The Phantom Of The Opera The Leroux Thread

JustHuddy posted on Mar 12, 2009 at 10:11PM
The original Phantom! Before there was the ALW musical there was...GASTON LEROUX'S NOVEL! Discuss your views on the book here.

The Phantom Of The Opera 14 replies

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over a year ago JustHuddy said…
Leroux is just amazing. It IS THE ORIGINAL Phantom! Without it there would be no stage show, 1925 silent film, or *gasp* 2004 movie! I hate it when people don't even realize that it's a book!

Erik's deformity is just so much better. We don't want no hot Gerry sunburn, we want dead rotting flesh! WOOO! (Uh, no unfortuanately, that's not sarcastic.) I just love the ending so much more with the scorpion or grasshopper thing, and the last chapter is so sweet, it makes me cry! Oh, and of course the Persian OWNS ALL!

EDIT: Okay, so I sound like a total phangirl here, but I am. So, uh, deal with it? xD
last edited over a year ago
over a year ago FrenchHorn said…
wink
I like the novel, it is really good. I think that it really helps you to understand Erik. I like how it makes you believe that Erik was real. I think that all phans should read the book. The book is where you learn that his name is Erik.
over a year ago Phantomess said…
I adore the book and I don't think you should be allowed to put the 'ph' in your fan description without having read it at LEAST once. It's a very enthralling piece of work and the fact that it still speaks to so many people on such personal levels still today is nothing short of astounding.
over a year ago velvet_fox said…
*waves Gaston flag all around*

Oh hail the creator of Phantom.

And yes JH a more disfigured phantom would appeal to me more too. However I always felt ALWs phantom was only half disfigured due to the practicalities of make up and the singers ability to sing with it on.
But yes I prefer the more monsterous Phantom of GL to the romantic ALW version.
over a year ago Phantomess said…
hmmm
So I'm curious about your thoughts on this. In the novel Mme Giry talks about finding a fan in Box 5 and returning it to the Phantom. Who do you think the fan belonged to? This is just one of those things that always made me wonder. And the Shade in the Felt Hat. Random bits of information that are never really explained. Your take on all of this...?

(Also I'd like to take a moment to rant angrilly about the fact that all of the new Phantom books are based on the '04 movie rather than the original material. God dammit!)
over a year ago TGITPC said…
I think that the unexplained bits of the novel really give it a sense of mystery. Sometimes, it's good to be left in the dark.

I am a proud Leroux phan and purist. The book is timeless, gothic, and beautiful in itself. I just wish that they would make an accurate movie to it. :(
over a year ago Kitannah said…
*bump* I really don't know about the fan in box 5. I would be interested to hear everyone else's thoughts. Anyone?
over a year ago TGITPC said…
Hmmmm as for the fan, I think that Erik may have stolen it from a dressing room and put it there to pretend that he had someone with him to watch the performances with so Madame Giry would think that he was normal. I mean, wasn't it unfashionable to go to the opera alone? Perhaps Erik wanted that sense of normality.
over a year ago Phantomess said…
It wasn't unfashionable if you were going to see your mistress perform...
The thing I really don't get is the fact that he was trying to very hard to be ghostly in every which way to fool everyone. So, normal kinda went flying out the window a while ago. I have a couple of very strange theories that involve me watching The Climax, the Schell version, and reading interesting articles like this link
Everyone is now going to look at me in shock and horror but if you really stop and think about it, it wouldn't be insanely out of character. The man was pretty well deranged, he mentions at the end that when Christine allowed him to kiss her forehead she "looked as beautiful as if she had been dead", the guy lives surrounded by reminders of death (the coffin, the mourning candles and hangings with the Dies Irae on them, even the gazillion flowers), if you've ever read any of the interviews with Phantom actors who talk about the mannequin (I remember one or two in particular from POTO Magazine ages ago. Wish I could find them online to share with you all) I think it would be in a similar vein. I don't believe he did anything hugely disturbing (aside from having it in the first place. But no weird kinks, y'know?) but maybe just wanted someone/thing to talk to and share company with that would not judge him or be repulsed by him. It would also explain the spare room in a house built by a man I cannot see as having any intention of entertaining guests. And, at the end of the day, we are talking about genuinely gothic fiction here, which can be pretty morbid and strange.
Anyhow, just something to mull over. If I offended anyone I really am sorry, I do realize that such subjects are rather disturbing to consider and rather taboo to discuss.
over a year ago ramengurl said…
sad
*bumb* I completely agree with you, Phantomess. Honestly Erik seems to be the type to find his own sort of paradise. He is so brilliant that perhaps he believes himself to be too brilliant (and hideous, mind you) to even comprehend the fact that SOMEONE might be able to have an actual conversation with him (I think Mme. Giry would be someone to do that, if the moment arose). Instead he just gives up and creates his own little world filled with death and the macarbe just to keep himself sane (though that in itself MAKES him insane). It makes me feel so sad for him... I wish I could just cuddle him and make him feel better! T.T *cuddles Erik plushie*
over a year ago Little_Sultana said…
Hey fello Leroux Purists. I'm here to invite you to visit and perhaps even join my new phansite, dedicated to the original POTO novel by Gaston Leroux. If you guys are phans of the one and only true Erik (or Lerik, as we sometimes call him), take a look at my site, which also contains a discussions forum. Note, since the site is made up solely of Leroux Purists/Phantom Canon phans, no other versions of POTO are ever discussed there. Here's the link:

www.thephantomcanon.webs.com
over a year ago Phangirl7 said…
This book was one of those, that, the first time I got done reading it, I thought, 'How could I have gone this long without reading this wonderful novel?' It makes you really understand Erik and even pity him(sort of). I would complelty recommend it to anyone who is also a fan of POTO.
over a year ago TBUGoth said…
here is the novel:

link
over a year ago RosinnaDahe said…
The best! All phantom should be.. and everything else!