Phantom Book

Hey, it's Kate with WTI. I'm going to share with you one of my absolutely favorite books. It is Phantom by Susan Kay. If you are a fan of the Phantom of the Opera, of the story behind that, of the original book, you've got to check out this book. It is a companion book. It tells the origin story of the Phantom of the Opera. It changes point of view, so it starts out as Eric's mother at the beginning of the book at his birth, and then Eric's point of view. A remarkable physical change came over him as soon as his hideous face was out of sight. His shoulders straightened and his entire frame once more exuded the mysterious strength and power that I had sensed last night. A moment before he had seemed like an old man. Now he might have shed 30 years in as many seconds, and I was once more aware that he was in the prime of manhood, probably a few years younger than myself. Nadir, who is a character in the Phantom of the Opera known as the Persian. Giovanni, back to Eric, and Eric and Christine. And finally, Raul. From all of these different perspectives, you get a full telling of Eric's story from his origin to the end. And it adds so much depth of character for all of these characters and so much feeling and so much empathy and so much passion. It is my favorite telling of this story, but that's just my point of view.