deformed, murderous phantom of the opera house named Erik, grows violent in his terrible jealousy, as Raoul and Christine get closer, until Christine suddenly disappears, in the night she and Raoul planned to run away together, to a place where the phantom couldn't find them. The phantom is in love, but it can only spell disaster.
The true suffering of not being loved, not even by ourselves; of possessing a melodious voice, worthy of the angels of heaven, but a face so hideous that whoever's eyes look upon it are quickly horrified by such a monstrosity. And that's the reason why Christine fears the phantom: his inhuman appearance.
"You are crying! You are afraid of me! And yet I am not really wicked. Love me and you shall see! All I wanted was to be loved for myself."
Still, she cannot hate him. How could she, if his only defect is the deformity of his face?
"Poor, unhappy Erik! Shall we pity him? Shall we curse him? He asked only to be 'some one,' like everybody else. But he was too ugly! And he had to hide his genius or use it to play tricks with, when, with an ordinary face, he would have been one of the most distinguished of mankind! He had a heart that could have held the entire empire of the world; and, in the end, he had to content himself with a cellar. Ah, yes, we must need pity the Opera ghost..."
However, no matter how much the ghost tries, no matter how much he imprisons Christine and no matter how much he shows her how much he loves her; Christine's heart will forever be with Raoul de Chagny's. Then the ghost lets Christine go; because he loves her and her happiness is his happiness, Erik sends Raoul to Christine, and lets them escape to a quiet place, as they always wanted.
For Erik, just the fact that Christine didn't turn away when she saw his face without the mask is happiness enough, crying with her one last time was enough, and her wearing his ring while he is alive, is and will forever be enough.
"I am going to die of love....daroga....I am dying of love .... That's how it is... I loved her so! And I love her still...daroga.....and I am dying of love for her, I tell you! if you knew how beautiful she was when she let me kiss her...It was the first ...time, daroga, the first time I ever kissed a woman.. Yes, alive... I kissed her alive.... And she looked as beautiful as if she had been dead!"
My Opinion:
Although I never watched any of the movies, nor did I watch the musical, I've been completely obsessed with the musics for quite some time now. This was, without a shadow of a doubt, the main reason for me deciding to read the book before watching any of the films - something in me solemnly forbids me from watching a film before reading the book that originated it.
That being said, when I picked up the book, and thanks to my fortunately successful efforts, I knew little else about it other than the fact that it talked about a phantom... and that it was located in an opera house. All this to clarify that my opinion on this work, for now, is based solely on the book, without any outside influence, apart from the songs that, at this point, have begun to take root in my memory.
Even so, having only read the book, I have no hesitation in saying that I am completely, like Christine, drawn to the phantom. Perhaps due to the complexity of the character himself, or perhaps to what the world did to him that made him who he is, I can't help but feel compassion for him. After all, wasn't everything he did out of love? Even though it was, I can't deny that there were times when I hated him too, only to change my mind, and so on.
The ghost is a great example of how much we are governed by appearances, how much we judge someone just by what they show us.
Why do you condemn a man whom you have never met, whom no one knows and about whom even you yourself know nothing?
Is love truly blind? Do we truly fall in love with one's personality? Can one really claim to have a pure heart if one does not deign to try to understand others, instead of contenting with looking at their appearance?
They say "To love is to let go.", and so Erik did. He loved Christine until the last beat of his heart, but he knew that with him she would not be happy. He realized that as much as he loved her, her heart belonged to someone else. So he let her go, let her go to his love... Because he loved her.
For in the end, everything the phantom longed for was a peaceful life, like everyone else. All that he craved, was to be loved: by Christine and by himself.
"Now I want to live like everybody else. I want to have a wife like everybody else and to take her out on Sundays. I have invented a mask that makes me look like anybody. People will not even turn round in the streets. You will be the happiest of women. And we will sing, all by ourselves, till we swoon away with delight. You are crying! You are afraid of me! And yet I am not really wicked. Love me and you shall see! All I wanted was to be loved for myself. If you loved me I should be as gentle as a lamb; and you could do anything with me that you pleased."
In the end, my heart aches for Erik, for Christine, for Raoul, and for everything they experienced; while understanding that it is better this way. We cannot force one's feelings, and Erik did the right thing by letting Christine go, as much as it hurt him. So yes: as cruel as Erik is, I love him.
4.5/5⭐
Synopsis:
Gaston Leroux’s 1910 novel, The Phantom of the Opera, follows a narrator’s investigation into the actions and identity of the mysterious Phantom of the Opera. In the 1880s, strange events have been unfolding at the Paris Opera House, convincing people that the Opera must be haunted. The "Phantom of the Opera", as people decided to name him, has been said to appear as a black figure with a skull face covered in yellow, rotten skin with burning eyes. From the beginning, the narrator affirms that the Phantom does exist, but is in fact a human being, not a ghost.
“He was not, as was long believed, a creature of the imagination of the artists, the superstition of the managers, or a product of the absurd and impressionable brains of the young ladies of the ballet, their mothers, the box-keepers, the cloak-room attendants or the concierge. Yes, he existed in flesh and blood, although he assumed the complete appearance of a real phantom; that is to say, a spectral shade.”
The Phantom of the Opera revolves around the young, swedish Christine Daaé. 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. After a time at the opera house, she begins hearing a voice, who eventually starts teaching her how to sing beautifully. Christine interprets the appearance of the voice as being the angel of music that her late father sent her, and feels drawn to it.
"Music has the power to make one forget everything save those sounds that touch your heart."
On Debienne and Poligny’s last night as Opera directors, chaos erupts when ballerinas claim to have see the phantom. Moments later, Joseph Buquet is found dead, hanging beneath the stage.
On the same evening, Christine Daaé, a little-known soprano, replaces her colleague Carlotta, who is ill. Christine sings so beautifully that the public remains astonished, wondering why her talent has been hidden for so long. In the audience, Viscount Raoul de Chagny, Christine’s childhood friend, who is deeply in love with her, goes to talk with her backstage. However, Christine pretends not to recognize him, and later, Raoul hears her talk to a man in her dressing-room.
“‘Oh, tonight I gave you my soul and I am dead!’ Christine replied. ‘Your soul is a beautiful thing, child,’ replied the grave man's voice, ‘and I thank you. No emperor ever received so fair a gift. The angels wept tonight.’”
Overcome by jealousy, Raoul waits for Christine to leave so that he can confront this rival, but when the room opens, Raoul is shocked to discover that Christine’s dressing-room is empty.
As time passed, Raoul starts writing several letters to Christine, which she eventually ends up responding to.On a trip to their homeland, they end up remembering the childhood they spent together, while new feelings burst into their hearts. Christine ends up revealing the truth about the mysterious voice that visits her and sings to her, and that she thinks is the angel of music. Over time, however, it is discovered that the owner of the voice is another.
The voice, who is the deformed, murderous phantom of the opera house named Erik, grows violent in his terrible jealousy, as Raoul and Christine get closer, until Christine suddenly disappears, in the night she and Raoul planned to run away together, to a place where the phantom couldn't find them. The phantom is in love, but it can only spell disaster.
The true suffering of not being loved, not even by ourselves; of possessing a melodious voice, worthy of the angels of heaven, but a face so hideous that whoever's eyes look upon it are quickly horrified by such a monstrosity. And that's the reason why Christine fears the phantom: his inhuman appearance.
"You are crying! You are afraid of me! And yet I am not really wicked. Love me and you shall see! All I wanted was to be loved for myself."
Still, she cannot hate him. How could she, if his only defect is the deformity of his face?
"Poor, unhappy Erik! Shall we pity him? Shall we curse him? He asked only to be 'some one,' like everybody else. But he was too ugly! And he had to hide his genius or use it to play tricks with, when, with an ordinary face, he would have been one of the most distinguished of mankind! He had a heart that could have held the entire empire of the world; and, in the end, he had to content himself with a cellar. Ah, yes, we must need pity the Opera ghost..."
However, no matter how much the ghost tries, no matter how much he imprisons Christine and no matter how much he shows her how much he loves her; Christine's heart will forever be with Raoul de Chagny's. Then the ghost lets Christine go; because he loves her and her happiness is his happiness, Erik sends Raoul to Christine, and lets them escape to a quiet place, as they always wanted.
For Erik, just the fact that Christine didn't turn away when she saw his face without the mask is happiness enough, crying with her one last time was enough, and her wearing his ring while he is alive, is and will forever be enough.
"I am going to die of love....daroga....I am dying of love .... That's how it is... I loved her so! And I love her still...daroga.....and I am dying of love for her, I tell you! if you knew how beautiful she was when she let me kiss her...It was the first ...time, daroga, the first time I ever kissed a woman.. Yes, alive... I kissed her alive.... And she looked as beautiful as if she had been dead!"
My Opinion:
Although I never watched any of the movies, nor did I watch the musical, I've been completely obsessed with the musics for quite some time now. This was, without a shadow of a doubt, the main reason for me deciding to read the book before watching any of the films - something in me solemnly forbids me from watching a film before reading the book that originated it.
That being said, when I picked up the book, and thanks to my fortunately successful efforts, I knew little else about it other than the fact that it talked about a phantom... and that it was located in an opera house. All this to clarify that my opinion on this work, for now, is based solely on the book, without any outside influence, apart from the songs that, at this point, have begun to take root in my memory.
Even so, having only read the book, I have no hesitation in saying that I am completely, like Christine, drawn to the phantom. Perhaps due to the complexity of the character himself, or perhaps to what the world did to him that made him who he is, I can't help but feel compassion for him. After all, wasn't everything he did out of love? Even though it was, I can't deny that there were times when I hated him too, only to change my mind, and so on.
The ghost is a great example of how much we are governed by appearances, how much we judge someone just by what they show us.
Why do you condemn a man whom you have never met, whom no one knows and about whom even you yourself know nothing?
Is love truly blind? Do we truly fall in love with one's personality? Can one really claim to have a pure heart if one does not deign to try to understand others, instead of contenting with looking at their appearance?
They say "To love is to let go.", and so Erik did. He loved Christine until the last beat of his heart, but he knew that with him she would not be happy. He realized that as much as he loved her, her heart belonged to someone else. So he let her go, let her go to his love... Because he loved her.
For in the end, everything the phantom longed for was a peaceful life, like everyone else. All that he craved, was to be loved: by Christine and by himself.
"Now I want to live like everybody else. I want to have a wife like everybody else and to take her out on Sundays. I have invented a mask that makes me look like anybody. People will not even turn round in the streets. You will be the happiest of women. And we will sing, all by ourselves, till we swoon away with delight. You are crying! You are afraid of me! And yet I am not really wicked. Love me and you shall see! All I wanted was to be loved for myself. If you loved me I should be as gentle as a lamb; and you could do anything with me that you pleased."
In the end, my heart aches for Erik, for Christine, for Raoul, and for everything they experienced; while understanding that it is better this way. We cannot force one's feelings, and Erik did the right thing by letting Christine go, as much as it hurt him. So yes: as cruel as Erik is, I love him.
4.5/5⭐
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
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
Having seen the musical, I was interested to read the book which inspired it. What a wonderful surprise. Most enjoyable and kept me turning pages.