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giulianasbooks's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Tenía bastantes ganas de leer este libro ya que me propuse a principios de año leer unos cuantos clásicos.
La verdad es que la trama me ha parecido muy buena pero muchas veces se me ha hecho un poco pesado y lento. Aunque eso no quiere decir que la pluma del escritor es una pasada, para mi gusto le sobran páginas.
La verdad es que hay muy pocos personajes de la historia que me hayan gustado y no he llegado a simpatizar con casi ninguno: Raoul me ha parecido bastante pesado y siento un amor/odio hacia Christine que no sabría ni cómo explicar. También me hubiera gustado que hubieran pasado más cosas en la ópera ya que me ha parecido que ahí no están casi nunca (sólo al principio y al final).
Por los temas que trata, me parece que es un libro que todo el mundo debería leer (aunque no esperéis una historia de romance bonita, porque este libro es básicamente horror y tragedia).
La verdad es que la trama me ha parecido muy buena pero muchas veces se me ha hecho un poco pesado y lento. Aunque eso no quiere decir que la pluma del escritor es una pasada, para mi gusto le sobran páginas.
La verdad es que hay muy pocos personajes de la historia que me hayan gustado y no he llegado a simpatizar con casi ninguno: Raoul me ha parecido bastante pesado y siento un amor/odio hacia Christine que no sabría ni cómo explicar. También me hubiera gustado que hubieran pasado más cosas en la ópera ya que me ha parecido que ahí no están casi nunca (sólo al principio y al final).
Por los temas que trata, me parece que es un libro que todo el mundo debería leer (aunque no esperéis una historia de romance bonita, porque este libro es básicamente horror y tragedia).
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Stalking, Suicide attempt, and Gaslighting
Minor: Death of parent and Fire/Fire injury
andyandnormski's review against another edition
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.0
Maybe I was influenced a bit by my love of the musical. Maybe I went into this with certain expectations, but I did not enjoy this as much as I really wanted to. The writing is overly flowery and needlessly dramatic. This makes it a slog to read through. If you go into this expecting it to be a sort of precursor story to the musical, be prepared to be disappointed.
The plot. Where to begin with this? The plot wanders from scene to scene. It feels like it's trying to be told as a mystery but it doesn't quite accomplish this. Random events happen one after another, and we're told through Raoul's perspective that this is all caused by some nefarious plan the phantom (Erik) is orchestrating. And since Erik is hidden in the shadows and Raoul has yet to see him, we're told outright by Raoul that this is evil. It's hard to read it that way considering many scenes don't feel interconnected and most characters have little influence on the story. You could cut many characters out and it wouldn't alter the trajectory of the plot. Raoul's brother barely has a presence and he is killed off in the last chapter almost as an after thought, as if the author forgot about him and realized he was a loose end. This happens more than once. Characters are quickly introduced, then whisked away before their appearance even has a moment to breathe. Even Erik suffers from this. The near entirety of his backstory is introduced in the epilogue, again feeling very much like an after thought.
And Raoul? It's rare that I see a main character that I wholly root against. He is incredibly unlikable. He's brash, deeply paranoid, and borderline hostile towards everyone around him right from the start. His behavior towards Christine can almost be described as a stalker. While much of Erik's behavior is questionable, Raoul doesn't fair any better. If this was a different story, both characters could be painted in an antagonistic light. Why this story is told from Raoul's perspective and not Christine's is a mystery to me.
All in all, I didn't enjoy this. I don't think I'll be reading it again. I'm not sure if I want to keep my copy either.
The plot. Where to begin with this? The plot wanders from scene to scene. It feels like it's trying to be told as a mystery but it doesn't quite accomplish this. Random events happen one after another, and we're told through Raoul's perspective that this is all caused by some nefarious plan the phantom (Erik) is orchestrating. And since Erik is hidden in the shadows and Raoul has yet to see him, we're told outright by Raoul that this is evil. It's hard to read it that way considering many scenes don't feel interconnected and most characters have little influence on the story. You could cut many characters out and it wouldn't alter the trajectory of the plot. Raoul's brother barely has a presence and he is killed off in the last chapter almost as an after thought, as if the author forgot about him and realized he was a loose end. This happens more than once. Characters are quickly introduced, then whisked away before their appearance even has a moment to breathe. Even Erik suffers from this. The near entirety of his backstory is introduced in the epilogue, again feeling very much like an after thought.
And Raoul? It's rare that I see a main character that I wholly root against. He is incredibly unlikable. He's brash, deeply paranoid, and borderline hostile towards everyone around him right from the start. His behavior towards Christine can almost be described as a stalker. While much of Erik's behavior is questionable, Raoul doesn't fair any better. If this was a different story, both characters could be painted in an antagonistic light. Why this story is told from Raoul's perspective and not Christine's is a mystery to me.
All in all, I didn't enjoy this. I don't think I'll be reading it again. I'm not sure if I want to keep my copy either.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Ableism, Torture, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Murder, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Death of parent
livelaughomo's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Emotional abuse, Kidnapping, and Stalking
Moderate: Torture and Murder
Minor: Body horror, Racial slurs, and Suicide attempt
linnylionheart's review against another edition
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body shaming, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Torture, Kidnapping, Stalking, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Bullying, Mental illness, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Classism
Minor: Child abuse, Misogyny, Blood, and Death of parent
mengzhenreads's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
You can feel the emotion pouring from every crevice of this book. Definitely different from the musical, but just as original, moving, and dramatic.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, and Torture
Minor: Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Death of parent
smithreads's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
informative
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, and Classism
Moderate: Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Xenophobia, Islamophobia, and Suicide attempt
maeverose's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Diverse cast of characters? No
3.0
Whelp. That sure was a book.
My rating is mostly for the unintentional comedy of how ridiculous the book is. I know some parts are supposed to be funny but I think I was laughing at the wrong parts. I also just love the idea of some guy secretly living in an opera house and messing with people. Sadly though I was bored most of the time while reading this. I liked Raoul and Christine well enough (though they were both extremely naive), Erik was very different than I thought he would be (I didn’t know anything about his backstory and I had no idea he’d be so talkative and weird. I thought he’d be more brooding lol). I found it hard to imagine the descriptions of the opera house, especially when they went underground, though that’s likely a fault of the translation.
Speaking of the translation, I don’t know if my edition (paper mill press) is just a bad edition but there were quite a few typos and a lot of things were worded awkwardly, and I don’t think it was just the writing style, it seemed like a bad translation. Maybe I’ll have to do some research and see if there’s a better one.
I really wanted to like this but I think I might just not get along with classics that well. Every time I read a classic I feel like I would like it better if it had been written today. Same time period, story and characters, just a more modern writing style (and less misogyny, racism and ableism… although this story relies so heavily on the ableism I’m not sure how you’d write it without it…). I don’t mind the old language so much but I don’t like the overly dramatic repetitive dialogue that classics often have (this one had a lot of that). I don’t like how repetitive in general classics tend to be. Which is sad because I want to like classics. The stories themselves are sometimes interesting but then the writing and dialogue ruin it for me :/
That ending though… Erik really went to all that trouble… just to break down over a forehead kiss and decide to let Christine marry Raoul after all. THEN DIE. OVER SAID KISS. Dude..
Also, I can’t imagine a room of mirrors being that convincing that you’d have to have prior knowledge of what it is to know it’s not actually a forest. YOU’D SEE YOUR OWN REFLECTION. COME ON.
I think this is probably much better experienced via the actual musical rather than the book. I’ve never seen the musical but now I want to.
My rating is mostly for the unintentional comedy of how ridiculous the book is. I know some parts are supposed to be funny but I think I was laughing at the wrong parts. I also just love the idea of some guy secretly living in an opera house and messing with people. Sadly though I was bored most of the time while reading this. I liked Raoul and Christine well enough (though they were both extremely naive), Erik was very different than I thought he would be (I didn’t know anything about his backstory and I had no idea he’d be so talkative and weird. I thought he’d be more brooding lol). I found it hard to imagine the descriptions of the opera house, especially when they went underground, though that’s likely a fault of the translation.
Speaking of the translation, I don’t know if my edition (paper mill press) is just a bad edition but there were quite a few typos and a lot of things were worded awkwardly, and I don’t think it was just the writing style, it seemed like a bad translation. Maybe I’ll have to do some research and see if there’s a better one.
I really wanted to like this but I think I might just not get along with classics that well. Every time I read a classic I feel like I would like it better if it had been written today. Same time period, story and characters, just a more modern writing style (and less misogyny, racism and ableism… although this story relies so heavily on the ableism I’m not sure how you’d write it without it…). I don’t mind the old language so much but I don’t like the overly dramatic repetitive dialogue that classics often have (this one had a lot of that). I don’t like how repetitive in general classics tend to be. Which is sad because I want to like classics. The stories themselves are sometimes interesting but then the writing and dialogue ruin it for me :/
Also, I can’t imagine a room of mirrors being that convincing that you’d have to have prior knowledge of what it is to know it’s not actually a forest. YOU’D SEE YOUR OWN REFLECTION. COME ON.
I think this is probably much better experienced via the actual musical rather than the book. I’ve never seen the musical but now I want to.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Ableism, Body shaming, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Animal death, Death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Torture, and Murder
Minor: Fatphobia and Xenophobia
incel behavior, controlling behavior, manipulationdlrosebyh's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
A captivating tale, The Phantom of the Opera centers on the young Swedish Christine Daaé. She is reared at the Paris Opera House with her famed musician father's dying vow of a guardian angel to watch over her. She finally learns how to sing wonderfully from the voice she starts hearing after spending some time at the opera. All is good until Raoul, Christine's childhood friend who attends the opera, arrives to see his opera-going parents and spots her as she starts singing effectively on stage. Erik, the deadly, malformed "ghost" of the opera theater, is the voice, but as his awful jealously builds, he becomes more aggressive until Christine vanishes without a trace. The ghost is madly in love and it is a terrible disaster.
Although it appears intriguing, comprehending it was quite difficult. Throughout the first half of the book, I thought the two major characters to be obnoxious and didn't give a damn about them. I was highly entertained by the book's second half, but the ending was awful.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Death, Emotional abuse, and Torture
Minor: Suicide attempt
apersonfromflorida's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Toxic relationship, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Torture and Murder
Minor: Suicide
ashleycmms's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? N/A
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death and Death of parent
Moderate: Toxic relationship
Minor: Torture