Review: Phantom by Susan Kay

Anyone who loves musical theatre knows the story (or the Andrew Lloyd Webber adaptation) of the Phantom of the Opera.  Lloyd Webber's musical sets to music Gaston Leroux's tragic novel of the horribly disfigured musical genius and architectural magician who hides in the wings of the Paris Opera House, determined to steer clear of human beings forever, until he meets the beautiful young opera singer who becomes the love of his life.  But from where did the Phantom come?  What course of action lead him to choose the Opera House as his hideaway?  What was his life like?  Why is he disfigured?  These questions and more are the inspiration for Susan Kay's ultimate fanfiction novel (and book #82 for the year), Phantom.

The titular "Phantom" begins life as Erik, the terribly disfigured son of a widowed French mother who can hardly believe the burden placed upon her from his birth.  Resented and feared by his mother and forced from birth to wear a mask, Erik is expected to die young, and barring that, be nothing more than a mindless animal.  But his inquisitive brain and remarkable abilities in the fields of architecture, music, and magic stun the minds of all who meet him.   A loveless childhood and subsequent flight from his home lead Erik through the wilds of France to a Romany camp, then to Italy and Russia and Persia, where he becomes a victim of both the cruelty of the human race and the disfigurement of his own features.  Believing that he should expect nothing but hatred and cruelty from his fellow man, Erik remains content as an outsider to life, until fate brings him face-to-face with the beautiful young chorus girl, Christine Daae, forcing him to try his hand at love and acceptance one last time.

This book is a heartrending companion to both the Leroux novel and the Andrew Lloyd Webber play.  It fills in the gaping questions listed above, and more, giving the Phantom fan a well-plotted-out backstory and explanation for Erik's actions and the history behind his genius in so many fields.  The Leroux novel explains more about the Daae family, Christine and her relationship to her father, and what brought her to believe in the "Angel of Music" that Erik first pretends to be.  It speaks very little about Erik's lifetime or backstory, nor does it explain his mysterious friendship with the man only known as "the Persian", who becomes central to the climax of the book (and who is completely omitted from the Lloyd Webber play).  

Kay fleshes out Erik's story.  The book is divided into a series of vignettes, each from the point of view of Erik, or of a person who had an impact (positive or negative) upon his life, including Madeleine (Erik's unhappy mother), an Italian Freemason who educates Erik in the field of architecture, the Persian (who gets a name in this, as Nadir Kahn) who is ordered to bring Erik to Asraf to design a palace for the shah-in-shah, and of course, Christine Daae herself.  The chapter by Nadir Kahn is really among the most fascinating and telling parts of the book, and it explains the presence of "the Persian" in the original novel.

The myriad reviews on Goodreads show me that this is not a book that caters to all Phantom fans.  Some say that if you are a fan of the original book you'll love it, or if you love the play but hate the book, it's for you.  If you like the Phantom and think that Christine and Raoul, Vicomte de Chagny, never belonged together...or if you just like a ton of backstory.  For my part, I love it.  It's one of my favorite books, and I feel so lucky to have snagged a free copy on PaperbackSwap recently.

Rating: *****