7/2/2023 0 Comments Marry Me by Susan Kay Law![]() ![]() She shows a good understanding of the themes and ideas behind Erik and his relationship with God and the world around him, but my very first note introduces the biggest problem I had with Kay's work overall: she over-explains. ![]() Kay's novel is a fanciful biography, covering Erik's life from birth to death, in order to explain the motivations and history behind the actions and events of Leroux's novel. I think the general landscape of literary criticism among Phantom story fans has changed since then, but it's still a favorite for a lot of folks! ![]() Way back when I first posted this review in 2008, the internet was all over me about the grade, ranging from "how dare you, this is Literary Art" to "did you not READ it, it is so flawed". Many followers of this particular literary niche consider Kay's novel so definitive and admirable in quality that they put it on a pedestal of equal authority to Leroux's original. Kay wasn't the first to write derivative fiction based on Leroux's work, but she was the first to do so with a wide enough audience and publishing reach to really become a household name for fans of the novel (and of Lloyd Webber's musical), and her book remains one of the "big" works in the Phantom canon, with tons of later influence and many derivative works based in turn on it. So here we finally are, with the grandmother of all Phantom prequels, sequels, and fiction that came after. ![]()
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