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A review by wolfiegrrrl
The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
I had heard that the original Phantom of the Opera novel is far more horror-based and intense than the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical I am familiar with, so I was curious to see for myself just how different the two stories are from each other.
Mostly, I wanted to see what Erik's deal was because he has so much more going on than what the adaptations of the character that I'm familiar with touch on. Now that I have listened to the entire book and its epilogue, I'd say that the best way to describe Leroux's Phantom is "the character whose OP backstory was created after the main story was written in order to explain how the mystery worked and prove that it was just a man the entire time!" but it honestly leaves me with more questions than answers. I also really wasn't fond of the sentiment about birth deformities being a sign of inherent inner evil to be pitied by the "beautiful" people of the world, so I don't really know what to make of that regarding Erik's character development at the end.
That being said, the novel was rather boring in how it mostly consisted of uneventful exposition dumps until the story picks up about halfway through when the Phantom and the Persian take more prominent roles. Their part of the story is still mostly large exposition dumps, but at least those dumps were entertaining in how absolutely buck wild they are. My main complaint is that having to follow a whiny, self-entitled Raoul around through the eyes of the narrator was so draining because he is a prime example of the Nice Guy trope and I can't really say I was rooting for him like we're so clearly supposed to.
It was fun to spot all of the story/character notes that the musical plucked out when reworking the plot into more of a dark romance. Having experienced Leroux's original work, I now have a greater appreciation for adaptations that play around with the fun and interesting concepts that are laid out in the novel.
Mostly, I wanted to see what Erik's deal was because he has so much more going on than what the adaptations of the character that I'm familiar with touch on. Now that I have listened to the entire book and its epilogue, I'd say that the best way to describe Leroux's Phantom is "the character whose OP backstory was created after the main story was written in order to explain how the mystery worked and prove that it was just a man the entire time!" but it honestly leaves me with more questions than answers. I also really wasn't fond of the sentiment about birth deformities being a sign of inherent inner evil to be pitied by the "beautiful" people of the world, so I don't really know what to make of that regarding Erik's character development at the end.
That being said, the novel was rather boring in how it mostly consisted of uneventful exposition dumps until the story picks up about halfway through when the Phantom and the Persian take more prominent roles. Their part of the story is still mostly large exposition dumps, but at least those dumps were entertaining in how absolutely buck wild they are. My main complaint is that having to follow a whiny, self-entitled Raoul around through the eyes of the narrator was so draining because he is a prime example of the Nice Guy trope and I can't really say I was rooting for him like we're so clearly supposed to.
It was fun to spot all of the story/character notes that the musical plucked out when reworking the plot into more of a dark romance. Having experienced Leroux's original work, I now have a greater appreciation for adaptations that play around with the fun and interesting concepts that are laid out in the novel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, Torture, Violence, Murder, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, and Stalking
Moderate: Death, Suicidal thoughts, and Confinement
Minor: Death of parent, Suicide, and Racial slurs