Night Magic by Charlotte Vale Allen Summary and Reviews
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Book Reviews of Night Magic
Book Review: Another good variation
Summary: 5 Stars
This is another one of those books I read in one sitting, and then immediately re-read. It is an interesting take on "Beauty and the Beast" and "The Phantom of the Opera" (which in my opinion is a BATB variation). Seventeen-year old Marisa is instantly attracted to Erik D'Anton, an older reclusive genius. Their mutual attraction quickly evolves into love. Erik's personality has been shaped by the trauma of his past. As a child, Erik survived the automobile accident that killed both of his parents, leaving his face terribly scarred. He has suffered through many surgeries, most notably a series of skin grafts on his face which resulted in a patch-work of varying textures and hues, and without much of his nose. Because of this, he wears a mask, talks in a whisper and prefers the dark or shadows in an attempt avoid drawing the attention of a cruel world. The aunt that ended up raising him was a cold unfeeling woman, who thoughtlessly kept him away from the only person who seemed to care for him, the family chauffer, and sends him off to boarding school where he is tormented by his school-mates. Marisa sees beyond his deformities and feels that although she is 15 years his junior, she can make him happy, if she can get past his defenses. "Night Magic" takes us from their first encounter in 1967 up thru 1987, the first 20 years of their relationship (the book has a 1989 copyright).
Erik and Marisa, along with Kitty (Marisa's best friend and surrogate step-mother) and Raskin (Erik's personal assistant/business associate) are likeable characters, although all 4 of them are "damaged" in some way. Raskin is a Vietnam War vet with a criminal record who has had encounters with numerous women, but never with the same one twice. Kitty, as well as Marisa, has to deal with the shock and repercussions of the untimely death of Marisa's father. In spite of their problems, I liked them, wanted to know them, and grew to care about what happened to them. I truly enjoyed this book, and would have liked a few more chapters, although the story has a very satisfying conclusion. I highly recommend this book to anyone who enjoys romance, POTO or BATB.
Book Review: Beauty and the Beast
Summary: 3 Stars
Marisa, at the age of 16, falls in love with a brilliant older man in spite of his horrible scars and reclusive lifestyle. Erik was in a tragic auto accident at the age of 7 that killed both of his parents and left his face so hideously scarred that he chooses to live his life in the confinement of his home, from which he rarely ventures forth. He is a successful architect, and meets Marisa after completing a remodeling job on her father's home. His partner and housemate, Raskin, handles most of the public interface. Marisa starts to sneak out of her house late at night to meet Erik, and initially their relationship is platonic. However, their passionate response to each other eventually leads to intimacy. Marisa told her father that Erik was giving her music lessons. Marisa's dad dies of a massive heart attack, and soon after she turns 18, she marries Erik.
Thus begins a cloistered life style lived in the seclusion of their dark home. Marisa and Erik have no social life outside their home, and they do not travel or even go out in the daylight because of Erik's fear of being ridiculed. Marisa wants to have children, but Erik is afraid to subject them to the shame and derision of having such a badly disfigured father. This eventually causes a rift between them that requires the help of friends and a chase across two continents to sort out.
The unrealistic setting and situation of these characters makes it difficult to develop any empathy toward them, since it is difficult to imagine living such a secluded, cloistered life. However, I did want both Marisa and Erik to eventually find happiness, which of course they did.
Book Review: Could've Been Better
Summary: 3 Stars
I'm giving this one three stars because I feel that the story could have been done well with a few changes...
1. Marisa was too annoying, especially at first. The whole "I'm gonna starve myself over someone I barely know because he hasn't called" ordeal? Childish. And I may not feel as strongly as some about the sex between a sixteen year old and thirty-one year old, but I'd like to see both people mature enough to realize what's happening, and her behavior does NOT signify that to me.
2. Erik's revulsion at having a child is also fairly annoying. So he's able to accept (though with some difficulty) that this woman loves him heart and soul, regardless of his appearance, but a child they create wouldn't be able to get past his face?
3. Lastly, why does Marisa look beyond his appearance right away? I think it would be wonderful if we could all be so selfless and caring in the name of love, friendship and compassion, but let's be real. Most people, especially a teeange girl, are going to find it hard to simply "get past" something like that right away...UNLESS...(and this is what I personally would have liked to see most of all) the person has some specific reason for dismissing his features, i.e., she's disfigured herself. Maybe her face is pretty, but Erik could discover that underneath her nightgown she's deformed in some way, she's been horribly burned in a fire, she's got some handicap, whatever, just give me some reason as to why she didn't even flinch when she first saw him!
So, the worst book on earth it is not, but I think it needed a slight more "realism" added to the Magic.
Book Review: Disappointing...
Summary: 2 Stars
"Night Magic" falls far from its main objective, that is, the attempt to interpret the classical tale of The Phantom of the Opera. A POTO fan myself, this novel for me proved to be both economically and artistically challenged, and most certainly not an intelligent read. To begin with, the entwining clutter of trifle plots, the distasteful characters, and many other aspects of literature are of very poor choice. Take the main protagonists for example, Marisa, the equivalent for Christine Daae, is portrayed here as a rather fractious schoolgirl with little intelligence (but a whole lot of supercilious beliefs) and a terrible contradiction of herself. This book also does not stay true to the character of Erik in his original portrayal. The marvelous, extravagant Erik is reduced to a rather weak, idiosyncratic embodiment of his primary, and, unbelievably, depicted more strongly as an architect than the obsessive musician he ought to be! He assists in an insubstantial storyline, of which tediously builds to a poor climax and dissipates immediately afterwards, as if Vale Allen all of a sudden grew weary of this whole appalling business. And appalling indeed this work is, with the writing analogous to that of being colloquial, and even at times incompetently unrefined and vulgarly modern (employing phrases such as "oh yummy" and "no kidding"). But my strongest objection to "Night Magic" is that it stakes its claim to The Phantom of the Opera, and yet fails to pay its homage. Obviously Vale Allen does not understand that The Phantom of the Opera is meant to be an escapist novel, and not fit to be warped to fit the realities of today's society. "Night Magic" aims to bring about profound themes through the contemporary eye, and results in no more than a preteen fantasy, with graphic accounts of erotic experiences in place of true emotions, and overall emptiness in this sensational read.
Book Review: Enchanting
Summary: 5 Stars
"Night Magic" is a modern Phantom-like tale set in Connecticut during the years of 1968-1987. In this story, Erik D'Anton is a wealthy, talented architect and musician who lives in seclusion due to a severe facial disfigurement. Rather than a birth defect, Erik's deformity was caused by a tragic traffic accident which robbed him of both of his parents and any chance of having a normal life. Erik is now 31 years old, but very childlike in his vulnerability and loneliness. His life changes completely when 16 year-old Marisa Crane, the daughter of a business client, enters his life.
I really liked this sweet, romantic book. Other reviewers have commented negatively on the age difference between Erik and Marisa, saying that he took advantage of her. It seems to me, that because of Erik's fragile emotional state and insecurity, in many ways, Marisa was much more mature than he. She was headstrong, independent, and determined to have him. She pursued him until he finally let down his guard and allowed her into his world, always fearing that she would ultimately reject him. This quotation from "Night Magic" describes Erik's emotional fragility quite well: "And there was never anyone who deserved less to be hurt...never anyone less equipped to handle the pain."