Autobiography of a Face

We all know that the Phantom of the Opera was a hideously deformed man. If you don't, I wonder why you're here, but more to the point, we know that the Phantom of the Opera was a hideously deformed man. But he was a fictional character, and of course, in the modern world, the life of a deformed person would be different, better, maybe. Of course, Erik was Erik, with a remarkable genius and the strange power of his voice, but as he says in Susan Kat, "I am just like everybody else inside, does no one understand that?" So if we could find out about a real person who is currently deformed, it would be a great insight into the character and complicated, delicate physce of a man.

Thank God for Lucy Grealy and her hugely wonderful book. Lucy Grealy is a poet, and she is a great poet. Lucy Grealy also had cancer in her jaw, and therefore had part of her jaw removed. She is disfigured, as one might put it, and there are some bizarre similarities between Erik and Ms. Grealy. They are both artists. They both have or have had at some point in life, an aversion to mirrors, which is totally understandable. They are both witty, intelligent, and extremely insightful. Of course, there are some obvious differences. For example, Ms. Grealy was not born with her deformity, as opposed to Erik's ingrained face. Ms. Grealy was quite obviously nowhere near as isolated as Erik, as she lived a veritably normal life. It is their inner conflicts that are strikingly similiar.

And for Heaven's sakes, this book is a godsend for a phan fic author. To write for Erik is to attempt an impossible task, to understand the understandable. And this book helps hugely. To actually know about the differentiation between the face and the self - oh, just read it, it will make your life easier. And you will stay up at night wondering about this enormously complicated woman.

In all seriousness, Phantom related or not, this is a simply remarkable, fascinating, intelligent book. I reccomend this to anyone and everyone, especially phans who are interested in understanding Erik as a real and tangible person.

Wow, a serious, short, blog. Something's wrong with me.

I remain, gentleman, your faithful and obedient servant,

J.G.