Merry Misfits Book Club October: The Phantom of the Opera by Gaston Leroux (adapted by Shannon Donnelly)

The theme for October in the Merry Misfits Book Club was a book set in a different country or by an author from a different country.  The Phantom of the Opera is both, taking place in France (Paris, to be exact) and written by a Frenchman named Gaston Leroux and published in 1910 (the first English translation becoming available in 1911).  While I do want to read that original 1911 translation at some point (as well as another translation I've heard comes highly recommended), now wasn't really the time because it's long and I'm busy... and behind in this reading challenge.  So, Great Illustrated Classics to the rescue once again, lmao.

I wanted to read this because I've been super obsessed with the Phantom recently (I even dressed as him for Halloween) so I requested this from the library.  The story obviously is condensed, and since I haven't read the original I can't say how good it is as an adaptation, but it's interesting how contradictory the book is.  It moves slowly, yet it jumps from episode to episode.  It tells when it should show, yet there's a lot of detail.  The art (as with every Great Illustrated Classic I've read) was not great, but the cover is really nice, imo.  It's not a bad way to experience the story, I just don't feel like it's the best.  In fact, I read another kid's version after finishing this one and I liked it a lot better. 

I feel like I don't have a lot to say about this little book.  Even my goodreads review is like one sentence long lol.

I read this book between October 19th and October 21st.  I finished it in a Greyhound Bus station while on my way to see the Jonas Brothers!

Would I recommend this book? Ehh... If you want a young readers' adaptation of The Phantom, pick up the Kate McMullan adaptation I linked above instead.  (Or just... y'know... watch the musical.  It's sooo good.  Like, not High Entertainment, and it's hopelessly 80s, but it's guilty pleasure good... and I feel no guilt.)

12 meses, 12 libros: May: The Prince and the Pauper by Mark Twain (sort of)

The theme for this month is a book you were supposed to read in school but didn't.  I was assigned The Prince and the Pauper in eighth grade, but our school was both poor and cheap and couldn't afford copies for every student to check out and take home... there was a set for the classroom, and all six classes that teacher taught used those books.  We'd spend whole class periods reading this book.  You may be wondering then how I managed not to read it?  Easy.  I got sick and missed several days of school, and I got really behind.  I had already found the book incredibly boring, so when I came back to school and needed to catch up skimmed the book.  I actually would skip words, lines, and even pages.  Just read every other one, lol. 

I had a few options for what I could read this month, but I ended up settling on this one.  But because I remembered finding it dull and too long, I got the idea to read the Great Illustrated Classics version -- basically an adaptation for children.  It maintains the same story but tries to make it accessible for younger readers.

So... let me be totally honest.  When I finished reading this book, dumbed down and shortened as it was, I literally said "oh thank God it's over" out loud.  If that gives you any idea of how much I didn't enjoy it lol.  The thing is, we all know the story... it's been adapted many times and inspired lots of other works.  My favorite version, of course is the Disney one where Mickey plays the dual role of prince and pauper.  But actually reading this version was just.... difficult to get through, because the characters are just utter fucking garbage, lol.  Prince Edward and Tom Canty are the most stupid and obnoxious children that I think have ever been committed to print.  This is like... how do you advertise so hard for maintaining the status quo at the same time as you promote challenging your world view and experiencing new things, lol.  The only thing that I could truly agree with this book about was the implication that privileged people are lowkey kinda stupid.  Also when you watch like the Disney version or what have you, the two boys at least have the agency to decide to switch places.  In this book, it's all a misunderstanding!  The plan was just to try on each other's clothes, and then they get swept up in everythign because Edward is so goddamn stupid that he thinks he'll still be recognized as the prince and he goes to continue throwing his weight around.  The only character I did like was Miles Hendon, but he wasn't enough to make me enjoy it.

I started this book on May 20 and finished on May 22.  It's over 200 pages but every other page is an illustration (which, btw, also weren't great).

Bottom line, would I recommend this book? Fuck no.