The story of the Opera Ghost, aka Angel of Music, by French writer Gaston Leroux has been adapted so many times in the world of Arts from stage to film, I knew there had to be a very solid book at the base of it all - I was still pleasantly surprised by just how fantastic this book is!
Set in the Paris Opera House, this is the story - narrated by the author - of Erik, and how he became the phantom of the opera. The story of the central protagonist is told to us through the experiences of the various members of the Opera, and I thought that was brilliant; we never actually him - he appears to us in bits and pieces through a glimpse here and a voice there, and that’s what truly makes him a phantom.
The book starts off as a mystery - from the strange ‘Box Five’ to the two brutal deaths, and finally the disappearance of Christine Daaé, the soprano. That’s where the story changes its tone, and the focus shifts to the “love story” of Christine and Erik. Here is where we get to know Erik, the ghost who alternately strikes terror and love in the hearts of all he meets.
As Raoul embarks on a search for the kidnapped Christine, he is joined by ‘The Persian’, and yet another layer is added to the story with the unfolding of Erik’s history. On one level, the narrative relays the story of a man who went from the glory of a brilliant architect and musical maestro to the grime of a man condemned to death and on the run; on another level, the love story moves from love for a genius to horror at “the face of a rotting corpse” to forgiveness and a final farewell.
From Persia to Paris, from the rosy hours of Mazenderan to the underground torture chamber of fire and water, from the terrible lunacy of a physically deformed phantom to the tragic brilliance of Don Juan Triumphant … from an exiled loner to a rejected lover, this was the very moving tale of a man who became a ghost, and I really enjoyed it a lot.
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