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A review by frostbitsky
Phantom by Susan Kay
5.0
This is a review I had wrote long ago, before I had a Goodreads account. I read this book in May 2006.
These were the notes I made (I didn't proof read it. I will, but not right now. Sorry for the typos.)
Madeleine- Her cruelty was inexcusable. Sure the world can be harsh but it's shouldn't have started with his mother. I cried when she refused to give her son a simple kiss when he asked. And who tells their son they hate them :mad:
I wish Marie could have taken him in.
Father Mansart I thought was alright till he performed the crazy exorcism. At least he didn't wish to kill the child at birth like Madeleine.
It was poetic justice that when she finally learns that she loves her son and chooses to remain with him that Erik runs away
Erik - all I can say about his time as gypsy attraction is thank God he escaped before Javert raped him :( What a horrible end to innocence.
Giovanni - The most uplifting part of the book. Finally man who could see past the face/mask and nourish his artistic genius. Too bad crazy delusional Luciana had to ruin everything. Not that Erik planned to stay forever but it could have ended better.
Nadir - The Persian :) This I was looking forward to since he is in the original novel. He's like Erik's conscience. It was exciting to read about their friendship and Erik embracing his dark side. The khanum was a sick Sadistic bitch. Good thing Erik was oblivious to her lust for him.
Erik - his return to home was something I was looking forward to. I wanted to learn of Madeline's fate and for Erik to get some closure. Good paced overview of the building of the Opera house and Erik's involvement but I must say it was the slow part of the book since you are anticipating his love story with Christine. But his journey into a lonely life and how he comes to manipulate the Opera managers and build trap doors and live a lonely life under the Opera house was an essential part to understanding and seeing Erik's character development.
Erik's first encounter with Christine was ... perfect. Love at first sound. I did like this quote "It was like listening to an extraordinarily talented zombie."
Erik/Christine - My favorite part. The story of the nightingale and the white rose was so ironically heartbreaking.
How weird that Christine looked like Erik's mother. Poor guy has a sick twisted Oedipus complex. And his mother died the same year Christine was born makes it sound like a strange incarnation.
After reading about Christine's "pleasing" reaction to Don Juan good thing it was never played in public. I do regret that we didn't get a counterpoint of when they conceive Charles before Erik dies. I guess that part was to personal for the reader but still. I wanted their POV too.
Raoul - Not the one dimensional pansy Leroux made him. I pitied this Raoul for loving a woman who loved Erik more and raising a son he knew wasn't his. Strange how Charles was named after Erik's father when Raoul didn't know that fact. Come to think of it do we ever learn Erik's last name? Does he have any knowledge of his father? Charles isn't mentioned again after his death.
Charles, Erik's son, was much like his father, only handsome. I liked his comment about how girls should come to hear the music not to swoon over him. Would he feel the same way had he'd seen his father's face? From the sound of his character I'd like to think he'd love his father no matter what he looked like. And to learn from Erik would have been interesting.
I started crying when Charles put on a recital and Raoul says, "I squeezed her fingers very hard while out eyes shared a knowledge that could never be voiced. Ironically the very thing which should have driven us apart became the link that soldered us together."(p448)
The red rose Raoul gave Christine on Charles's birthdays and the white roses she added had me bawling. I had trouble reading through the tears. Loved this quote: "I had held her in your trust for seventeen years until death chose to reunite her with the one to whom she truly belonged."(p452):bawl:
Raoul and Charles' pilgrimage to the Opera house was a perfect ending.
Phantom was a sad and beautiful take on The Phantom of the Opera. Kay gave the characters life and more dimension. I liked her version better than Leroux's. Phantom has become one of my favorite books ever and I will save it to read again one day.
5 out of 5 masks
These were the notes I made (I didn't proof read it. I will, but not right now. Sorry for the typos.)
Madeleine- Her cruelty was inexcusable. Sure the world can be harsh but it's shouldn't have started with his mother. I cried when she refused to give her son a simple kiss when he asked. And who tells their son they hate them :mad:
I wish Marie could have taken him in.
Father Mansart I thought was alright till he performed the crazy exorcism. At least he didn't wish to kill the child at birth like Madeleine.
It was poetic justice that when she finally learns that she loves her son and chooses to remain with him that Erik runs away
Erik - all I can say about his time as gypsy attraction is thank God he escaped before Javert raped him :( What a horrible end to innocence.
Giovanni - The most uplifting part of the book. Finally man who could see past the face/mask and nourish his artistic genius. Too bad crazy delusional Luciana had to ruin everything. Not that Erik planned to stay forever but it could have ended better.
Nadir - The Persian :) This I was looking forward to since he is in the original novel. He's like Erik's conscience. It was exciting to read about their friendship and Erik embracing his dark side. The khanum was a sick Sadistic bitch. Good thing Erik was oblivious to her lust for him.
Erik - his return to home was something I was looking forward to. I wanted to learn of Madeline's fate and for Erik to get some closure. Good paced overview of the building of the Opera house and Erik's involvement but I must say it was the slow part of the book since you are anticipating his love story with Christine. But his journey into a lonely life and how he comes to manipulate the Opera managers and build trap doors and live a lonely life under the Opera house was an essential part to understanding and seeing Erik's character development.
Erik's first encounter with Christine was ... perfect. Love at first sound. I did like this quote "It was like listening to an extraordinarily talented zombie."
Erik/Christine - My favorite part. The story of the nightingale and the white rose was so ironically heartbreaking.
How weird that Christine looked like Erik's mother. Poor guy has a sick twisted Oedipus complex. And his mother died the same year Christine was born makes it sound like a strange incarnation.
After reading about Christine's "pleasing" reaction to Don Juan good thing it was never played in public. I do regret that we didn't get a counterpoint of when they conceive Charles before Erik dies. I guess that part was to personal for the reader but still. I wanted their POV too.
Raoul - Not the one dimensional pansy Leroux made him. I pitied this Raoul for loving a woman who loved Erik more and raising a son he knew wasn't his. Strange how Charles was named after Erik's father when Raoul didn't know that fact. Come to think of it do we ever learn Erik's last name? Does he have any knowledge of his father? Charles isn't mentioned again after his death.
Charles, Erik's son, was much like his father, only handsome. I liked his comment about how girls should come to hear the music not to swoon over him. Would he feel the same way had he'd seen his father's face? From the sound of his character I'd like to think he'd love his father no matter what he looked like. And to learn from Erik would have been interesting.
I started crying when Charles put on a recital and Raoul says, "I squeezed her fingers very hard while out eyes shared a knowledge that could never be voiced. Ironically the very thing which should have driven us apart became the link that soldered us together."(p448)
The red rose Raoul gave Christine on Charles's birthdays and the white roses she added had me bawling. I had trouble reading through the tears. Loved this quote: "I had held her in your trust for seventeen years until death chose to reunite her with the one to whom she truly belonged."(p452):bawl:
Raoul and Charles' pilgrimage to the Opera house was a perfect ending.
Phantom was a sad and beautiful take on The Phantom of the Opera. Kay gave the characters life and more dimension. I liked her version better than Leroux's. Phantom has become one of my favorite books ever and I will save it to read again one day.
5 out of 5 masks