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A review by betwixt_the_pages
Phantom by Susan Kay
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!