Love, hate, horror, the Phantom of the Opera has all this, making it one of the most captivating books ever. The book by the detective writer Gaston LeRoux tells the tale of Paris Opera house and its resident phantom. The book conceived by the author after a thorough investigation brings a believable portrayal of the events that had occurred at the time. Its basis on realistic facts makes it all the more believable.
The plot surrounds several characters that work at an opera house. The opera, well renowned for its plays also holds a deeper secret. When the new managers receive threats from a mysterious ghost, leaving letters initialled “O.G.”, a series of events are triggered that cause chaos in the opera house. Although this is how the book is introduced, its tone changes later in the book, focussing on the personality of the opera ghost. A story of love and sadness is revealed, piece-by-piece. The ending is startling leaving an air of melancholy in the reader’s heart.
The book was set in the late 19th century, recently after the opera house was constructed. The author himself was a great fan of the opera, and frequented it quite often. After hearing tales of the famous opera ghost, the author explored the opera house behind the scenes and discovered a vast maze of tunnels. In fact the opera house is a combination of a theatre and a dungeon. This creates an atmosphere of mystery, because then, anything could hide in the vast maze of the opera house.
The author handles the story very well. This could do with the fact that many parts of the book are actually based on fact-based testimonies. However the way the author connected the stories to make a smooth narrative is to be praised.
