Harry Potter and the Cursed Child: Parts One and Two
Ratings927
Average rating3
Honestly, I don't know what to do with this book rn. I'm not sure about the rating and I don't even know what to think about it. For now, I'll drop a neutral rating here and I'll leave for some time lol
BUT. Obviously I don't want to go away without a quote, so here it is - BAM!
《Harry, there is never a perfect answer in this messy, emotional world. Perfection is beyond the reach of humankind, beyond the reach of magic. In every shining moment of happiness is that drop of poison: the knowledge that pain will come again. Be honest to those you love, show your pain. To suffer is as human as to breathe.》
3.8
I'm a big fan of Harry Potter and I thoroughly enjoyed this book because it brought me back to my childhood and the wizarding world. As a Potterhead, of course I would read anything that provides continuation to the Harry Potter legacy. But for some reason, even if I enjoyed it, my reactions were mixed.
I love the fact that JK Rowling can pull anything out of her creative ass; and by ass, I mean her brain. Then I realized, this is a play... not a novel or even a film. So it's actually hard for me to visualize everything from a stage play perspective. So maybe I should re-read it again for several times to gain a better respect for this book/script.
Lots of characters pop up. From the old ones, to the new ones. Obviously, my favorite is still Draco Malfoy. As for the story, sometimes it feels like it's trying too hard, but it still works nonetheless. The Time-Turner seems to be the key feature on the over-all story, and I'm not even complaining (the Time-Turner part in PoA was the bomb).
Overall, this was a good and fast-read book. Nothing you can say a lot compared to the previous books/novels. Now, I'm fascinated to know how they pull-off this story on stage, since the scenes are constantly changing. Will definitely recommend this to all the Potterheads out there. It's not the best, but you know, Potterheads will still approve.
Un bonito fanfic, que tiene que estar muy chulo en el teatro. Y viva Scorpius.
আহ্! অনেকদিন পর একটা বই প্রায় বলা চলে এক নিঃশ্বাসে শেষ হলো। হ্যারি পটার সিরিজের অন্য বইগুলোর চেয়েও এটা বেশি মুভি ফ্রেন্ডলি হবে সংলাপনির্ভরতার জন্য। আর রোওলিং মৃত লেখক না, দিনে দিনে আরো ম্যাচিউর হচ্ছেন। পুরো গল্পটা এত বাহুল্যবর্জিত এবং থ্রিলিং... জাস্ট অসাম!
Some things were good, some things were devastatingly bad, some things were ‘meh'. I expected worst, but I also expected much more. It is Harry Potter after all. Not imprescindible, almost avoidable. I'm quite contradicted because I half hated it and half liked some of it. I give it 2 stars for Scorpius only. And I will not consider this HP canon at all.
4.5/5
It's good to see Harry Potter back, but it wasn't the best Harry Potter book.
Una decepción. Ya intenté no ir con altas expectativas, pero la firma de Rowling me hacía mantener la esperanza, pero ni con esas. Parece sacado de un fanfic escrito por cualquiera que pasaba por ahi. Me niego a tomarmela en serio.
SPOILERS
La historia no tiene NADA de original, sólo retoma elementos de las otras novelas: el giratiempo, Cedric y, como no, Lord Voldemort.
Los personajes originales sólo son una triste sombra de mismos, Hermione ¿¡¡¿¡¡Ministra de Magia?!?!, Ron un payaso, Harry el amargado, Malfoy el imbécil de turno, etc etc.
La nueva generación es un conjunto de clichés y repeticiones de personajes anterios y es terrible.
(En serio, Albus el melancólico y rebelde alumno, ¿no hay nadie en todo el colegio para hacerse amigo que Scorpius Malfoy?). Y la nueva villana de la historia da vergüenza ajena y se la ve venir de lejos.
La resolución de las tramas son cansinas y muy poco creíbles. A los personajes antiguos a los cuales conocía y quería no los reconozco y eso me hace sentir muy triste.
Dejando atrás mi exigencia con la historia y los personajes, se disfruta medianamente bien y los guiños hacen gracia.
Pero da MUCHA MUCHA pena que esta gran saga se haya continuado con semejante panfleto.
I had heard many mixed reviews of the book but was still excited to read it. First off it's a book of the play, so it's never going to read like a novel. Regardless of the format, it moved me. Moved me so much, and I was back there, engrossed in the wizarding world again. It was beautiful. Thank you JK.
Not a very satisfactory visit back to the wizarding world. The format doesn't lend itself to a pleasant reading experience. I had to remind myself almost constantly that I was not reading a slow buildup fanfiction of a m/m romance.
Non dirò nulla sulla trama perchè, ovviamente, è qualcosa da scoprire da soli. Mi limiterò a qualche considerazione stilistica e a ciò che ha rappresentato per mela lettura di questa piece teatrale. La lettura del libro, fin dalla prima pagina, è stata una esperienza fantastica perchè mi ha riportato agli anni e alle sensazioni che provavo da piccolo nel leggere i primi sette libri; inoltre, il libro mi è stato regalato da una persona cara e ciò ha reso l'immersione nelle sue pagine ancora più bella.
Poi c'è la questione che è un'opera teatrale ossia che, benchè il racconto sia stato pensato dalla Rowling, è stato scritto da Jack Thorne. Questo secondo me fa perdere tanto perchè la Rowling è meravigliosa e dà il meglio di sè non solo nell'inventiva ma anche e sopratutto nella scrittura.
Not as deep or as expansive as the books, but it is a play, so that's just how it goes. I enjoyed it very much, and it is a worthy successor to the canonical books.
Below is the review I wrote for my library's Facebook Friday book recommendations.
This is a must-read for all fans of Harry Potter, and because of its timeless theme of conflict between a son and the father who loves him, it could be of interest to someone who has never read the Potter books or seen the movies.
I loved “Cursed Child,” but I have to admit that a lot of HP fans didn't. I think part of the reason is because they were wanting it to be something it is not. “Cursed Child” is a play, not straight fiction, and it was not written by J. K. Rowling, although she was intimately involved in its creation.
A son rebels against his father, and in the process destroys the world as everyone knows it and creates a living hell on Earth. A father, clueless and focused, has no idea what to do. Because there is magic involved, the consequences are dire; but because there is love, there is also hope.
It is a play, so you will need to enjoy it a bit differently than you do a novel. Let your imagination run wild! Picture how the action would look on stage as well as in real life. It's wild and beautiful – sometimes terrifying – but the words don't tell the whole story. That's why you need to turn your brain into a theatre with an evocative set, moody lighting, a great director and really good actors. All of that creativity has to come from your own mind. Read it, picture it, hear it and enjoy!
This originally appeared at The Irresponsible Reader.
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I went into this with low expectations for a few reasons (negative buzz being one of many), and sadly had them all met – I don't think anything were exceeded.
This is fan-fiction, pure and simple. Sure, it's official fan-fiction written in conjunction with Rowling – but it's not the same series, it doesn't feel the same. It feels like someone's trying to recapture what they had, in just a slightly different form. I'm fine with that – if people want to throw money at Rowling, Tiffany and Thorne for doing this? Let them. Let's just not pretend it's more than what it is.
The story primarily focuses on Harry and Ginny's middle child, Albus. Albus is pretty uncomfortable living in the shadow of the Boy Who Lived – he doesn't like the notoriety or pressure that comes with that territory. Which is absolutely understandable – especially now that he's at Hogwarts, where Harry's legend is strongest. Between that, and typical teenager strife with Dad leads Albus to take some really big risks with banned magical technology.
These risks center on time travel – and this is where it lost me. I just can't stand the kind of stories where someone goes back in time with perfectly good intentions and messes things up, changing the future so much that it's not recognizable. So then they (or someone else) have to go back in time again to prevent/minimize the damage. And magically, this second (or third) intervention restores everything back to the way it was before the time travelers left. Sure, this is a series in which magical things like that are clearly possible. But there's possible and too-incredible. It almost doesn't matter how good this story/execution was, I wouldn't be crazy about it.
The writing was . . . okay. Nothing spectacular, nothing that had the same ...“magic” as the other books in the series. It's not as bad as many claim – but it's not as good as others claim either. How some of this can be staged, I just can't imagine. I'm not saying it can't be – but wow, that's a real technical challenge, I'd think.
There were some nice moments, some great fan-service stuff – and I'm very glad I got to meet Scorpius Malfoy. I'd rather spend time with him than any of the rest of the descendants of the original series, there's something very cool about this kid. I should also mention that there's some nice father-son moments with Harry and Albus.
On the whole, I'm glad I read this, but I really can't get crazy about it.
Hmm. I don't want to judge just based on this script–I know the production was really well-reviewed and I'm sure the actors added a lot to the story. But, since the play is only in London, the script is all I can judge atm! So I'll say I enjoyed reading it and it went really quickly...I suppose it's a little harder to feel invested in these new characters. The plot is...a little bananas...but I suppose, really, so are the other Potter books.
Still–it was fun, and had some genuinely moving bits, and I'm glad to have read it.
I was terrified to read this book. Id heard very mixed reviews. But I figured I'd give it a shot, and I'm glad I did. And even though the format was a little weird, I got used to it, and it felt too short so I sped through it. I actually really enjoyed the story. I wish I could see it on stage. The multiple twists were amazing and the writing itself was great, even if it felt like fanfiction sometimes.
I really enjoyed this book. I do wish it was a book with more description, rather than a play, but I still was able to picture everything in my head because I have read all the other books and I've seen all the movies. I loved the plot twists, was able to figure out one of them, and as always, JK Rowling left me wanting more.
This was great!
It does in no way live up to the standard that is Harry Potter, but I really enjoyed it!
The format does change the detail of which the story can be told, and I think in particularly that this would have been better as a novel rather than a play.
I love the new characters, though, and Scorpius is an absolute treasure.
At times I did find the characters I knew well to be a bit out of character, but with a different author it's to be expected I guess. I like to think that the script J.K. Rowling originally wrote is not the end result we're reading Spoiler [In particular, the fact that Voldemort had a child, which I find in no way plausible, like, at all. It would have made more sense if Delphi had just been raised by Death Eaters and wanted Voldemort in charge. And that Harry's pain in his scar returning would be something like phantom pains because he was feeling deja vu of his youth when voldy was alive.]
This story is quite a whirlwind, and would have been explained better in a novel, I mean things that would have been difficult and a real hard task were just glossed over.
Overall, I really did enjoy it though, even if it isn't like the rest of the series. In a sense, I don't think it should have been branded as the eighth Harry Potter book, but instead as a spin-off, or something.
Lastly, I just need to say this: we need a ship name for Albus and Scorpius.
It might be in large part due to a feeling of nostalgia, but I really loved this book/play. Yes it's different from the previous books and doesn't have quite as much humour, but I enjoyed seeing the characters we love in a grown up setting, continuing to figure out life with families of their own and relationships that continue to be the heart of the Harry Potter series. I could have read loads more about Ron, Hermione and Harry's children, my only sadness is that it looks like this will be it. The parallels to the third book (my favourite of the series) was also a big bonus for me. Thank you J.K. Rowling for giving us one more glimpse into your magical world, one I continue to keep near and dear to my heart. This was a worthy edition and I'm happy I had the chance to visit the wizarding world with Harry, Ron and Hermione one last time.
Very mixed feelings about this book. I'd say my rating falls somewhere between 3-4, but I don't really have that option