I've never seen the musical, nor have I seen any of the movie adaptations, so the original text is my first experience with this story. I imagine a lot of the high ratings for this book are from people who fell in love with the musical and read the book afterward. I didn't even know it was a book as I said I am very unfamiliar with this story. I fully admit I only read this because I wanted a bit of background before reading roseblood.

Maybe it's just that I didn't get the story. I felt for Erik, but I also felt that I didn't feel enough for him...if that makes sense? I shall list.

Likes:
• He writes notes in red ink, calls himself the "opera ghost", and signs his letters "O.G." - brilliant and slightly creepy. I'm into it.
• The world has wronged Erik. His mother's first gift to him was a mask to cover his hideous face. and instead of becoming a pathetic ball of emotion, he turns into a violently clever and slightly insane ball of emotions.
• Erik says he wants to be loved for himself. I think this is the most important idea in the entire book, yet he still ends up taking his own life(?) as Christine and Raoul skip happily away in the distance and disappear into a distant life of superficial joy. I liked where the idea started, but wasn't on board for the whole ride.

Dislikes:
• Christine. She's crazy, she's boring, she's pathetic. But she's beautiful! And she sings! Ah, what shallow man wouldn't love her?
• Raoul. He was friends with Christine when they were children; now that he's returned and she's older and beautiful, he's in love with her? Because that makes sense.
• Does Christine love Raoul? Does she understand love? Half the time she's pushing away telling him she remembers her childhood friend, then suddenly she's like, "in the name of our love" and I was confused. When did they fall in love? I must've missed it. A pretty face and some kind words doesn't make me want to board that ship. I'd rather walk the plank.
• the book starts with a guy hanging. A chandelier falls and kills a few people a bit later. Then some tricks are played and some people are knocked out or tied up but meh. When I read something that's supposed to be a "dark" sort of story, I expect more death. More deceit. More things actually happening and less talking about what excuses people make to explain away things they don't understand. Tell me the story from Erik's pov, and I'm in. I would've been SO in. This was presented as a history, and it didn't work. For me! Maybe I'm crazy though.
• I struggle with classic literature frequently for the style in which much of it is written. I don't like when the author makes side notes to the reader while telling the story. Maybe it feels antiquated to me? And I can't get used to it? It's hard to describe. But I don't like it and I can't get past it enough to enjoy the story.
• I had to force myself to read this whole book. FORCE. I really don't like to DNF books because what if something magical happens in the last 20 pages? I'll never know if I stop before the end! So I pushed through. And was not rewarded.

I tried. I truly did. I wanted to love the story of the opera ghost. But I just didn't. If you made it through this review and absolutely adore the story of Erik and the insufferable Christine, please comment! Tell me what you love! I want to understand why so many people are obsessed with this musical...what transformative magic the songs worked to make people enjoy an incredibly boring story.

TL;DR : Don't go into this expecting a gothic romance. This is a mystery and a tragic look at two men fawning for a woman who doesn't seem interested in either of them but pities and humours them nonetheless.

If you have watched the musical or the movie and would like to read the source material, be prepared for a wildly different story---perhaps not in plot but in vibe, genre, and intention.

Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux is NOT a love triangle between Christine, Raoul, and Erik (or, the Phantom of the Opera, or the Opera Ghost). Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux is not a gothic romance. This novel is a mystery, a faux-horror, and a drama.

In the movie and the musical, we spend a lot of time dissecting and witnessing the relationship and dynamics between Christine and the ghost. However, in the novel, there is FAR less of this. At it's core, this is a mystery around several murders that occur at the opera house, as well as the temporary disappearance of Christine.

If you care to navigate the romance in this book, you will find a talented, if impressionable, young woman at the beginning of a possibly very successful career pursued by a rich boy and sad boy. You'll find a beautiful woman pursued by a man she seems to have no interest in, yet who throws a tantrum each time she does not return his affections of live up to the idea of her he's had in his head for years---and you'll find a psychopath who lives in the walls, kills people, is meant to maybe be the embodiment of her dead father, drugs her, kidnaps her, and threatens to blow up the entire opera house if she does not agree to his proposal of marriage!

So, no... not a romance.

I speak like I didn't enjoy this. I did. It was good writing and, at times, hilarious. In fact, I am a big fan of the sympathy and overall message about Erik at the end----that he was a talented man who would have gone far if he'd not be ostracized by the world...

Only, he was rather successful wasn't he? In the backstory we get for him, he's achieved great things over his life time (which also calls into question his interest in a woman who seems to be far younger than he). He's mastered several fields and accomplished great things.

Again, I speak as if I didn't enjoy it. I did. I am not sure if I am convincing you or myself, but I did. Perhaps only as a respect for being the source material for a play I quite enjoy, even if the play itself has MANY criticisms as well.

sooooooo horribly unnecessary and i already know im not gonna be reading the rest