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dnae 's review for:
The Phantom of the Opera
by Gaston Leroux
I really enjoyed this. It did irk me that they called him the Opera Ghost instead of the title's cooler Phantom of the Opera, but alright. The protagonist is Erik, a disfigured reclusive genius (architecturally and sonically) who lives in the underground foundations of the Opera Garnier. This is perfectly complemented by its setting being early 20th-century Paris, wherein the city and society exacerbate the story's dark and claustrophobic undertones. The Phantom begins teaching a fledgling singer, Christine Daae, which metastasizes into a fatal obsession made worse by the reappearance of her childhood sweetheart Raoul. The Phantom's zealousness and jealousy erupts with a series of fatal events. some of which are: Carlotta's sabotaging and consequent upstaging by Christine, the fall of the chandelier, the extortion of the opera house managers, the kidnapping of Christine, and Raoul's suffering in the phantom's custom-made torture chamber. When he feels beloved for the first time, he lets Christine and Raoul go in a rare moment of tenderness. He then dies happy, and our narrator laments the shame and discrimination such a genius had to live under just because they are facially deformed.
This is not the best summary, but writing that out reminded me of how much this broke my heart. Erik's whole character (and story) is so gut-wrenching. His development exhibits such a classic tension between good and evil, and Christine almost becomes a stand-in for the reader's struggle to reconcile this dichotomy. He's the tortured demon to her tortured angel. Erik defies this and his rare kindnesses contrasts his much more numerous cruelties and I, with my sympathy, am left asking: shall I forgive him just because of the cruelties he too has faced? It's an interestingly explored emotion, which today would simply be interpreted as a red flag.*
Despite the Phantom's complexity, however, all the others are so dumbfoundingly flat. Christine's the best of them, as she becomes brave through her love, grief, and innocence, but everyone else had no personality. I know the Phantom's the focus, but it wouldn't hurt to give Raoul at least something to do. Even the most critical moment of Christine's rescue, he's utterly useless and Leroux inserts a weird orientalist deus ex machine in the form of "The Persian", who also serves as his sole vessel for exposition. Mme. Giry and all the staff are so cartoonish. Contrary to popular opinion, I actually like how the movie rewrites the story in order to fix these characters.
As the Persian tells Raoul, Erik is an architectural genius with an insane backstory (built a beautiful palace and almost got killed to keep its secrets, built the foundations of the Opera Garnier, etc.) but you know what? I'll take it. I love the fact that he's an architect and all the rich architectural descriptions this allows Leroux to employ (especially given the real-life inspiration). Architecture becomes a sinister active player in the story, which I enjoyed. You don't often get to read about trap doors, hidden mirror entrances, and an infinity room of a torture chamber. As someone who studies the practicalities of common typologies, the architecture employed in this is so fun.
Leroux's writing is also really fun, with cool titles such as THE TRAP DOOR LOVER and UNDER APOLLO'S LYRE (from what I remember). There's poignant emotions, a beautiful atmospheric setting, compelling storytelling and best of all humor. I laughed out loud when Erik called the Daroga a booby (twice). I am undecided about how I feel about if being told as an investigative account, as I would have preferred a more immersed point of view, but mood-wise it fits the period it was written in. Leroux's plot is extremely convoluted and absurd which, again, you know what? I'll take it. I think it adds to the book's fun and gaudy charm. It's a great subversion of classic heroic and romantic fairy tales, especially given Erik's complexity.
Overall, regardless of its flaws, it's just really fun, inventive, and enjoyable. I listened to this on audiobook, and for the last hour I just laid down in my bed and listened. So yes: very engaging. Great atmosphere. Broke my heart. I'd read it again.
This is not the best summary, but writing that out reminded me of how much this broke my heart. Erik's whole character (and story) is so gut-wrenching. His development exhibits such a classic tension between good and evil, and Christine almost becomes a stand-in for the reader's struggle to reconcile this dichotomy. He's the tortured demon to her tortured angel. Erik defies this and his rare kindnesses contrasts his much more numerous cruelties and I, with my sympathy, am left asking: shall I forgive him just because of the cruelties he too has faced? It's an interestingly explored emotion, which today would simply be interpreted as a red flag.*
Despite the Phantom's complexity, however, all the others are so dumbfoundingly flat. Christine's the best of them, as she becomes brave through her love, grief, and innocence, but everyone else had no personality. I know the Phantom's the focus, but it wouldn't hurt to give Raoul at least something to do. Even the most critical moment of Christine's rescue, he's utterly useless and Leroux inserts a weird orientalist deus ex machine in the form of "The Persian", who also serves as his sole vessel for exposition. Mme. Giry and all the staff are so cartoonish. Contrary to popular opinion, I actually like how the movie rewrites the story in order to fix these characters.
As the Persian tells Raoul, Erik is an architectural genius with an insane backstory (built a beautiful palace and almost got killed to keep its secrets, built the foundations of the Opera Garnier, etc.) but you know what? I'll take it. I love the fact that he's an architect and all the rich architectural descriptions this allows Leroux to employ (especially given the real-life inspiration). Architecture becomes a sinister active player in the story, which I enjoyed. You don't often get to read about trap doors, hidden mirror entrances, and an infinity room of a torture chamber. As someone who studies the practicalities of common typologies, the architecture employed in this is so fun.
Leroux's writing is also really fun, with cool titles such as THE TRAP DOOR LOVER and UNDER APOLLO'S LYRE (from what I remember). There's poignant emotions, a beautiful atmospheric setting, compelling storytelling and best of all humor. I laughed out loud when Erik called the Daroga a booby (twice). I am undecided about how I feel about if being told as an investigative account, as I would have preferred a more immersed point of view, but mood-wise it fits the period it was written in. Leroux's plot is extremely convoluted and absurd which, again, you know what? I'll take it. I think it adds to the book's fun and gaudy charm. It's a great subversion of classic heroic and romantic fairy tales, especially given Erik's complexity.
Overall, regardless of its flaws, it's just really fun, inventive, and enjoyable. I listened to this on audiobook, and for the last hour I just laid down in my bed and listened. So yes: very engaging. Great atmosphere. Broke my heart. I'd read it again.