Name: The Phantom of the Opera
Rating: 3.919716088328076 (317 reviews)
ISBN: 9780879053307

Peter F. Neumeyer

Gaston Leroux

Under the Paris Opera House lives a disfigured musical genius who uses music to win the love of a beautiful opera singer.

The Phantom of the Opera

The novel that inspired the Lon Chaney film and the hit musical. "The wildest and most fantastic of tales."--New York Times Book Review.

Bárbara Borba

I do like the story, but the writing style is not for me.

The story of a half-crazed musician hiding in the labyrinth of the famous Paris Opera House and orchestrating a number of events to further the career of a beautiful young singer.

The Phantom of The Opera

Amna A.

Fist off, I would like to state that this story is significantly different from the musical, for the Phantom's perspective which I was familiar with from the musical remains untold in the book and is a mystery until the end of the book, where it all unravels in an emotional chapter.

 The book as a whole could be classified as a mystery novel, for it kind of had that Sherlock Holmes element. The mystery was of the Opera Ghost/Angel of Music who possessed Christine Daaé and taught her how to sing. Christine's lover, Raoul, and a Persian who claims to have known the ghost uncover the mystery, they discover a psychotic man hiding behind the mask of a ghost. A man who has never been loved or accepted, not even by his mother, due to his physical disfiguration. But on the contrary, he possessed a divine voice unlike any other, and thus he resided in the dark tunnels under the opera house, composing his music until he fell in love with Christine, and thanks to his inexperience nature of dealing with people, he kidnaps her in attempt to make her his wife.

 In the end, after torturing Christine's lover, Raoul, and threatening to blow up a quarter of the population of Paris, the hysterical "Phantom" is stopped by Christine giving in and finally consenting to marry him out of pity. At that moment, I wasn't able to get the lyrics from the musical out of my head, "Pitiful creature of darkness, what kind of life have you known? God give me courage to show you, you are not alone!"

 The shock that cam from the sudden feeling of being loved by somebody else was too much for him to handle, so he released Christine, and tells her to go off and marry Raoul. He commands her never to come back except for the purpose of burying him when he dies which would be caused by the unbearable love that he has towards towards her.

Christine would have been better off without Raoul or Erik.

Óda na tanec, architektúru, akustiku, estetiku, lásku a utrpenie. 

Klára Kováčiková 

Colleen

3 Stars
 
*An inspiring classic that is a bit rough around the edges*
 
I absolutely adore Andrew Lloyd Weber’s adaption of The Phantom of the Opera! It is one of my all-time favorites. But it was many years before I realized it was based on a book and quite a few years after that before I finally got around to reading it.
 
I was intrigued by the first half of the book. I loved discovering the origins of a well-loved story. But my interest floundered in the second half. The story dragged on, and the inconsistencies in Leroux’s narration got tedious. For such a short novella, it took me weeks to finish it.
 
With each adaptation I’ve seen, I have never been enthralled with Raoul. He always struck me as a rather generic pretty, rich boy lacking in personality. I understood the appeal of his star-crossed love affair with Christine but never routed for him. But I never realized that he is so much worse in the book! He is the epitome of angst! Tragic, inept, moon-eyed, hand-wringing angst that made me roll my eyes countless times. Even more unfortunately, around the time the story slows way down, Raoul takes the spotlight hence why it took me so long to finish the book.
 
It’s a story with good bones, but it flounders towards the end. Nevertheless, it is easy to see why this story has captured the attention of so many people. Love and tragedy and Gothic mystery all combined into a memorable tale.
 
But when I hear “Phantom of the Opera,” my first thought will still be Andrew Lloyd Weber not Gaston Leroux.

 
RATING FACTORS:
Ease of Reading: 3 Stars
Writing Style: 3 Stars
Characters and Character Development: 3 Stars
Plot Structure and Development: 3 Stars
Level of Captivation: 3 Stars
Originality: 4 Stars

heleen de boever

Enjoyable. I have taken to muttering things like "I had just left the library in despair..." and "the grasshopper hops jolly high" to myself.

I adored this novel with quite alot of hunger for it. Again, I struggled sometimes with the classical features of this book, but thanks to a sort of glossary at the back of my copy I was able to collect as much contextual knowledge as possible. 

I loved the whole plot of this story, Eric was one of the most well writted characters in my opinion that I have ever read. He is all rounded with good background tragedy and then reflecting it back into the present day struggle was also well done. I adored how he craved the love of Miss Dae. I loved the envy of him. I found this uncommon romance particularly beautiful in a heartbreaking way. 

I love Christine Dae with alot of my own heart. I formed a gorgeous bond with her. I found her selflessness of wanting everyone to be happy refreshing. It was pretty tragic to read but I was all the same quite proud of her in a sense. 

The viscount was at some times unbearable and at others quite extraordinary. I don't blame him for his temper with Christine, but it just seemed so over the top I found myself despising myself at times. All the same I did adore him. 

As a conclusion, I would recommend this book for a gothic, dark vibe with a ghoul-like atmosphere.

surtified™

I adored this novel with quite alot of hunger for it. Again, I struggled sometimes with the classical features of this book, but thanks to a sort of glossary at the back of my copy I was able to collect as much contextual knowledge as possible. 

I loved the whole plot of this story, Eric was one of the most well writted characters in my opinion that I have ever read. He is all rounded with good background tragedy and then reflecting it back into the present day struggle was also well done. I adored how he craved the love of Miss Dae. I loved the envy of him. I found this uncommon romance particularly beautiful in a heartbreaking way. 

I love Christine Dae with alot of my own heart. I formed a gorgeous bond with her. I found her selflessness of wanting everyone to be happy refreshing. It was pretty tragic to read but I was all the same quite proud of her in a sense. 

The viscount was at some times unbearable and at others quite extraordinary. I don't blame him for his temper with Christine, but it just seemed so over the top I found myself despising myself at times. All the same I did adore him. 

As a conclusion, I would recommend this book for a gothic, dark vibe with a ghoul-like atmosphere.

WOWWW such an incredible classic!! Was never boring, beautifully written and soul crashing. Loved it SOOOO much. 

Also, I was kinda rooting for the phantom... he has a place inside my heart.

Yalin Tsikun

WOWWW such an incredible classic!! Was never boring, beautifully written and soul crashing. Loved it SOOOO much. 

Also, I was kinda rooting for the phantom... he has a place inside my heart.

The Phantom of the Opera (1910) is a novel by French writer Gaston Leroux. Originally serialized in Le Galois, the novel was inspired by legends revolving around the Paris Opera from the early nineteenth century. Originally a journalist, Leroux turned to fiction after reading the works of Arthur Conan Doyle and Edgar Allan Poe. Despite its lack of success relative to Leroux’s other novels, The Phantom of the Opera has become legendary through several adaptations for film, theater, and television, including Andrew Lloyd Webber’s celebrated 1886 Broadway musical of the same name. In 1880s Paris, the legendary Palais Garnier Opera House is rumored to be haunted by a malignant entity. Known as the Phantom of the Opera, he has been linked to the hanging death of a stagehand in addition to several strange and mysterious occurrences. Just before a gala performance, a young Swedish soprano named Christine is called on to replace the opera’s lead, who is suffering from a last-minute illness. From the audience, the Vicomte Raoul de Chagny recognizes Christine, his childhood sweetheart, and goes backstage after the opera has ended to reintroduce himself. While waiting by her dressing room, he hears her talking to an unknown man, but upon entering finds himself alone with Christine. Pressing her for information, she reveals that she has been receiving lessons from a figure she calls the Angel of Music, prompting suspicion and terror in Raoul, who is familiar with the legend of the Phantom. As Raoul makes his feelings for Christine known, the Phantom professes his love for his protégé, and a battle for her affection ensues. Caught in this love triangle, threatened on all sides by jealousy and pursuit, Christine struggles to hold on as her star in the Paris Opera rises. With a beautifully designed cover and professionally typeset manuscript, this edition of Gaston Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera is a classic of French literature reimagined for modern readers.

Phantom of the Opera

Nett

Not my first go around with this book but it is my first time listening to it. I listened to the version narrated by B.J. Harrison, highly recommend. He was an excellent narrator! I absolutely love this book, it’s fanciful, engaging, funny, and wonderfully gothic. One of my favorites for sure. 

Kerry McHugh West

Bambi Ard

One thing I didn’t expect this book to be was ‘hilarious’ but oh my god?? Classic slapstick is on another level.

The star cast: two bumbling managerial idiots, one particularly empty-headed twink love interest, a love-starved living corpse that is in equal measures terrifying and pitiful, and then the Daroga and Christine, sole keepers of any level of common sense. All narrated by a “professional” “historian” who has the exact energy that he commits tax fraud. And I loved them all. God bless.

✨Tyler ✨

3.5. i had fun reading it with a friend, but i wasn't blown away or in love with the story.

Chronicles the story of a demented musician who haunts the nineteenth-century Paris Opera House and plays a terrifying role in the career of a beautiful young singer.

Sam Pulliam

The first half of this is really great. Super funny. The second half was super intense in action but definitely not as fun. The two main men are annoying.

This book brings up conversations about depictions of POC in classics. It also is a good springboard for talking about the way people who are considered "ugly" are portrayed in media and treated in real life. Idk how to rate this so I'm not going to.

The Phantom of the Opera

Reviews

Highlights