BKMT READING GUIDES
The Phantom's Apprentice
by Heather Webb
Paperback : 356 pages
0 club reading this now
0 members have read this book
Christine faces an impossible choice: be a star at the Paris opera as Papa always wanted, or follow her dream—to become a master of illusions. First, she must steal the secrets of the ...
Introduction
In this re-imagining of Phantom of the Opera, meet a Christine Daaé you’ve never seen before…
Christine faces an impossible choice: be a star at the Paris opera as Papa always wanted, or follow her dream—to become a master of illusions. First, she must steal the secrets of the enigmatic master who haunts her, survive a world of treachery and murder, and embrace the uncertain promise of love. To succeed, she will risk her life in the grandest illusion of all.
Excerpt
OVERTURENew York City 1891
I was not the innocent girl they thought me to be. Though many never witnessed it, my honeyed warmth disguised a spine of steel. It took time to find my strength, but it had been there all along. Didn’t everyone hide behind a mask at one time or another? In my experience, yes, very often, yes. Yet I longed to be free of my own. ... view entire excerpt...
Discussion Questions
1. Have you seen the musical The Phantom of the Opera, either the stage version or the film? Read the original novel? What lasting imprint of the story has stayed with you?2. When you think of illusionists/magicians, what comes to mind? How do magicians from today differ from those from over one hundred years ago? Why do you think that is?
3. Spiritualism was a popular movement during the Belle Époque. Turning tables were some of the first Ouija boards, in essence, and those who had lost loved ones used them to connect with their spirits beyond the grave. Do you believe this is possible—contacting a spirit in some way? Has there been a time you’ve felt an otherworldly presence around you?
4. One of the themes in the novel is about working through grief so that one can move forward and come into a newly realized sense of self. Which characters had to work through a sense of loss? How did they all approach their “healing” differently? Would you say they were successful?
5. What purpose did opera serve in centuries past? Do you feel opera is still a legitimate and influential art form today?
Weblinks
» |
Author's web site
|
» |
Follow the author on Facebook
|
» |
Follow the author on Twitter
|
» |
Follow the author on Instagram
|
Book Club Recommendations
Recommended to book clubs by 0 of 0 members.
Now serving over 80,000 book clubs & ready to welcome yours. Join us and get the Top Book Club Picks of 2022 (so far).
Get free weekly updates on top club picks, book giveaways, author events and more