Our Strange Duet

Our Strange Duet is the classic story of Phantom of the Opera, our most beloved stage musical by Andrew Lloyd Webber. While the stage shows many perspectives, this book's focus lies solely on Christine, the ingenue of the Opera Populaire. --- As a musical lover, I was much intrigued by the notion of retelling a musical through a medium that allows for technically no singing or music at all. It was strange to see the well-known characters actually talk and not break into song at every other turn, but it also added some knew layers to the story, more clear separation between what was thought and what was felt and above all you have a lot more ways to convey your message without the binding rules of lyrics and rhymes. Though it was nice to read many of the shows lyrics in the book, some characters felt a little of kilter, especially towards the end. Some (new) lore was added to it as well, paving the way for the sequel Love Never Dies more profoundly than the musical did. The change of focus also changed the pacing of the entire story by much, almost distorting it to those used to the stage version. It was a nice read, a book that gave even more voice to the lead of Phantom of the Opera, but one that might ruffle some feathers of the die-hard Phans.