Reviews - Das Phantom der Oper: Roman

5.29k reviews for:

Das Phantom der Oper: Roman

Gaston Leroux

3.77 AVERAGE

rpaull_13's review against another edition

2.75

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

dracula_but_slay's review against another edition

3.0

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: No

Loveable characters: Complicated

Diverse cast of characters: No

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

To be completely honest, I enjoyed the first half of the book more than the second. The second half dragssss in my opinion. It took a lot more effort to finish it than it did to start it. That being said, I’m still glad I read The Phantom of the Opera. It’s a classic piece of literature and a staple in the Universal Monsters mythos. Not sure I’d ever read it again, though.

mrs_galaxywanderer091825's review against another edition

4.0

I’m going to begin by saying, I have not read enough Gothic literature and that is a shame because it can be good and emotional! I never had a super strong urge to read "The Phantom of the Opera" until I found out my fiancé has a deep love and appreciation for this musical and the 2004 movie. All of a sudden I had a major urge to read this novel; since there was an audiobook version available for free at my library and a digital book copy available for free on my Kindle there was no reason for me not to read it.

This book is a darkly romantic tale of a disfigured man's descent into violence and madness, and the woman who forms the obsession at the centre of his life and the woman's childhood best friend who is determined to save her from this "monster" as he sees him. I'm not sure this book is what I'd call a romance novel even thought there is talk of romance and love throughout the novel. I think it's more of a book that goes into how far a person is willing to go to be loved and accepted for who they are on the inside. The phantom aka opera ghost aka Erik is a complex villain that earned my pity as well as my disgust, but I grew to understand him as the novel went on. That being said, he isn't meant to be excused, or even forgiven, for his violent and cruel behavior in the past and present in the novel, and it is why I feel he isn't a romantic hero despite the love and passion that fuels him throughout the novel. A quote I best expresses my point is "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." Erik has to be my favorite character in this novel.

For anyone unaware this book was originally written in French and often times it can be difficult to find a good translation of a foreign language novel and since this was part of the public domain content I wasn’t too sure how this was going to go but I was more than pleasantly surprised. The writing was easy to read and perfect in keeping with the dark and sometimes uncomfortable tone the novel has. I also really loved Ralph Cosham reading this book. I usually have difficulty understanding him but he comes across crystal clear and brings a good amount of emotion to the characters. The audiobook experience was lovely. Anyone with a Kindle or access to the audiobook version go and check this out right now. Honestly it’s well worth your time.

Overall rating is 4.25 stars.

melorwhatever's review against another edition

4.0

The Phantom of the opera is one of the most well known stories ever. Everyone has at least heard of it and most people know it from the Broadway musical (best musical ever) but not many people have read the book which is a complete crime. This book has it all, mystery, suspense, romance, and so much more. It is written as a horror mystery and does the job of sending shivers down your spine admirably. The style of it reminds me of Dracula but with a little more humor mixed in. The dark overtones and dry-sadistic humor of this novel only heightens the mystery shrouding the phantom. This was a thrilling ride from cover to cover and I heartily recommend it to anyone looking for a fun thriller to fill up a gap in their reading list.