Reviews tagging 'Violence'

The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux

11 reviews

uparrowhead's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

A classic which, in my opinion, deserves to be considered timeless; the Phantom of the Opera raises the question on how we should treat the truly low members of society.

The novel introduces the story of the Opera Ghost, which stalks the shadows of the Paris Opera House and hunts for mischief and mystery. Strange events emerge and connect as the singer Christine Daaé slowly begins her rise in fame with her heavenly vocals, supposedly learning to sing from the Angel of Music. The reader navigates through this episodic novel and slowly gathers the truths to the unfolding story.

The Phantom of the Opera places a great emphasis on concepts of love, obsession, desire, and pity. How can we learn to, not love, but accept someone who is supposedly heartless? How can we take pity on people who are seemingly monstrous? How does unrecieved love mould into an overpowering obsession built upon desires we are unable to satisfy? The novel feels like it is truly a love letter to these themes as both pain and pleasure are combined into the flowing story.

I have loved this ever since watching the musical, and the original story that brought it to life is absolutely incredible.

Spoiler

I can't get over how beautifully tragic the ending for this novel is. It ends in Erik's death for his own overflowing love of Christine, one which he had never experienced with another woman in his life. It just serves to show how much Erik wished for nothing but a normal life but was cursed from the endeavour ever since he was first born just for his horrific features, leading him down a path of using his wits and intellect for his own disturbing gains as a way to not acknowledge his pain.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Body horror, Confinement, Kidnapping, and Torture

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Murder, Classism, Death, Drug use, Violence, Stalking, and Suicide

Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Self harm, Racism, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

seapotatohowisitalrtaken's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Toxic relationship, Gun violence, Suicide attempt, Kidnapping, Violence, and Torture

Moderate: Blood, Stalking, Panic attacks/disorders, Classism, and Sexism

enchantingreads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? N/A
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I absolutely loved this book. I decided to finally read it, because I was named after Christine Daae. This book was so much better than the movie. This book is full of so much detail that it really ties the book together and makes it enjoyable. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Torture

Minor: Violence, Murder, and Kidnapping

They do mention the deaths, kidnapping, and violence, however, they do not go into to much detail. Near the end of the book, they go into a bit more detail revolving around the ,

charity_ix's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

4.0

My first classic! I was intrigued by the first chapter alone and knew I was going to love this book. The penguin classics edition was also super easy to read and the notes gave me so much insight into the world this book takes place in. I was very invested throughout the book and it was so intense at times. Some parts did feel very long and at times I felt like the pacing was slightly odd, but in the end, it was fine. The epilogue tied everything together for me and it just felt perfect. Erik as a character was written so well and even the descriptions of him gave me chills. Overall, this is the perfect book if you want to start reading classics or if you just want to read a whimsical story of The Paris Opera in the 1800s. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Violence and Kidnapping

smithreads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny informative reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Murder, Stalking, Violence, Death of parent, Body horror, Classism, Grief, Kidnapping, Torture, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Xenophobia, Islamophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicide attempt, Gun violence, and Racism

annoyedhumanoid's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, and Torture

Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Death of parent, Grief, Gun violence, Death, Suicide attempt, Violence, Murder, and Suicide

Minor: Alcohol, Classism, Blood, and Fire/Fire injury

isabella_boytsan's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt and Murder

Moderate: Death and Torture

Minor: Kidnapping, Stalking, Toxic relationship, and Violence

silversparkles50's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Kidnapping, Murder, Confinement, Body horror, and Trafficking

Moderate: Torture and Violence

Minor: Suicide attempt

maiahhtratchh's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.25

I’m obsessed with the musical and there are very few times where the adaption deserves to outshine the source material and this was one of those times. While I did really enjoy it, specifically the middle part, the end dragged out for a long time and some aspects (ie the Persian), though probably on par for the time are bordering on problematic. I was just really confused by the inclusion of this character if not just to have a mystical foreigner swoop in full in the background gaps and save the white characters lives. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Toxic relationship, and Violence

evaosterlee's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Toxic relationship, Violence, and Sexual assault