Based on an original new story by J. K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a new play by Jack Thorne, is the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. It will receive its world premiere in London's West End on 30th July 2016.
It was always difficult being Harry Potter and it isn't much easier now that he is an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband and father of three school-age children. While Harry grapples with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs, his youngest son Albus must struggle with the weight of a family legacy he never wanted. As past and present fuse ominously, both father and son learn the uncomfortable truth: sometimes darkness comes from unexpected places.
Where to begin? Where tooooo begin?
I am not sure where to begin or end with this.
I think I will begin by saying that I do not think a book, no matter what franchise it is a continuation is off, gets a free pass. A bad story is a bad story and the affiliation with J K Rowling and Harry Potter in no way validates the fact that this book should have been published. That is my opinion - they should have left well enough alone. There are moments I enjoyed but if you want a quick summary this play is a waste of time and money. It is a well written fanfiction that in no way belongs within this universe. You can disagree but that is how I feel. So if you don't want spoilers leave now, if not - lets crack on. I am going to review this book in two parts - Acts 1-3 and Act 4, mostly because I feel like I have different things to say about Act 4.
Acts 1 - 3
I find the description of this play as "well written fan-fiction" to be rather apt. Acts 1 through 3 are a total mess, I just do not care about anything that is happening and I keep reading and reading but it's more of the same. First off I have trouble believing that Harry is a terrible father, he has always been very accepting and very seeing of people, he has never been blind to other people or their feelings and yet there is apparently been this huge character change over the past nineteen years with no explanation. Harry also appears to be terrible at his job, we see his office and it is a state, Hermione basically says he is terrible at his job and his lack of a relationship with Ginny is all too much. I know people change as they get older and life changes and things change but you do not become a completely different person. I also don't believe for a second Harry is someone who lives in his stories, I can't imagine him telling people his stories over and over like that creepy Daniel Radcliffe SNL sketch.
Albus and Scorpius really make this play, they are the best characters and maybe that's because they are the only ones who I don't actually know. Was I the only one who got a vibe from the two of them, kind of a Magneto/Professor X secret love for one another vibe. Well, I did and I totally ship them. That was quite odd in the writing that there were these very intimate moments and then suddenly Scorpius is all over Rose, it was strange.
Hermione and Ron were disastrous, Ron was squeezed in a the mockable comic relief, no longer even funny from his own wit and humour - just as a cheap laughing stock with his fat gut and balding head. That was a disappointment and so was the display of Ron and Hermione's relationship, it felt forced and wrong and then we had this plot of alternate worlds where they don't get together and I am not choked up about it at all. It felt forced, it felt as though this was written by someone who doesn't know them enough and it showed, it so showed.
Finally, I will get to the plot. Once again fan-fiction destroys stories we love. A secret time-turner to go back and save Cedric. That was bad. Voldemort and Bellatrix having a secret baby that she popped out just before running to the battle of Hogwarts. First off, we saw Bellatrix just before the battle of Hogwarts and she weren't 9 months preggo fellas! Secondly, what would possess him to have sex or a child in the first place? He has never shown to be filed with sexual desire or affection so what the hell Rowling? You approved this story? Really! How could you.
OK. I'm calm.
Now, if this is getting to negative for you, proceed to Act 4. Things change up. I swear.
ACT 4!!! Thank the universe for ACT 4!
Act 4 had a lot of the issues of the previous acts, yet there were these absolutely beautiful moments. We go back to Godric's Hollow and there things take a change. Notably the moment with Delphi when she is caught and Albus wants her dead, that moment where Harry realises she is this lost child, hidden away and unloved and that essentially she is a victim of her destiny. That moment was lovely, but the one that topped that, that literally made all of the terrible 300 pages worth it. Harry and the gang watch as Voldemort kills Lily and James, knowing they cannot save them without chaning the world. Harry is flinching against the green light and Albus reaches out and takes his hand. It was this wonderful moment of solidarity, of such emotional resonance and strength that is familiar within Harry Potter. The strength Harry showed there was exactly what I expected from him and his son and it was honestly one of the best moments in the entire series.
Yes.
In this terrible book there was the most wonderful scene in all the series.
Then we have another, a close second in which Harry opens up to a portrait of Dumbledore. He lets out everything he was feeling his entire life. Admits that he saw him as a father figure and he never let him know he loved him, instead he raised him as a lamb to slaughter and I thought that was a stunning moment too. Moments that were anchored in the story and the feel of the original books.
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This is a very hard book for me to review because no, I did not like it. I will not be considering it a part of the Harry Potter Universe - but there are moments I can truly appreciate. Mostly I just feel disappointed and a little angry. The story (which was Rowling, apparently) was lacklustre and lazy and makes me very angry.
I'm not sure.
I really don't know.
It makes me feel very lost.
I can only give it 2 Stars, and because of that - my heart is breaking.
I can only give it 2 Stars, and because of that - my heart is breaking.
Maybe you made better sense of it, if you did, feel free to comment down below and help a girl out. Fingers crossed it's better for you.
Happy Reading.
Happy Reading.
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