Phantom - BookWyrm

Paperback, 468 pages

English language

Published March 15, 2006 by Llumina Stars.

ISBN:: 978-1-933626-04-8
OCLC Number:: 86174587

(6 reviews)

"In this novel, Susan Kay re imagines Gaston Leroux's famous novel "The Phantom of the Opera" in greater depth and detail. "Phantom" begins with a young widow giving birth to her only child. The child's face is severely deformed, and despite the signs of genius he shows from his early days, she cannot bring herself to love him. The child, Erik's, childhood is spent longing for the love of a mother whose only gift to him was a mask.

Eventually Erik runs away and joins a circus freak show. The cruel owners capitalize off his hideous face and his hauntingly beautiful singing. After leaving the circus, Erik becomes an apprentice to a stone mason, and experiences an adolescent crush on the mason's daughter, but after his appearance inadvertently causes a terrible tragedy, he escape once again, this time to Persia, and the queens court. Finally, tired of the world's rejection, …

"In this novel, Susan Kay re imagines Gaston Leroux's famous novel "The Phantom of the Opera" in greater depth and detail. "Phantom" begins with a young widow giving birth to her only child. The child's face is severely deformed, and despite the signs of genius he shows from his early days, she cannot bring herself to love him. The child, Erik's, childhood is spent longing for the love of a mother whose only gift to him was a mask.

Eventually Erik runs away and joins a circus freak show. The cruel owners capitalize off his hideous face and his hauntingly beautiful singing. After leaving the circus, Erik becomes an apprentice to a stone mason, and experiences an adolescent crush on the mason's daughter, but after his appearance inadvertently causes a terrible tragedy, he escape once again, this time to Persia, and the queens court. Finally, tired of the world's rejection, Erik helps to design the Paris Opera House, complete with a cavernous and labyrinthine basement, where he intends to live out the rest of his days. It is here that he encounters, Christine, a young soprano with whom he falls in love. "

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11 editions

Elias reviewed Phantom by Susan Kay

I've got a soft spot

4 stars

Content warning Very mild spoilers

Okay, so I've got some issues with parts of this novel. The part consisting of Erik's childhood was a bit too long, and the bit with Erik suddenly serving the devil when he hears Christine confess her love for Raoul seemed very out of place for him. Someone who has been an atheist for that long likely wouldn't swing to that — he'd just fly off the handle like a "normal" deranged misanthrope.

The Romani part was also a bit insensitive in bits, but it was the 90s so I'm not surprised. Same with the weird Orientalism going on with the shah's harem and just generally how the government around the shah is portrayed. Erik is also way too good at everything. So good that I don't know if his murderous instincts and personality flaws are enough to offset it.

But oh my god, the absolute heartbreaking throes of despair and longing Erik goes through during the core of the Christine plot... I will unashamedly admit I cried at the very end of it when she returns that last time before getting married. Erik was written quite well overall and I liked all the descriptions of his outfits and how the fabric moved. I'm also a bit obsessed with the attire the phantom wears in the ALW musical generally, tho, so...

Anyway, finally crossed off some new blorbo material. Let's goooo