"Harry Potter and the cursed child", a play, by J. K. Rowling, Jack Thorn & John Tiffany. This book is published by Little Brown in 2016 and has 352 pages. This is 8th book of Harry Potter series.
19 years have passed since the battle of Hogwarts. Harry is Head of magical law enforcement and Hermione is Minister of magic. Harry's son Albus Severus is growing under pressure of his father's achievements and all is not well between them. His best friend is Scorpius, son of Draco Malfoy. They decide to right a historical wrong by using an illegal time bender, confiscated by ministry of magic.
By going back in time, what will they change? How will it impact? What will be the consequences? Will it end with their adventure? Who is the cursed child?
Readers are taken back to the world of magic and spells. Albus and Scorpius find an ally in Delphi, cousin of Cedric Diggery. They travel to past and try to change the course of time only to find that their supposedly innocuous and well intentioned actions have had major repercussions on the history. They realize it, but is it too late?
Although author had publicly said that this book will not be a repetition of previous Harry Potter stories, since the characters are same, repetition occurs. Hogwarts appears again, sorting hat happens again, the same subjects are taught, the same map and invisibility cloak are used, Voldermot is there and so on.
However it gives a nostalgic feeling to the readers and they go down the memory lane to remember and refresh the details of the story.
Harry has a difficult task of not changing the past (that he would have liked to) and not allowing others to change it either. The narration is decent but not as good as the original series. It lacks the detailing. This may be because it is a comparatively small book written as a stage play.
Who is the cursed child? Well it can be Harry, Albus, Scorpius or Delphi. Any or all of them are cursed children.
Harry, Hermione and Ron call Ms McGonagall by her first name, Minerva. Some times Harry calls Prof. Dumbledore as Dumbledore. One doesn't do that to one's teacher.
The important question is Why a play? Especially when the series of novels and movies have done so well and after watching the movies with special effects, watching a stage play might seem bland.
Those who have read the Harry Potter series will read it, those who haven't won't.
No comments:
Post a Comment