Monday, September 29, 2014

Teaser Tuesday 236: Phantom of the Opera

Teaser Tuesdays is a weekly bookish meme, hosted by MizB of Should Be Reading. Anyone can play along! Just do the following:

* Grab your current book or recent read.
* Share a few "teaser" sentences from somewhere in the book.
* BE CAREFUL NOT TO INCLUDE SPOILERS! (Make sure that what you share doesn’t give too much away. You don’t want to ruin the book for others!)
* Share the title and author so that other participants can add the book to their TBR Lists if they like your teaser!




Though I haven't yet finished Lolita (see last week's teaser), I spent the weekend reading another classic, The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux. Leroux's writing style makes this a thoroughly readable -- and enjoyable -- story.


"The Opera Ghost!"

Jammes yelled these words in a tone of unspeakable terror; and her finger pointed, among the crowd of dandies, to a face so pallid, so lugubrious and so ugly, with two such deep black cavities under the straddling eyebrows, that the death's head in question immediately scored a huge success.

(Chapter 3)



Watch Phantom of the Opera (1925)

Free eBook from Project Gutenberg * Free eBook from Amazon



ABOUT THE BOOK:

The little known, brilliant original text by Gaston Leroux has been immortalized by screen and stage adaptations. One of the greatest horror stories of all time, "The Phantom of the Opera" makes compulsive reading. It abounds with wonderful descriptions, extraordinary events, tragedy, horror, pathos, tremendous humor and a gallery of charming minor characters. Leroux's portrait of the hideous musician, crazed by his own extreme ugliness, shows compassionate insight into a criminally insane mind. Music infuses the story, enriching the many dimensions of the novel which is steeped in the glamour of life at the Paris Opera. The author's knowledge of the building itself and the extraordinary history of its construction create a basis of realism in the story. Incredible, seemingly supernatural elements are artfully fused with real facts, with references to real people, places and events, so that the novel becomes a dazzling blend of illusion and reality. It is hard to distinguish between them, and the result is that each chilling moment is intensified. Gaston Leroux was a master of his genre.





19 comments:

Trish said...

Interesting! Thanks for sharing!
Trish - my tease

Laurel-Rain Snow said...

Love the descriptiveness of the excerpt....I am definitely curious.

Here's mine: “THE CORN MAIDEN”

Unknown said...

I've never seen or read Phantom before, I hope you're enjoying it!
Here's My Teaser.

Unknown said...

I love this! One of my favorite musicals; I agree with Laurel, the descriptiveness is alluring :)

Son of No One | Sherrilyn Kenyon

Heather said...

Trish: Glad you liked, thanks!

Laurel-Rain: Leroux's writing is quite descriptive. I felt I was actually at l'Opera Garnier and other settings throughout this novel.

Heather said...

Kerry: I did enjoy it, thanks. Highly recommend! ☺

Claudia: Thanks, I knew this was my teaser as soon as I read it. Leroux certainly knows how to put the reader inside his story.

Kathy Martin said...

A classic and a horror story. You've picked a great time of the year to read this one. Happy reading!

Heather said...

Thanks, Kathy! I didn't choose the timing of this one, as it was part of a group read, but it did work out rather well. GREAT story, too! ☺

Sandra Nachlinger said...

I've seen a live performance, as well as the movie, but have never read the book. It's got to be terrific.
Here's the link to my Tuesday post: SUMMERTIME.

Cleopatra Loves Books said...

I'd forgotten how descriptive this book was until I read your teaser - great choice. Thanks for visiting my TT http://cleopatralovesbooks.wordpress.com/2014/09/30/teaser-tuesday-september-30/

Heather said...

MadameV: Isn't it an amazing read? There's so much depth of character, and the descriptive passages put you right in the middle of the action.

Sandra: "Terrif" is certainly one adjective to describe it. I would love to see a live performance, and found the original B&W movie is available to watch on YouTube.

Cleo: Thank you, I'm glad the teaser reminded you how great the writing is. :)

Alice Audrey said...

I've tried to watch various movie versions a time or two, but it makes me squirm. You're right about nice wording. Maybe I should read it instead.

Heather said...

Alice: I'm not big on horror, but I could not put the book down. I kept wanting to know what was happening, why it was happening, what the was motive behind it all. I do plan to watch the old B&W movie now, seeing as it is available on YouTube.

Yvonne said...

Interesting! I'm not much on the classics, but I hope you are enjoying this.

Heather said...

Yvonne: The thing about the language and writing style of this book is that it reads more like a modern day mystery/thriller than a "classic."

kayerj said...

I love this book. It is so dark and the phantom is such a character of depth--totally creepy. The book is so different from the movie. I hope you like it. kelley—the road goes ever ever on

Heather said...

Kelley: Yes, The Phantom/Opera Ghost is truly creepy, but wanting to know how/why something is done keeps you reading. It was difficult to put down!

Alice Audrey said...

I watched Pygmalion that way. Come to think of it, if I'm going to try Phantom of the Opera, that's the way to do it. Then I won't feel bad if I end up not getting through it.

Heather said...

*Whispering*

Read the book, read the book...