The Phantom

I finished 'The Phantom Of The Opera' this morning. What a deliciously dark book about obsession. The phantom's obsession for Christine borders on the insane and he imprisons her. Her lover and the mysterious Persian must crawl through the labyrinthine opera house to rescue her. It is great reading.

Leroux explains some things a bit too much but considering his background as a mystery writer it is understandable. Mystery readers usually like an explanation at the end. The epilogue is an example of what could have been left out of the story.

I have the 'Signet Classic' edition, which has an introduction by Max Byrd - who writes detective novels - and a list of films based on the book.