MIA and The Phantom

I've been missing in action for awhile.  There is something about being sick that completely zaps all my motivation.  I see in my absence someone who appears to have even less of a life then me left a very "witty" comment on my last post.  What a charming fellow.

Anyhoo, on to the review.  

Phantom by Susan Kay

When I was 10 years old my mother took me to see The Phantom of the Opera at the Pantages theatre in Toronto.  To say that experience had an effect on me would be an understatement.  I lived and breathed all things Phantom for the better part of my pre-teen existence.  I received the soundtrack (on tape) along with Gaston Leraux's original book for Christmas that year and I don't think I could ever be found without one or the other.  Even as a 10 year old I still couldn't figure out why the heck Christine would leave The Phantom for sissy boy Raoul.  Actually, come to think of it perhaps this is where my love of love triangles as a plot device came from...

So - I heard about Phantom by Susan Kay quite some time ago and I put it on "my list" (this was a printed out list three columns wide and three pages long of books I wanted based on things I read on the internet).  The list has since been retired and I know keep track of books on my bookpedia wishlist.  There were probably a dozen books on that original list that I gave up on finding Phantom was one of them.  So imagine my excitement when my cousin drops me off two large boxes of books and at the very bottom of the second box is Susan Kays Phantom.  Trust me it was huge - hubby still isn't sure if he should be jealous of this book.

This isn't just a re-telling of the Phantom of the Opera - using the few pages of background on the phantom that is provided in Leraux's original novel Kay expanded on it and wrote The Phantom's (Erik) biography.  The novel is told in a narrative style and is divided into sections based on the storyteller.  I really liked this style of writing and it was interesting to see Erik through his own eyes and then through someone else's.  I especially like Raoul's section at the very end.  I don't want to give away any spoilers but although the story is still tragic there is just a little twist about what happened after Christine and Raoul left the theatre that I loved.

I know some people were annoyed about how the ending was tweaked but she really didn't stray so far from what happened in the original novel she just added to it a bit - and I for one really appreciated it.

Christine was the same weak-willed ninny she always is (I've never been a fan of Christine and figured the Phantom could have done better) but she does grow up a bit at the end of the novel and the glimpse into her diary we get makes her a little more sympathetic.

Erik is tragic.  His story is always tragic but reading about his life before the events of the Opera make it even more so.  It is no wonder Erik had no regard for human life there were very few people with redeemable qualities in his life.

The only quibble I had about this book was that I was a little disappointed in the Christine/Erik section.  It was actually kind of slow for me but perhaps that was because I had built it up so much in my mind and I couldn't wait to get there.

This book is most definitely going up on my keeper shelf.

Rating 9/10