Ignacy

I quite enjoyed myself during the listen, but now, after the fact, there is a severe feeling of void. The book was written for children, and it's perceivable (mostly in a bad way). There were some charming elements I enjoyed (e.g. chocolate being the cure for dementor fatigue), but the naivety of the story, especially the finale, was more dull than charming. And yes I've known all the plot twist already, but I feel I wouldn't have been impressed even with zero knowledge, because of the way the plot twists were handled. I feel like I need a break from the series for a while. I can't decide between 3 and 3.5 stars.

Certainly a pleasant read, well actually a listen, as I chose the audiobook format. I'd recommend the book to everybody solely to experience the superb narration by Stephen Fry. I doubt I would enjoy the book as much without his input. The story itself was fine but slightly frustrating. I've read the book years ago, and I forgot most details, and I'm afraid, those details bothered me quite considerably. At times, I found it extremely hard to compose my suspension of disbelief. A multitude of described events just didn't make any sense after you thought about them for like a second or two. The Forbidden Forest chapter was insane (in a bad way), and the finale was unbelievable (in a bad way too). But to be honest, there was some charm in the childish naivety of the plot. I simply hope, the next books will be a trifle more reasonable, because I might not endure it. All in all a pleasant, but frustrating read.