I have been challenged

I was challenged yesterday to say some words about the book I loath the most. I am sure you all have one of these books which you can not wait to finish, the book is so dreadful but your pride forbid you to throw it out the window. Well, my book in this category is the infamous Phantom of Manhattan written by Frederick Forsyth. The only reason I decided to read it was Andrew Lloyd Webber's desicion to make another musical with the Phantom. My logic somehow persuaded me to read it so I knew the musical's plot. I have now heard the music from the musical and I do have read the book but I am more confused than before. Let's start, shall we?

Numero Uno: The Phantom now is more or less a mafia boss. He has his little helpers doing things for him so he can buy property and hire people for his precious amusement park at Coney Island. Did not Erik, the phantom, work on his own in the original? He certainly did. Erik also kill people or assisting them to kill themselves with tricks. Cut short he was a psycopath, sosiopath and all the other "-paths" in the Oxford dictionary. Going from that to a man who uses his tongue and diplomatic skills in just ten years is rather far fetched, in my opinion.

Let me just say one thing; the characters act really weird and not how readers would expect. Christine and Meg were best friends, even in the book. I say this because even Webber allowed some alterations so he could focus more on the aspects of love rather than the fact that the novel is a detective story. Webber also helped Forsyth write the book, from what I can recall. But it seems that they completely forgot each other. There are no explanations to how they drifted apart, so far that they did not see each other for about ten years. You could write letters even in those days. Madame Giry, Meg's mother, is dying in Paris. How many will miss her? None. She did her part of the plot by giving Erik money to build his empire. In the musical, she is pure evil. She tries to get rid of every single person that might be entitled to inherit Erik's fortune. And let us not forget that she sells her own daughter to rich, single men who needs a fun night.

So, is it possible to alter more people? Oh yes, indeed. Raoul de Chagny is portraited as a fop in the original novel, and also on stage. He is a count and upper class, that is what he cares about. Fame and fortune seem necessary for him to live. In Forsyth's novel however, he is a bastard. Raoul managed to gamble away all their money and become an alcaholic. Please tell me any signs of that in the original novel because I can not remember any.

The coup de grace is Christine's child. Not Christine and Raoul's but Christine and Erik's. Forsyth decided to act like God and let Christine have a child without any participation from a male person. There are of course hints in the original novel and it might happen if the reader is that concerned about the time. Erik must have done his deed rather quickly (he came and he went, anyone?). So I do not say it is completely out of the question but Christine is so out of her mind at the end that I do not think she would do something like that. To me it is a way Forsyth ties together Erik and Christine so he can make a drama out of it.

So, my conclusion about the book is this: Burn it with fire!