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Phantom of the Opera
The book! Not...
The book! Not the musical, tho I like the musical too.
But the book! In which Erik is a psychotic, skull-faced genius who falls in love with/obsesses over the young and beautiful Christine Daaé. He goes completely insane when Christine falls for her childhood companion, Raoul, instead, to the point of holding Raoul hostage and torturing him, and forcing Christine to marry him...
I think Erik redeemed himself in the end, and proved that he truly did love Christine, when he let her and Raoul go because he could see that Christine could never be happy with him... Yes? No?
Other thoughts?
submitted by TNÖ, age 15, Deep Space
(May 10, 2009 - 9:42 pm)
(May 10, 2009 - 9:42 pm)
Aargh, no, it was the GIC! I read the GIC version! How could I? *rants*
I must go read the real version, and then I will post. Sorry!
But judging from what it did include, and I know we've been through this, Erik was just a creep.
(May 11, 2009 - 5:00 pm)
*fish-slaps* no more GIC for you! Read the real version!
Erik isn't a creep. He's not even a sociopath like so many people seem to think. He was abused by his parents (well, everyone except the Persian and Christine, really) and that totally messed him up.
The thing with Erik, he's this genius with an incredible talent for music, but nobody is able to look past his deformity in order to see that (again, with the exception of the Persian and Christine). He quite literally has to hide and deceive Christine in order to teach her to sing; as it is, despite her (largely platonic) love for the "angel of music", she STILL goes into a dead faint the first time she sees him - and that's with his mask ON.
Admittedly Erik does completely overreact to Christine removing his mask; and she had every right to be terrified of him.
The only reason Erik latches on to Christine like he does is because she keeps returning to him out of pity; he knows this, deep down, which is why in the end he goes totally off the deep end and threatens to blow up the Opera house if she doesn't marry him.
Beneath his obsession though is a healthy sort of love, which he shows when he lets Christine and Raoul go at the end of the book (and the play, for that matter, but it's not as tear-jerking in the play).
Anyway, yeah, read the real version, and I nearly guarentee you will cry at the end of it. I did when I finished it in English class. :/ Everyone laughed at me, except Schouboe.
(May 11, 2009 - 10:16 pm)
front...
(May 11, 2009 - 5:00 pm)
It's an interesting book. Definitely not exactly the same as the musical, though. "Yes" on the end Phantom thing. :)
(May 11, 2009 - 8:43 pm)
Yeh, Mucial!Erik was quite good looking. MusicalMovie!Erik even more so.
(May 12, 2009 - 8:09 am)
@ TNO- Yeah, I cried too. And, yeah, I agree about Erik and what you said. I haven't seen the musical, what's it like? Is it worth watching? Is the song "Music of the Night" in it?
@Mary Liz-How 'bout I look up my little battered edition and tell you the publisher so you'll have some idea what to get?
(May 12, 2009 - 2:30 am)
OH MY GOSH. You haven't seen the movie????????????
That is one of my all-time favorites!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
I VERY HIGHLY recommend it.
(May 12, 2009 - 1:53 pm)
Ok, I'm more out of the loop than I thought. I had no idea it was a book.
(May 12, 2009 - 1:51 pm)
It sounds really creepy.
(May 12, 2009 - 1:52 pm)
A bit. Erik's torture of Raoul and the Persian were the most twisted bits, I think. But it's only a tiny bit creepy. And it's a really good read!
(May 12, 2009 - 4:21 pm)
Erik tortured Raoul? Um, did I miss something here? When was this?
YOU SEE? THIS is what reading GIC does to your brain! *aah*!
a while later...
@ Jenni: Thanks, that would be great. And THANK YOU for remembering to call me "Mary Liz." :)
(May 12, 2009 - 6:39 pm)
*seething* I read the REAL version... GIC... they just... ruined it! They took away all the parts with any depth or emotion and just... *loss for words*
They made Raoul out to be some brave, strong, terrific hero guy- um, yeah right. The Persian- whose character they also destroyed- summed it up best- "Baby." If not for the Persian, Raoul would be even more dead than how GIC did him.
Now, the real version- that was spectacular. It was very profound, especially towards the end, and really good writing. The plot was so original, and the characters so well-done, and it was a really touching, excellent book. If you haven't already, I recommend reading it. Very strongly.
The one thing that I found a teensy, miniscule bit off about PotO was how G. Leroux portrayed his female characters, especially Christine. She was sort of like an older version of Ella- all whiny and dependent on her boyfriend. And weak. Very sterotypical, as in, she can't do anything for herself. Was that just me, or did anyone else think that way?
Overall, though, amazing, amazing book.
Sorry for the GIC rant up there... no offense meant to anyone...
(May 22, 2009 - 4:38 pm)