The Phantom of the Opera

By: Gastón Leroux

Narrated by: Ralph Cosham

Length: 7 hrs and 45 mins

Publisher's summary

The story begins with an investigation into some strange reports of an "opera ghost", legendary for making the great Paris opera performers ill-at-ease when they sit alone in their dressing rooms. Some allege to have seen the ghost in evening clothes moving about in the shadows. Nothing is done, however, until the disappearance of Christine during her triumphant performance. With an increasing pattern of fear and violence, The Phantom of the Opera begins to strike, but always with a beautiful young performer at the center of his deadly desires.

(P)2004 Blackstone Audiobooks

Critic reviews

• 2005 Audie Award Nominee, Classic

2005 Audie Award Nominee, Classic

Bizarre story

I always wondered what was so great about this story. Having just listened to it, I still wonder. It's a strange story, over the top in imagination, and yet I can see how, as a movie, it can be such a captivating romantic drama.
The presentation of this story was well done.

Decent narration

The narrator did a okay job reading. My complaint is that hard tell difference between each character.
That being said I liked the story.

Great performance, passable book

The performance is good enough to cover the fact the book has a fumbled framing device which only barely conveys the story.

Captivating!

Have always been a huge fan of the musical and finally got around to reading the original story. I was captivated and could imagine all the descriptions of the author detailed in this story. This was a quick read and thoroughly enjoyed being taken through all the secrets of the Opera House and the Opera Ghost.

Huge fan of this Classic

Don't read this for the protagonists, read this for the murder mystery and complex villain. Similar books: Bram Stoker's "Dracula" and Mary Shelley's "Frankenstein". Get lost in the labyrinth of the Opera House and be bewitched by the King of Trap Doors, the Prince of Conjuring, the Father of Vintrilaquism, the all famous Opera Ghost as he falls in love with a true Angel of Music.

Phantom of the Opera

I was quite impressed by this book. I did not know that this was a book and was eager to listen to the full unabriged story. The story was quite fascinating and I was eager to listen straight through without stopping. The narrator Ralph Cosham did a good job narrating the story. He has a nice clear voice and was able to make the different characters stand out from each other. I really enjoyed this title and would recommend it to others.

The Original, Riveting Story

Of the tidal wave of sensational gothic fiction written since Horace Walpole published his Castle of Otranto in 1764, a few, like Bram Stoker’s Dracula, have attained the status of industries. Others, like Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, have degenerated into seasonal clichés. Both fates tend to separate us from the original, riveting stories that gave them birth. Gaston Leroux’s Phantom is, of course, an industry now—and no exception to this general rule.

Like Stoker and Shelley, Leroux makes an utterly implausible character in an utterly implausible situation utterly real. Keats talked about the “willing suspension of disbelief”; in this case, the suspension goes almost unnoticed. Like most of the characters, you start out skeptical of the Ghost’s existence. Then, somehow, you’re in the bowels of the Opera, hoping our heroes get out alive.

It’s that skepticism, of course, freely voiced by the new managers of the Opera, the police, and the general public, that does the trick. Some, indeed most, characters never lose it. The truth becomes a secret between you, the listener, and a select few. Now that I’m one of them, I don’t want to see the musical. It might ruin the novel for me.

I always enjoy listening to Ralph Cosham, but here, while his tone and tempo were perfect, I had some trouble distinguishing characters. This book presents challenges in that regard, only two of the main characters being female. And in a galaxy of male voices, Leroux sometimes fails to insert a helpful “so-and-so said” between lines of dialogue.

My only other quibble is with the organization of this recording. Some “chapters” run 30 to 40 minutes, others run over an hour. But they all contain several actual chapters, making the finding of one’s place (if one has been so unfortunate as to hit the wrong button) a little difficult.

Meanwhile, Leroux’s Mystery of the Yellow Room (his only other novel that has withstood the last century) is now on my wish list.

Wonderful!

My only previous knowledge of The Phantom of the Opera was a general idea of the musical. This book was much more suspenseful and creepy than that (which I watched after and enjoyed as well). The narration is excellent and adds to the atmosphere of the book. The characters were never confusing or difficult to tell apart. Overall, an excellent story.

It's okay

It was a lot funnier than the movies and plays I've seen, a lot more metal. But this language is just not for me. It reads silly to me.

Phantom

Now the Broadway musical makes sense! The characters come to life in the performance. Not too dramatic, just spellbinding. I looked for reasons to listen!