The Phantom of the Opera

by Gaston Leroux

First things first, I love the music from the opera Phantom of the Opera. I grew up listening to my older sister playing the songs on the piano and singing along. I inherited the piano book after her and spent hours practicing. Now the book is with the youngest sister. I don’t want anyone to read this review and think I don’t like the opera.

That being said, those who haven’t read the novel are missing out. I didn’t realize how intense the book was when I first read it in college. There are only a few people that actually die within the story itself because of the Phantom but throughout the whole book I feared him. The Persian, who isn’t even in the opera, gives some background to Erik that adds another level to the character and explains his knowledge and some of his reasonings. At the end of the book is this line: “He had a heart that could have held the entire empire of the world; and, in the end, he had to content himself with a cellar.” It just makes you wonder what would have happened if he hadn’t been disfigured. This book takes a snapshot of society and though we would like to think we would not judge someone on their physical appearance alone, what other similarities can we draw between the actions of the doubting managers, the jealous singer Carlotta, the love struck Raoul, and the pitying Christine and our society.

This will always be one of my favorite books if only for the wonderful story telling that Gaston Leroux uses. He was a journalist for several years and left it to start writing fiction. This story emulates a journalistic style in presenting the facts of the situation in a way that you almost wonder if it really were true.