May 2016 group read- Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

[Jennifer W]

Welcome to May's group read of The Phantom of the Opera.

Enjoy!

[Judy]

Ever since seeing the musical, I'd been meaning to read the original book - I enjoyed the story a lot although I had some problems with the translation I chose.

Just reposting this from the nominations thread:

I wasn't at all impressed by the Penguin edition of The Phantom of the Opera, translated by Mireille Ribière. In my view the style is hard to read and never sounds like idiomatic English. There are a lot of notes which are quite interesting but are very hard to access from the Kindle edition.

I'm wishing I'd instead gone for the Oxford World's Classics edition translated by David Coward - judging by the few passages I've just looked at, his is incomparably better.

I've found an interesting article about different translations which says the Coward is the best of those currently available and shows how Ribiere cuts out bits of many sentences, even though her text is supposed to be unabridged.

http://fdelopera.tumblr.com/phantom-t...

[Judy]

Reading the book has made me very keen to visit the Paris Opera, aka le Palais Garnier.

I found an article in The Daily Telegraph which looks at how many of the amazing features of the building in the novel are based on reality and rumours - however, there are some possible spoilers in this article if you haven't read the book yet.

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/72...

[Jennifer W]

I read this a while ago, so I don't remember all the details, but I did enjoy it. I've seen the movie and musical and really like them. I feel like the book compliments the musical. It tells some things that aren't mentioned in the movie, but the movie tells some things that aren't in the book, too.

[Jan C]

I have seen the silent movie. Was there another movie besides the Lon Chaney version?

I just finished this last week. I had the Harper Perennial paperback. Seemed to be a good translation.

I was pleasantly surprised by this book and found it very enjoyable. Once I got past the first 40-50 pages. So once the actual story got going it read pretty fast.

[Bronwyn]

There was a 2004 movie of the musical (http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0293508/?...). I'm not sure if there have been others.

Technically I'm still reading this, but aren't really... I'll try and get back to it, but it's not one I'm really dying to read, and I'm in a bit of a reading rut and am really struggling with book's that don't grab me right now. :/

[Judy]

Ooh, Jan, thanks for mentioning the Lon Chaney silent movie - I'd forgotten all about that one and I really want to see it!

I just had a peek at the imdb and looks as if there have been lots of different adaptations, including a horror film with Robert Englund of Nightmare on Elm Street fame! I'm more tempted by this 1990 mini-series directed by Tony Richardson with Charles Dance as the Phantom:

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0100361/r...

Looks as if it's only on DVD in Germany and South Korea, but it is currently on YouTube.

[Judy]

There was also a film from 1943 with Claude Rains as the Phantom! I definitely need to see that version as he is one of my favourites.

[Jan C]

I have probably also seen the Claude Raines one. I see that it is free on Amazon Prime. So I may take a look at it.

[Lynaia]

Judy wrote: "There was also a film from 1943 with Claude Rains as the Phantom! I definitely need to see that version as he is one of my favourites."

Love Claude Rains! He's actually my favorite character in Casablanca.

[Jan C]

Lynaia wrote: "Judy wrote: "There was also a film from 1943 with Claude Rains as the Phantom! I definitely need to see that version as he is one of my favourites."

Love Claude Rains! He's actually my favorite ch..."

That was on TCM last night. I caught the last half. Had totally forgotten it was on.

[Jennifer W]

I have only seen the newest movie and I also saw the musical on Broadway (it was awesome!). I should check out some of the other versions.

[Jennifer W]

In reading this, do you feel empathy for any of the characters? Particularly Christine or Erick? Are we meant to feel for them?

[Jan C]

I expect that the only character that I had any kind of empathy for would have been Raoul. He had fallen in love with Christine and was out of control. Christine is a foolish girl who believes in myths and suchlike. Erik deserves no sympathy because he wants the entire world to suffer, as he has suffered.

In the musical/movie - was it shown/explained what had happened to Erik? I watched the clip from the Claude Rains movie and he had acid/lye thrown in his face. I haven't seen the Lon Chaney recently enough to recall how he became that way.

[Connie]

It's been years since I read the book, but I've seen the musical many times. In the book, Erik (the Phantom) was born deformed. Wikipedia has an interesting article about how Erik's backstory changed in various plays and movies.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Erik_%2...

[Jan C]

Connie wrote: "It's been years since I read the book, but I've seen the musical many times. In the book, Erik (the Phantom) was born deformed. Wikipedia has an interesting article about how Erik's backstory chang..."

I couldn't read it all - it was about to talk about The Canary Trainer: From the Memoirs of John H. Watson, M.D. which I have recently purchased. I'll read the rest after I've read this.

[Connie]

Wow, Sherlock Holmes investigating the Phantom of the Opera! I wonder if that would take all the tragic romance out of the story. Let us know what you think of The Canary Trainer: From the Memoirs of John H. Watson, M.D. after you've read it, Jan.

[Barbara]

Right now I'm only up to the beginning of chapter 6, so not too much has happened yet. I love how Leroux's preface makes it sound like this is going to be a true story, with footnotes and all. References to Messager (a French composer and conductor), Charles Garnier (the architect of the Opera), and the Paris Commune work together to make you feel it's true and to draw you in. Enjoying it so far.

[Jennifer W]

Barbara, I really liked that part of it when I read it, too.

[Val]

Jennifer W wrote: "In reading this, do you feel empathy for any of the characters? Particularly Christine or Erick? Are we meant to feel for them?"
There are times when I could feel some sympathy for Erik, but he is too far from sanity for empathy.

Barbara wrote: "I love how Leroux's preface makes it sound like this is going to be a true story, with footnotes and all. References to Messager (a French composer and conductor), Charles Garnier (the architect of the Opera), and the Paris Commune work together to make you feel it's true and to draw you in."
Apparently the idea that it might be based on some real event has been around for some time: http://www.telegraph.co.uk/culture/72...

[Jennifer W]

I found in the book, I had a better understanding of Christine's infatuation with Erik (as opposed to how she was portrayed in the movie), though I can't remember what made me feel that way now.

[Judy]

I've just watched the Claude Rains movie - quite good fun and gorgeous Technicolor, and I always love Rains, but in all honesty not a great movie, I'd have to say. And it bears very little relation to the book - most of the story is completely different, and I was wondering if they were ever going to get into the passages below the Opera before it finally happens, quite late on.

[Judy]

I rented the Claude Rains movie on blu-ray and have just watched a long special feature about film adaptations of the story from the silent era up to a Hammer Horror version in 1962 - very interesting. It also shows how the theme was echoed in other films, and how the Paris Opera set built for the original silent version has been used for an amazing range of other films over the decades.

It looks as if the films kept inventing different ways for the Phantom to be disfigured. Apparently they had to be careful about making the disfigurement look too ghastly in the Rains version, because it was during the war and they didn't want to cause upset with servicemen coming home with facial injuries.

[Jennifer W]

What do others make of Christine's infatuation with the Phantom?

[Jan C]

I thought she was a fool. To become attracted to what she believed was "the spirit of music" seemed to me to be the height of folly. It seemed she had confused the spirit with her beloved dead father. Maybe it was just a desire to bring the spirit of her father back. Much as most of us who have lost our fathers might wish it, it cannot be done.

She was more realistic after her discussion with Raoul but she still went after him.

[Lynaia]

I thought that maybe she had Stockholm syndrome.

[Val]

Jan C wrote: "I thought she was a fool. To become attracted to what she believed was "the spirit of music" seemed to me to be the height of folly."
I think it seems less foolish in the context of the book. Most of the characters are credulous, believing in the 'opera ghost' rather than looking for a rational explanation.

[Jennifer W]

I think she was young, sheltered and naive. I also get the sense that like many young women, she latched onto a man who praised her and gave her attention.