Phantom

I love the characters and the insights into them!

The author does a really good job of placing you in the time and perception of each character. A bit long (400+) but it's well worth the time. Fantastic novel.

Attempting to rewrite or revisit a classic novel is tough. The writer must contend with readers existing ideas of the characters, and few characters are imprinted on cultural memory in the way that Gaston Leroux's Phantom has been, through various films and musical adaptations. Kay approaches the challenge initially be removing us from the setting of the opera house, and begining her story with the birth and childhood of a severeley deformed boy named Erik. Hated by his mother and hidden from the world, Erik evokes any reader's sympathy. He is simply a lonely child desperate for affection. But we also see glimpses of the man who we know, on some level, will haunt the Paris Opera. Erik's first cries as a baby are hypnotic and the sound of his voice can almost evoke a tender response in his mother. He has an almost supernatural genius in the fields of music and design. He longs for his mother to kiss him,just once to show affection (something she cannot bring herself to do) Gradually we follow Erik as he grows up and escapes his mother's household only to become an exhibit in a freakshow. Throughout his life Erik attempts to find a place for himself as a stonemason's apprentence (leading to tragedy that foreshadows what will happen later in his life) and in a Persian Court where he devises methods of torture for the queen and acquires a lifelong friend. Through it all Erik never sheds the one thing his mother gave him: a mask to hide his face. Finally deciding to retire from a world he has no place in Erik puts his architectual genius to use, designing a home for himself beneath the cellar of the Opera Garnier, where her plans to live the rest of his life in peace, while being close to his true passion: music. It is only at this point that we become immersed in the story we think we know. Erik falls in love with a beautiful young soprano, Christine Daae. Knowing that he can bring out her talent as no one else can, he takes her under his wing at the same time her childhood sweetheat, Raoul, attempts to do the same. Ultimately this is an emotional story about a man rejected all his life, who has never known love, trying to find the strength to love someone else completely and selflessly. Yes, there are some of the fun booby traps that Leroux describes, the mysterious Persian, the sensationalism etc. But Kay adds what Leroux's novel lacks- and emotional center for his characters. For that reason I find it more satisfying.

Phantom is a magnificent book which gives a wonderful new depth and bredth to the POTO story and completely outshines the rather shallow and clunky original book by Leroux. The original Erik is a pathetic "monster" who grovels, wails and kills when he can't get his own way, only to be redeemed at the end of the book by a change of heart which is totally out of character and unconvincing. Kay gives us a real man instead of a "monster", a man whose whole life is shaped by his hideous disfigurement, a man struggling internally between good and bad whose ultimate redemption at the end of the story is both convincing and deserved. Enough has been said by hundreds of other reviewers about the compelling nature of Kay's back-story for Erik's life for me to add to it at any great length other than to say it is truly riveting stuff. But for me the story reaches its greatest heights when the book merges with the original storyline. Kay's exploration of the ambiguous relationship between Christine and Erik is absolutely stunning. For one thing we have a Christine who actually makes some sense as a realistic character. We understand exactly how the fragility of her own personality led her to fall under the Phantom's influence and how the deeply damaged Erik is devastated by his desire for her vulnerable beauty. This vulnerabilty is the key to their relationship and Christine is weak for one very good reason. It is absurd to imagine a woman with any real spunk believing in the Angel of Music in the first place, let alone allowing herself to be sucked into to such a dangerous mess. The problem with Leroux's Christine is that she is simply not a very convincing character;her behaviour is dictated by the plot at every turn and therefore riddled with howling absurdities. Kay does not make the same mistake with Christine. Christine's behaviour is motivated by her personality rather than the demands of the plot and she does not deliberately lead Raoul a merry dance in order to preserve the mystery of the story. The minute she has the opportunity she comes clean to Raoul and tells him exactly what is going on. It's then up to Raoul to decide whether to hang around. Kay's Christine may be weak but she is certainly more honest and her attemps to keep Raoul out of danger are far more convincing. Like all truly rounded characters, she has the capacity to grow and be shaped by her experiences. At the start of her relationship with Erik she is in a state of arrested emotional development, the archetypal little girl lost and we watch her slowly and painfully start to grow up as the relationship hits crisis point and she must fight not only to save Raoul's life, but to come to terms with what Erik needs from her. The Counterpoint section where Christine's thoughts are alternatively related back to back with Erik's makes for totally compelling reading. This section,with its wonderful emotional insight and continuously mounting tension, pulls us inexorably

"None of us can choose where we will love." - Erik Susan Kay's bewitching novel, Phantom, is the story of the Phantom of the Opera, Erik, whose disfigurement frightens everyone around him and prevents him from being loved-even by his own mother. Phantom explains the darkness behind Erik's tortured soul better and more completely than the original novel by Gaston Leroux and the famous musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber. This beautifully written novel tells Erik's story, from his birth to his death. It begins in the point of view of Erik's mother, Madeleine, and describes how she hates and fears him from the day he was born and forces him to wear a mask. After Erik runs away from home, the story changes into Erik's perspective as he performs in a traveling gypsy circus. After the circus, the point of view changes once again to that of Giovanni, an Italian architect who takes Erik in and teaches him architecture. Following this, Erik travels to Persia, where his story is told by Nadir. Finally, Erik returns to France to help build the Opéra Populaire, where he falls in love with a young singer, Christine... Kay's writing style is almost lyrical in its exceptionally detailed descriptions. The utter sincerity with which Erik's personality is written is astounding. Phantom is truly touching. Erik is such a powerful character, and through this wonderful retelling readers are able to understand the obscure depths of who he is and why he becomes the Phantom. Be prepared for angst, adventure, danger, romance, and self discovery when you pick up this remarkable book. Also, a note to parents: this book contains violence, drug use, and sexual content. While not explicit, this is definitely a young adult book at the least.

I just finished reading PHANTOM and I loved it. The ending is very heartfelt, and I've never cried at a book...that is until now! PHANTOM is the story of Erik (or more commonly known as the Phantom of the Opera), covering his life from birth to death. At birth his mother despises him, and throughout his entire life, it seems no one can come to accept him the way that he is. At one point, he experiences happiness in Rome with Giovanni, who he looks to as a father-like figure. But not even he can resist the temptation to see Erik without his mask. In Erik's later life, he resorts to drugs to give him happiness. And he is content living in the labyrinthine world beneath the Opera House. Then he meets Christine and falls in love. He loves her and she loves him back. (However, I did think it was weird when Christine got jealous of the cat....) Erik would do anything for her, and he makes her a star. However, Raoul and temptation fall into the picture and she is torn about which way to go. Ultimately this is a love story, but it is exquisite! I could barely put it down! I know this is out of print (why??!!) but if you can buy one it's well worth your money. This novel is probably one of the greatest stories ever told.

For some time I've been interested in the story of "The Phantom of the Opera." When Gaston Leroux's "Le Phantom De L'Opera" was published in 1911, I doubt he knew that it would grow to the phenomenon it has become. Susan Kay plays on this phenomenon in her novel "Phantom," which provides us with an extraordinary overview of the life of Erik, the phantom himself. Her writing style lends to the romantic image (and indeed, the story is a romance, not only between Erik and Christine, but Erik and his music, as well as between the reader and Erik himself...who could help falling in love with his tragic figure?), that coupled with the european landscape creates the stage for a modern day fairy tale. The book exhibits incredible imagination with scenes that don't act as filler, but work to drive the plot...indeed the "gun" we see in act one returns in act three. Though not an "intellectual" read, we can't help but be aware of the research that must have gone into it, and that coupled with the ever lasting story makes for a highly entertaining novel.