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A review by scarlettg12
Phantom by Susan Kay
4.0
So Phantom of the Opera has been my favorite movie since it came out in 2004. I’ve seen it countless times, I literally know all the words to the whole movie, I listen to the soundtrack on a regular basis. I’ve also seen the play at least two times. You could say I’m a fan.
But while the Andrew Lloyd Webber version (both play and movie) is the most popular and well-known version of this story, the [b:book|480204|The Phantom of the Opera|Gaston Leroux|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327867727l/480204._SY75_.jpg|2259720] is SO good and underrated. I’ve read it twice and own 3 copies (one of which I actually purchased at the Paris Opera House). As is usual, the book has so many more details and is a good bit darker than the movie and stage version. I LOVE the book as much as I love the movie but for different reasons.
So I thought this was an amazing concept for a book. [a:Susan Kay|16674953|Susan Kay|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] says it perfectly in her author’s note: “The main bulk of his novel—indeed all screen and stage versions—had dealt only with the last six months or so in the life of a man who must have been about fifty. I began to feel that the tale we had come to know as The Phantom of the Opera was perhaps only the magnificent tip of the iceberg, and that somewhere beneath a huge, human story lay waiting to be told.” She mentions the last three pages of the book that briefly mention the Phantom’s history, and that’s what this book builds on.
I think this book did an excellent job expounding those few paragraphs about where Erik came from, from his birth to his travels and how he came to know all the incredible things he knew. It is quite a story to claim that this one man is a master at music, illusions, architecture, languages, and more, and yet this book truly details how he came to have all of this knowledge in such a realistic way. A lot of natural talent combined with some extensive traveling and the Phantom becomes who is is. I think my favorite part was the explanation of the friendship between Erik and "the Persian," who is just as mysterious of a character in the original as Erik is. I thought this really explained why the Persian is completely aware of how terrible Erik is and yet is completely devoted to him. Their friendship seemed realistic and genuine.
Truly, this book completely sucked me in and consumed me. I did not want to put it down and felt like I couldn’t think about anything else while I was reading it. The writing style was so faithful to the original too, I felt like [a:Gaston Leroux|9057|Gaston Leroux|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1207312409p2/9057.jpg] could really have written this prequel. It was incredibly well done.
If I have one complaint though, it’s that the book should have stopped before the beginning of the original. That way this would be a true prequel. But the last approximately 1/4 of the book was the exact storyline and time period as [b:The Phantom of the Opera|26469971|The Phantom of the Opera|Gaston Leroux|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|2259720], only condensed and not told as well or in as much detail. Although to some extent I enjoyed seeing events through the eyes of Erik and Christine as opposed to the original which is told more from the perspective or Raoul and the Persian, I still feel like to read that part of the story, you might as well read the original. And yes, I can understand why this author didn’t want to stop her story there because that part is very interesting, and she did add or expound on a few things, but again, this part of the story is the whole point of the original book. Why tell it over again in a worse way? I was bored with this part and kind of ready for it to be over. However, the ending of the book really redeemed itself when it picks up years after the end of the original. I loved that part and am glad it was included. The last few pages even kind of made me tear up.
All things said though this is an awesome tribute to the novel that I love that is so different from the movie that I love. It really brings Erik to life and makes you feel for him, and be afraid of him, in even more detail than you do from reading the original novel. I highly applaud [a:Susan Kay|16674953|Susan Kay|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] for this and I definitely recommend it to fans of any version of this incredible story! (Although if you’re only a fan of the Andrew Lloyd Weber version, for sure read the incredible [a:Gaston Leroux|9057|Gaston Leroux|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1207312409p2/9057.jpg] version before you read this book).
Now I’m off to reread the book and watch the movie for the hundred millionth time!
But while the Andrew Lloyd Webber version (both play and movie) is the most popular and well-known version of this story, the [b:book|480204|The Phantom of the Opera|Gaston Leroux|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327867727l/480204._SY75_.jpg|2259720] is SO good and underrated. I’ve read it twice and own 3 copies (one of which I actually purchased at the Paris Opera House). As is usual, the book has so many more details and is a good bit darker than the movie and stage version. I LOVE the book as much as I love the movie but for different reasons.
So I thought this was an amazing concept for a book. [a:Susan Kay|16674953|Susan Kay|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] says it perfectly in her author’s note: “The main bulk of his novel—indeed all screen and stage versions—had dealt only with the last six months or so in the life of a man who must have been about fifty. I began to feel that the tale we had come to know as The Phantom of the Opera was perhaps only the magnificent tip of the iceberg, and that somewhere beneath a huge, human story lay waiting to be told.” She mentions the last three pages of the book that briefly mention the Phantom’s history, and that’s what this book builds on.
I think this book did an excellent job expounding those few paragraphs about where Erik came from, from his birth to his travels and how he came to know all the incredible things he knew. It is quite a story to claim that this one man is a master at music, illusions, architecture, languages, and more, and yet this book truly details how he came to have all of this knowledge in such a realistic way. A lot of natural talent combined with some extensive traveling and the Phantom becomes who is is. I think my favorite part was the explanation of the friendship between Erik and "the Persian," who is just as mysterious of a character in the original as Erik is. I thought this really explained why the Persian is completely aware of how terrible Erik is and yet is completely devoted to him. Their friendship seemed realistic and genuine.
Truly, this book completely sucked me in and consumed me. I did not want to put it down and felt like I couldn’t think about anything else while I was reading it. The writing style was so faithful to the original too, I felt like [a:Gaston Leroux|9057|Gaston Leroux|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1207312409p2/9057.jpg] could really have written this prequel. It was incredibly well done.
If I have one complaint though, it’s that the book should have stopped before the beginning of the original. That way this would be a true prequel. But the last approximately 1/4 of the book was the exact storyline and time period as [b:The Phantom of the Opera|26469971|The Phantom of the Opera|Gaston Leroux|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/book/50x75-a91bf249278a81aabab721ef782c4a74.png|2259720], only condensed and not told as well or in as much detail. Although to some extent I enjoyed seeing events through the eyes of Erik and Christine as opposed to the original which is told more from the perspective or Raoul and the Persian, I still feel like to read that part of the story, you might as well read the original. And yes, I can understand why this author didn’t want to stop her story there because that part is very interesting, and she did add or expound on a few things, but again, this part of the story is the whole point of the original book. Why tell it over again in a worse way? I was bored with this part and kind of ready for it to be over. However, the ending of the book really redeemed itself when it picks up years after the end of the original. I loved that part and am glad it was included. The last few pages even kind of made me tear up.
All things said though this is an awesome tribute to the novel that I love that is so different from the movie that I love. It really brings Erik to life and makes you feel for him, and be afraid of him, in even more detail than you do from reading the original novel. I highly applaud [a:Susan Kay|16674953|Susan Kay|https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] for this and I definitely recommend it to fans of any version of this incredible story! (Although if you’re only a fan of the Andrew Lloyd Weber version, for sure read the incredible [a:Gaston Leroux|9057|Gaston Leroux|https://images.gr-assets.com/authors/1207312409p2/9057.jpg] version before you read this book).
Now I’m off to reread the book and watch the movie for the hundred millionth time!