I cannot explain why I picked up that book… I have never been a gothic admirer and I hated both horror and romance stories. The first made me fear. The second made me disgusted with all that drama round the name of love. But this book, “The Phantom of the Opera” by Gaston Leroux, has made me change my mind for ever…
The story is set at the Paris Opera house, where a disfigured though extremely talented musician who fails passionately in love with Christine Daae, a ballet dancer. However, the rich and handsome Viscount Raoul de Sani, the childhood love of the Christine, wants her same desperately. Although her mentor has a strange and absolute influence on Christine, she is pulled over by the impressive Raul, angering the Phantom and setting the foundation for a dramatic climax! Derailed passions, unbridled jealousy and passionate love threaten to lead the fatal lovers to a point of no return...
The whole novel is so “alive”. There were times that I felt like delving into the book myself. One moment I was sitting near the Phantom at Box Five, listening to the wonderful and angelic voice of Christine performing Faust. The other, my blood was running cold when I actually could see the large chandelier falling in front of my eyes, ready to crash on me. I could feel the sweat slipping down my body when I, along with the Phantom and the Persian, was at the Torture Room. And the picture of the Phantom taking of his mask and revealing that obnoxious, repulsive face, is deeply carved in my mind… Without any exaggeration, it was like the book was speaking to me! Like I would read further from the lines…
I strongly recommend this book to everyone. Whether you like dark, gothic stories, stories of horror and thrillers, or whether you are a love story admirer, this is the book that will leave you breathless. It was like it lured me to read it from cover to cover in one night. I loved “The Phantom of the Opera”. In a few words, I adored it!