Review: The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

Le fantôme de l'Opéra by Gaston Leroux

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I suppose I will do this review in English though I read it in French.  Don't give me too much credit, I read the adapted version for intermediate French students.  As I call it, the stupid people's version.  No offense intended.  Je me moque.

Summary: A disturbingly gifted child, horribly disfigured from birth, flees into a cruel world where he will learn to survive at any cost.

Torn between good and evil, driven to seek power as a substitute for the love he fears he can never know, Erik begins a dark journey that will take him acros the face of Europe, from a gypsy cage to the treacherous court of Persia, and ultimately to the cellars of the Paris Opera House, where he must finally learn the true meaning of love.

Characters:
Because it can get confusing-

• Raoul=Vicomte (de Chagny)
• Erik=phantom
• Daroga=Persian

Alright, Christine is kinda stupid to believe that her father had sent the Angel of Music.  I guess the same can be said for anything else a person can blindly have faith in.  Personally, I don't think it is pragmatic to do so.  Christine's belief in the Angel of Music lead Erik to take advantage of her.  I have nothing to say about her except that she is super naive and the damsel in distress.  As for Raoul, biggest cry baby ever.    Literally, it seemed as though he were crying every other chapter.  Erik is the only character with some depth, having a reason for wreaking havoc.  In addition, he is extremely cunning.  He is definitely my favorite character because both Christine and Raoul played stereotypes, the helpless girl and the rich guy who is equally as useless.  He reminds me of Scott from Keeping Up with the Kardashians which is probably the lowest insult a person can be given .  Honestly, I am not of fan of this love triangle.  Pas du tout!  A good love triangle makes you torn between the bases as if you were the character at the top.  Even though I liked Erik, he is still violent and demanding, so I didn't want him to end up with Christine either.

Plot:
Maybe I just was tired of learning French grammar, but I thoroughly enjoyed reading this.  I was impressed by the suspense and mystery, especially considering the time period in which it was written.  I imagine this was considered a horror story, actually frightening the then audience.  This truly is a beautiful story about hardship, love, suspense,... Tolerate the characters and you will enjoy it.

Would I recommend it to a friend? Yes, I'm thinking about reading the real version.  Whether I'll read it in English or French I'm not sure about.

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