Novel - Phantom of the Opera (Le Fantôme de l'Opéra originally)
Author - Gaston Leroux
Published in - 1909
Genre - Horror, Mystery, Romance
Warnings - No profanity or sex scenes, some violence but it's pretty mild.
Plot - The story takes place in France, in the well-renowned Paris Opera House. The story revolves around a young girl, Chrstine Daae, who's mother died when she was young. She and her father, a famous Swedish violinist, traveled all over Sweden, until he later passes away of what is assumed to be tuberculosis. An orphan at the Opera Populaire, Christine one day hears a voice in her dressing room, who she knows as the Angel of Music. The Angel, really a man named Erik, is a disfigured genius who was on the construction crew when the Opera was built. He gives her daily singing lessons until her beautiful voice is revived. One day, the Vicomte de Chagny, goes to the Opera House and recognizes Christine from when they were children. He realizes his strong love for her, and Christine is, for a time, unable to decide between Erik or Raoul, and both become increasingly jealous of the other. When Christine is suddenly kidnapped from the stage in the middle of a performance, Raoul comes into contact with the Persian, a foreign daroga who knows the Opera House almost as well as Erik, and once saved Erik's life. Together they travel down into the recesses of the Opera House in order to save Christine.
Character Development - Leroux did an incredible job with character development, telling the story from an outsider's point of view, through reports, newspaper articles, and a written narrative from the Persian. While Christine and Raoul were occasionally stereotypical, Erik's character was just amazing. I loved his raw passion and the more you read the more you see he is probably the most human out of all the characters.
Personal Opinion - This book is simply amazing. The Phantom's unconditional love for Christine versus Raoul's innocent infatuation with her made for an interesting and unique love story. There was horror and mystery, and the book keeps you wondering what will happen until the very end. The way the story was told, through police reports, interviews, and articles was captivating and original. Leroux weaves a sorrowful tale that will make you feel sorry for just about every character in this novel at least once while reading. The strange events of the "Phantom" lead up to the anxiously anticipated finale, and you will definitely not be disappointed with the ending! I recommend this to anyone who likes horror, mystery, and romance!
Comparison to the Movie - I appreciate the fact that Andrew Loyd Webber and Joel Schumacher attempted to make the movie similar to the book. There are some elements taken from the novel and used in the movie, just in a different order and sometimes twisted to fit in with the storyline of the movie. The characters are portrayed completely different from the novel; Christine is like an innocent, undecided girl in the movie, while in the book she is strong-willed and at times even snobby. Erik is definitely not as deformed or disturbed as he is in the book, and Raoul in the movie is a more heroic character, than the helpless Vicomte he was in the novel. I still adore both versions of the Phantom, and I think they are both uniquely amazing!
My Rating - 10/10
