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The Phantom of the Opera

Gaston Leroux

Start date: July 1, 2013

Finish date: July 31, 2013

Discussion: Jul 2013 - Phantom of the Opera

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Jul 2013 - Phantom of the Opera

* Prologue - Chapter 5
By Karena · 17 posts · 156 views

last updated May 23, 2015 12:05PM

* Chapters 6-10
By Karena · 11 posts · 79 views

last updated May 23, 2015 12:06PM

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Jul 05, 2013 Hilmi Isa rated it really liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: classics-read

The Phantom of the Opera (TPOTO) yang ditulis oleh Gaston Leroux merupakan antara tajuk buku yang bertaraf klasik. TPOTO mengisahkan mengenai 'hantu' yang mendiami di bahagian bawah tanah Rumah Opera Paris di Perancis. Lembaga ini sebenarnya seorang manusia yang cacat dan hodoh mukanya. Selain memeras ugut wang pengurus rumah opera tersebut,dia turut mencintai seorang pelakon perempuan jelita yang bekerja di situ yang bernama Christine Daae'. Untuk membuktikan cintanya kepada Christine,Erik memb The Phantom of the Opera (TPOTO) yang ditulis oleh Gaston Leroux merupakan antara tajuk buku yang bertaraf klasik. TPOTO mengisahkan mengenai 'hantu' yang mendiami di bahagian bawah tanah Rumah Opera Paris di Perancis. Lembaga ini sebenarnya seorang manusia yang cacat dan hodoh mukanya. Selain memeras ugut wang pengurus rumah opera tersebut,dia turut mencintai seorang pelakon perempuan jelita yang bekerja di situ yang bernama Christine Daae'. Untuk membuktikan cintanya kepada Christine,Erik membantunya di dalam latihan nyanyian. Tidak terhad begitu sahaja,dia juga sanggup membunuh untuk Christine. Namun,Erik dan Christine akan terperangkap di dalam cinta tiga segi yang melibatkan Raoul,seorang ahli dari keluarga bangsawan di Perancis. Kisah cinta mereka ini bukan hanya akan melibatkan air mata sahaja,malah,darah juga akan menjadi pertaruhannya!

Jika disingkap sejarah,minat saya kepada TPOTO bermula apabila saya membaca komik manga Jepun yang bertajuk (di dalam bahasa Melayu) Volume 1: Kes Penyiasatan Kindaichi: Kes Pembunuhan Opera . Namun demikian,dengan peredaran waktu,minat saya ini berada di dalam status 'senyap' sehinggalah saya membeli buku ini. Saya sebenarnya agak terkejut apabila pertama kali membaca buku ini. Walaupun TPOTO boleh dianggap sebagai sebuah novel,tetapi,ianya juga merupakan sebuah kisah benar. Ini dinyatakan sendiri oleh penulis buku ini dalam bahagian 'Prolog'. Malahan,penulis turut menggunakan beberapa sumber yang didakwa benar dan watak-watak yang terdapat di dalamnya juga adalah benar di dalam dunia nyata,dan ini termasuk Erik,'Hantu Opera'! Tidak dapat dipastikan sama ada perkara ini benar atau tidak. Tambah unik,kisah benar ini ditulis dengan gaya ala-ala novel atau karya fiksyen popular. Malahan,bila saya membaca novel ini dari muka surat pertama sehingga terakhir,pembinaan watak,terutamanya watak Erik adalah sesuatu yang mengagumkan saya dan tidak pernah saya sangkakan selama ini. Sesungguhnya,novel ini bukan hanya mengisahkan manusia pelik yang tinggal di bawah tanah sahaja semata-mata. Ia sebenarnya lebih daripada itu.

Dari segi bahasa yang digunakan,bahasa Inggerisnya agak sukar difahami kerana mengandungi perkataan-perkataan klasik yang agak jarang sekali kita lihat atau baca di dalam fiksyen moden. Namun,saya berpendapat,kualiti bahasa Inggeris yang terkandung di dalamnya masih boleh difahami oleh para pembaca,terutamanya kepada mereka yang menguasai bahasa Inggeris dengan baik. Perlu saya nyatakan di sini bahawa bahasa asal yang digunakan di dalam novel ini adalah bahasa Perancis. Gaya penceritaan novel ini juga sangat menarik. Gaya penceritaan perspektif orang pertama dan ketiga digunakan secara serentak. Novel ini disarankan kepada mereka yang ingin 'berubah angin' untuk membaca sebuah karya klasik yang mungkin semakin dilupaka oleh generasi kini. ...more

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Feb 27, 2014 Beth (bibliobeth) rated it liked it

I've seen Andrew Lloyd Webber's famed theatre adaptation of this book a few times now and absolutely love it so I was intrigued to find out what I would make of the original book. The scene is set in a large and popular opera house in France where the managers have left in a bit of a flurry, no longer willing to concede to the demands of its oldest and most demanding inhabitant - the Opera Ghost. He doesn't ask for much really I suppose, just a salary and that a particular box is left free on ea I've seen Andrew Lloyd Webber's famed theatre adaptation of this book a few times now and absolutely love it so I was intrigued to find out what I would make of the original book. The scene is set in a large and popular opera house in France where the managers have left in a bit of a flurry, no longer willing to concede to the demands of its oldest and most demanding inhabitant - the Opera Ghost. He doesn't ask for much really I suppose, just a salary and that a particular box is left free on each performance for his pleasure, yet the new managers are almost incandescent with rage, certain that somebody is playing a prank on them. Our protagonist and heroine of the book is a young girl called Christine Daae who sings in the chorus and has quite a sad background story. Her father, a famous and talented violinist used to take her travelling around Europe and told her many stories about The Angel of Music whom he said would come to her from heaven, teach her music, and look after her when he was gone.

Now an orphan singing in the chorus at the opera house, Christine catches the eye of two very different men - her childhood friend Raoul, and the Opera Ghost who visits her in the guise of the Angel of Music and tutors her so her voice becomes spectacular. When Raoul hears her sing, his memories of their shared childhood comes flooding back and he falls violently in love with her. Unfortunately, he did not think he was going to have to contend with the Opera Ghost who is begging for her affection and understanding. He isn't really a ghost you see, just a horribly disfigured man called Erik who wears a mask to hide his affliction, lives underneath the Opera House in total seclusion and escapes from his lonely life by writing beautiful music. Things become slightly more hairy however when Christine is over-looked for singing parts and the Ghost's private box is deliberately filled on performance nights which invokes his rage and leads to a few nasty incidents. You've probably heard of the famous falling chandelier scene but is the Ghost actually capable of murder? And how does he cope when he finds out that he has a rival for Christine's love in the form of Raoul - a "normal" non-afflicted man who doesn't live like a hermit and is a Viscount to top it all off?

I'm pleased to say I wasn't disappointed with this book for the most part. Obviously there are going to be major differences between a novel and a musical on the stage but I thought the play stayed fairly loyal to what is between the pages. I was quite surprised to learn that the novel is based on historical events at the Paris Opera in the nineteenth century, one such event being the use of a former ballet pupil's skeleton in one of the productions! The characters themselves are very intriguing and I think it would probably give book groups a lot to talk about, in particular Erik/The Opera Ghost - is he a villain or just a misunderstood and vulnerable man? My only slight niggle with this novel is how it changed my opinion of the two lovers, Christine and Raoul. The former was a bit less spirited compared to her musical doppelgänger and the latter was vastly more annoying. I got so fed up with his jealousy over the Ghost and his pathetic moaning and endless whining I was ready to throw my Kindle across the room in sheer frustration! In general though I think it is a beautiful story with a classic romantic ending that would make the hardest heart a little teary-eyed, and I'm really glad I read it in the original form.

Please see my full review at http://www.bibliobeth.com ...more

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