The Phantom Of The Opera

A much different novel than I thought I would read. Having been a fan of the musical for quite some time, seen the films a dozen different times, it was time to read the novel. That being said, I was expecting the romance that the musical presented. Instead, I received a Gothic-cloaked mystery of romantic proportions with interesting ( albeit dramatic & overtly passionate ) characters and Gaston himself as the narrator. Reading a bit on the history of this novel and its conception provided insight as to why the narrator was as such. For me, it was very well put together, although it left me with a few questions; the paranormal additions seemed like they were simply put there as a ‘wow' factor to throw the reader ( and the dramatic characters ) off, instead of acting as something to be deciphered. Perhaps the lack of “figuring things out” came from Gaston Leroux not having figured out the original mystery of the Palais Garnier himself. I'm glad I read it, though it doesn't have much re-read value for me, and there were places where the characters' dramatic tendencies were irritating instead of engaging. However, overall, I'm pleased.