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    The Phantom of the Opera
    The Phantom of the Opera
    The Phantom of the Opera
    Audiobook9 hours

    The Phantom of the Opera

    Written by Gaston Leroux

    Narrated by Barrett Whitener

    3.5/5

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    About this audiobook

    Gaston Leroux's novel The Phantom of the Opera, first published in 1910, remained a perennial favorite throughout the twentieth century and into the millenium. It was adapted to several popular motion pictures and into one of the most successful stage musicals of all time. Its main character, Erik, is a romantic figure and sensitive soul whose appeal reaches across different cultures and times. He is an accomplished composer and musician whose great unfinished work, Don Juan Triumphant, is described as breathtakingly beautiful by the one person he allows to hear it. Erik is an object of pity, whose face has been disfigured from birth, causing him to hide behind a silk mask; and he is hopelessly in love with a young woman. He can never seriously hope she will love him back.

    Gaston Leroux was born on May 6, 1868 in Paris, but was brought up in Normandy where he went to the College of Eu. While attending law school in Paris, his short stories and poetry were published in Left Bank magazines. He gave up law after three years to work for a local paper. It was when he was working for the daily newspaper, Le Martin, that he gained fame for interviewing celebrities. From there he travelled to Asia, Europe, Africa and Russia, often in disguise, to get to leads for stories, and soon became a celebrity himself. In 1907, he decided to become a full-time novelist. In 1919, he formed a film company in Nice, where he had settled in 1908. His final home was in Rue Gambetta, where he died unexpectedly of uremia on April 15, 1927.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherSpotify Audiobooks
    Release dateJan 1, 2001
    ISBN9781467610476
    Author

    Gaston Leroux

    Gaston Leroux was born in Paris in 1868. He grew up on the Normandy coast, where he developed a passion for fishing and sailing. Upon reaching adulthood, he qualified as a lawyer, but, upon his father's death, his received a large inheritance, and left the law to become a writer. He first found fame as an investigative reporter on L'Echo de Paris, and travelled the world in a variety of disguises, reporting on a wide range of topics from volcanic eruptions to palace revolutions. In 1907, he changed career once again, and started work as a novelist, finding critical and commercial success with works such as The Mystery of the Yellow Room (1907) and The Phantom of the Opera (1911). Leroux continued to be a prolific writer until his death in 1927 - the result of complications following an operation.

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    Reviews for The Phantom of the Opera

    3.5/5

    113 ratings60 reviews

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    • 5/5
      This is definately one of my top books!!!! It gives such good insight on who the phantom was and how he was trained in the illusions that made everyone think he was a ghost. It is very suspenseful and has great action scenes. I would love to see a movie based on the book and not the musical! There is a cheesy attempt of a movie from the 1980's with Robert Englund but is more inspired by the book then based on the book.
    • 4/5
      My daughter made me read this before we could go see Andrew Lloyd Webber's movie. I have wanted to see it for a long time because of the music, but never knew more than the outline of the plot. It was a good story. Very readable and a page turner. Anything lacking in style is probably due to translation difficulties. Like Frankenstein, it is the story of a great man who cannot be accepted because of his utter ugliness and is driven mad because of it.
    • 4/5
      I was really enjoying this, and then I found out the translation I am reading is inaccurate and abridged! :(

      I guess I'll just have to read it again later. I think I'll wait until the new Mireille Ribière translation comes out in March.
    • 4/5
      A deformed man, obsessively in love with a young singer, haunts the Paris Opera House.I listened to this classic as an audiobook, a first for me (other than kids' books). I think this was a good way to experience the book, as I didn't worry so much over the French names or phrases, or the archaic writing style, and instead just absorbed the story as best as I could. It's kind of a potboiler, isn't it? I'm sure I missed some details, but it was entertaining while walking or riding in the car. I hope to continue to "read" more classics using this method.Listened to the audiobook in 2015.
    • 2/5
      I like the story line, but I had a hard time getting through the book. The format of the book changed back and forth between newspaper artical, diary excerpt, play and actual story. It also jumped back in time when switching perspectives and then back to present. It was a little hard to keep up with. I love the musical/movie. The 1925 version, with Lon Chaney, follows the book fairly closely. It helped me to make sense of some of the jumps in the book. I have to say though, reading the book makes it a little harder to sympathize with Erik, the phantom, than watching the musical.
    • 3/5
      It's an ok read, but I suggest seeing the stage play instead.
    • 4/5
      perhaps the reader. i couldn't focus well. maybe the writing style. tom liked this but he read it. so different from the musical!
    • 3/5
      Very enjoyable as an audiobook.
    • 3/5
      Warning: Plotspoiler!This is supposed to be a supernatural thriller which turns out not to be supernatural. But I don't think it works unless you really get into the supposedly haunting parts at the start. Probably need to be a horror fiction fan to enjoy this. If you're more of a science person like me, you'll probably take the logical ending as a given rather than a piece of brilliance.
    • 5/5
      Another classic which has been made into a musical. Like Les Miserables, this is an excellent book and an excellent musical. However, the musical Phantom differs significantly from the book Phantom. In fact, after reading the book, then reading synopses of the musical, I had a feeling I was going to be disappointed in the musical. Not so. The musical was excellent as well. Even though the musical was somewhat different than the book, the book is still required reading before seeing the musical, or you will, guaranteed, be totally lost during several parts. If you see this on Broadway, an added bonus is reserving your seats early enough that you can get seats in the first few rows (about 3 months in advance we had no problem getting second row center seats). If you do this, you will be right close to under the falling chandelier (if you don't know what I'm talking about, then get busy reading the book.) Spend the extra money; you won't regret it.
    • 2/5
      confusing when you don't know the story. Not an appealing writing style and lots of open ends. Different storytellers make it difficult to follow the story and the underground scenes are not properly explained.
    • 3/5
      It was a different story from what I expected.I don't quite like this story.I thought Phantom was selfish. Phantom loved Christine, so he would try to gain her. But it might be because he was not loved. He was poor.
    • 5/5
      I didn't know the musical was based on a true story. It's the original true crime novel.
    • 3/5
      This story is a horror story.This building is very beautiful and big.There are many trap, secret door and room.Although Erik is murderer, he only wanted to love someone .I think this story is also sad love story.
    • 1/5
      OMG WORST BOOK EVER.
    • 3/5
      Phantom of the Opera was a decent story set in the Paris opera house. One of those classics that was on my TBR list. I listened to it on audio and found it to be a sad but interesting take on the love triangle story. I thought the underground city below the opera house fascinating, and the people who dwell there intriguing. The way the opera ghost managed to control everyone was also interesting.
    • 4/5
      The book really wasn't what I expected, though I did enjoy it. I think maybe this story is better suited to the stage or screen, because it's not the deepest or most developed as far as novels go, but it is a good story and a fun take on the Persephone theme. Lots more details in the book, of course, than in movies, so worth a read for that.
    • 5/5
      Excellent story. Well developed plot and characters. Marvelous ending. Strongly recommended above any movie.
    • 4/5
      I find it impossible to separate the audiobook from the Andrew Lloyd Webber musical. The novel, naturally, has more detail than the musical, but Webber did such a fantastic job of staying close to the original source material that even if I got busy and only half paid attention to the audiobook, I was never lost. If you are a fan of the musical, you will definitely enjoy this.
    • 3/5
      This is the one and only time you will hear me say 'I liked the movie/play better' Because I did. Its still an enjoyable book, very creepy and romantic but I miss the music. Maybe if I listen to the soundtrack while I read it?
    • 3/5
      This story was difficult to read for me.I thought if the phantom was not him, whether Christine love him or not?I thought he was so poor.
    • 4/5
      An iconic love/ghost story... a deformed man haunts the Paris Opera House and mentors/ensnares a gifted, beautiful soprano. Tough sledding for non-readers but still worth reading. The Broadway musical will heighten its appeal.
    • 3/5
      I'm a huge fan of the musical, so it seemed about time that I read the book. The first half I found very enjoyable and very readable, especially for a classic. But the ending is literally the entire second half of the book, and it gets a little boring. I could almost see Gaston Leroux's fingers wiggling at me as he went "Ooooooo!" in a spooky voice. Overall, I'm glad I read it, especially loving the musical so much, but I think I prefer the musical still...
    • 4/5
      The monster who wishes to love and the beautiful woman who can't be stuck with said monster. She instead shows interest in a dashing young proper looking man. What can the phantom do but kidnap her? You should read it if you like mysteries at the opera house.
    • 3/5
      lucky for you, Mr. Leroux, Andrew Lloyd Webber came along and made your bad writing into a world-phenomenon musical. his phantom is way more likeable, his raoul is less dorky, and all the stupid subplots disappear! i give this an extra star just because your story did spawn the most amazing, beloved musical of all time.
    • 3/5
      Love triangle with a ghost. Kept me occupied
    • 5/5
      I loved this book. It is more a melodramatic love story than the horror story it is made out to be and it's neither the musical nor the black and white silent so it should not be judged based on them. It is dark and passionate and surprisingly very funny.
    • 3/5
      I was obsessed with The Phantom of the Opera in the sixth grade, after our otherwise useless music teacher taught a unit on the actual opera. I then read the book for a reading project in regular class.
    • 3/5
      The part with the Indian princess is my favourite.
    • 5/5
      Very exciting!