REVIEW: HARRY POTTER AND THE CURSED CHILD ~ JK ROWLING, JACK THORNE, JOHN TIFFANY

I may not be able to get to England to see the play, but my book is from England and that helps!
A special thank you to my best friend, Erika, for this lovely gift ♥

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, a new play by Jack Thorne based on an original new story by JK Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne, starts with the epilogue of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione sending their own children off to Hogwarts. 

*Spoilers ahead* 

The Potters and the Granger-Weasleys at Platform 9 3/4

 

Harry’s youngest son, Albus Severus, is headed to Hogwarts for his first year and he is afraid of being sorted into Slytherin House.  As in Deathly Hallows’ epilogue, Harry assures his son that the bravest man he had ever met was from Slytherin House, and that Albus Severus carries his name.  That is where the final novel left us, with Harry assuring his son that it would not matter if he was sorted into Slytherin – a good thing as this is indeed what happens.  Harry’s oldest son James, and later his daughter Lily, as well as Ron and Hermione’s children Hugo and Rose are all sorted into Gryffindor House, but Albus finds himself sorted into Slytherin. 

Rose Granger-Weasley is sorted into Gryffindor

 

Albus also has great difficulty mastering spells in school and is soon dubbed “The Slytherin Squib”.  This, and the constant comparisons to his famous father, leads to a lot of doubt and confusion for young Albus who becomes a distant, troubled young man.  Shunned even by Rose Granger-Weasley, once his best friend, he finds an unexpected friend and ally in fellow Slytherin, Scorpius Malfoy, the son of Draco Malfoy.  Scorpius is also an outcast as he is the son of a former Death Eater, and a very dark rumour hangs over his head – the rumour that Draco and Astoria could not conceive children and that they used a time-turner to go back in time and conceive Lord Voldemort’s child!  At first this rumour is merely that as all time-turners were believed to have been destroyed during the battle at the Ministry of Magic.  Harry, now an overworked Head of Magical Law Enforcement at the Ministry of Magic, discovers that this is not the case as he retrieves several illegal magical devices during a raid – including a time turner. 

Albus and Harry have a very strained relationship which becomes only more strained as the years pass.  Albus, mistakenly believing that Harry does not care at all for the blood spilt in his name, takes it upon his own inexperienced shoulders to right at least one wrong - Albus decides to break into the Ministry of Magic, steal the time-turner now in Hermione's possession, return to the Tri-Wizard Tournament and prevent Cedrick Diggory's death. Yeah... going back in time to alter events... what could possibly go wrong? 

Harry Potter consults the portrait of Professor Dumbledore

 

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child follows Albus Potter and Scorpius Malfoy as they navigate past and present, creating more wrongs than they fix as they tamper with the past and the butterfly effect changes everything in their present.  As Albus and Scorpius create all kinds of trouble messing with the past, Harry starts having very disturbing nightmares about his troubled son and his scar starts to hurt for the first time since Voldemort's death - could it mean what we all fear it means?

Ginny and Harry discuss his escalating nightmares and his hurting scar

 

I would have appreciated more time with our core trio, but this time around they are more supporting characters as the story focuses on Albus.  My favourite character is Scorpius Malfoy, much to my surprise!  I found him to be very complex and incredibly funny – I actually think, given the chance, he would have gotten along famously with the Weasley twins (oh, Fred).  The plot is very well written and keeps you on the edge of your seat.  After so many years away, it is great fun visiting Hogwarts again and catching up with beloved characters. 

An important announcement is made at the Ministry of Magic

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is, of course, released not in the form of a novel but as the script of the play.  It obviously reads very differently than the Potter novels, but it is quite easy to get into.  My only criticism would be that as reader I am not quite as immersed in the Potter universe as I am when reading the novels which have much greater, vivid descriptions – but as this is essentially a play meant to be seen more than a script meant to be read, this is not a fair criticism at the end of the day.  I am, however, not London-based and doubt very much that I will ever get to see the play performed in Pretoria, South Africa, so settle for the script I must – at least until a film version I desperately yearn for.   This story would make an excellent movie, though given the complexity of the plot and elements of time travel, a film version seems highly unlikely.  I also very much doubt that Daniel Radcliffe, Emma Watson and Rupert Grint could be persuaded to return for another Potter movie, but I think audiences would forgive a change in casting since their characters are 19-22 years older than during the events of the Battle of Hogwarts.  I, for one, would forgive a change of casting if it meant I got to see this story play out on the silver screen...  however, nobody – and I mean nobody – could replace Alan Rickman as Professor Snape…

The original stage production cast

All in all Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is great entertainment and sure to be a hit with all fans of the series.  As a film version seems highly unlikely, be sure to get yourself a ticket to the play (I would if I could!) or get your hands on a copy of the script - you will not be disappointed.

ROWLING REGRETS PAIRING HERMIONE WITH RON INSTEAD OF HARRY

The Harry Potter fandom was rocked this weekend by it's creator, J.K Rowling's interview in Wonderland, which was published by the Sunday Times.  In it Rowling admits that she regrets pairing up Hermione Granger and Ron Weasley, and that Hermione should rather have ended up with Harry Potter. 

Hermione Granger and Harry Potter

Rowling stated:

I wrote the Hermione/Ron relationship as a form of wish fulfillment. That’s how it was conceived, really. For reasons that have very little to do with literature and far more to do with me clinging to the plot as I first imagined it, Hermione ended up with Ron.  I know, I’m sorry, I can hear the rage and fury it might cause some fans, but if I’m absolutely honest, distance has given me perspective on that. It was a choice I made for very personal reasons, not for reasons of credibility. Am I breaking people’s hearts by saying this? I hope not.

I completely disagree!  One of the things I love most about the Harry Potter series is that Harry and Hermione love each other very much, but not romantically.  I think it was so important to imprint that truth on young readers - that boys and girls can be friends without it having to turn romantic.  Harry and Hermione each became the brother and sister the other never had.  The strength and depth of their friendship without a hint of romance is truly one of the best plot lines of the entire series.  Besides, it would have been way too cliché for the Hermione and Harry to fall in love - also, it might have become the focal point of the story, and that would have been a shame.

I  also believe that Harry and Hermione are generally too serious together.  Ginny (Weasley, whom Harry married) is perfect for Harry, and I wanted them to get together from pretty early on.  She is exactly the calm he needs after the storm that was his youth. Ginny is grounded, dependable and safe.  Her love has always been there to keep Harry anchored.  It never smothered him, it was just easy and right and exactly what he needed.  He also knew it would always be there - he broke things off with Ginny before he left on his horcrux quest to protect her, and she was not only strong enough to not fall apart or resent him for it, she supported Harry.  In his absence she reconvened Dumbledore's Army and fought her own battles inside Hogwarts.  Ginny herself is pretty darn tough, and very deserving of Harry.  They make a great team.

Ginny Weasly and Harry Potter

Hermione, on the other hand, would not have been happy with someone serious.  She needs someone to lighten the mood and make her laugh.  For whatever reason, for her that person has always been Ron.  Ron might not be the perfect romantic hero, but this too is an important truth - someone doesn't need to be perfect to be perfect for you.

Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger

Rowling got it just right the first time, and all she managed to do with this interview is make people question her credibility as an author.  She broke so many moulds and defied so many stereotypes with this series, and now she just went and ruined it all by this idiotic statement.  This is one regret she should have kept to herself; no good came of admitting it. 

Ron, Hermione and Harry after the Battle at Hogwarts
Harry Pottter And The Deathly Hallows (Movie: Part 2)

J.K ROWLING'S NEW BOOK DETAILS REVEALED

Little, Brown Book Group has released details of J.K Rowling's upcoming novel!  The new novel by J.K. Rowling is entitled The Casual Vacancy, and will be published worldwide on Thursday 27th September 2012.

The Casual Vacancy:
When Barry Fairweather dies unexpectedly in his early forties, the little town of Pagford is left in shock.  Pagford is, seemingly, an English idyll, with a cobbled market square and an ancient abbey, but what lies behind the pretty façade is a town at war.  Rich at war with poor, teenagers at war with their parents, wives at war with their husbands, teachers at war with their pupils... Pagford is not what it first seems.  And the empty seat left by Barry on the parish council soon becomes the catalyst for the biggest war the town has yet seen. Who will triumph in an election fraught with passion, duplicity and unexpected revelations?

Blackly comic, thought-provoking and constantly surprising, The Casual Vacancy is J.K. Rowling’s first novel for adults.

J.K Rowling

J.K ROWLING IS FINALLY PICKING UP HER PEN AGAIN!

J.K Rowling, author of the best-selling Harry Potter series, has revealed that she has signed a deal for a new book, almost five years after the release of the final Harry Potter book.  The new book, which title, details and release date are not being made public just yet, will not be another children's book.  Rowling is trying her hand at adult fiction!

In a statement released by Little, Brown Rowling says:

“Although I’ve enjoyed writing it every bit as much, my next book will be very different to the Harry Potter series, which has been published so brilliantly by Bloomsbury and my other publishers around the world. The freedom to explore new territory is a gift that Harry's success has brought me, and with that new territory it seemed a logical progression to have a new publisher. I am delighted to have a second publishing home in Little, Brown, and a publishing team that will be a great partner in this new phase of my writing life."

 It will be interesting to see if Rowling can successfully make the transition from children's author to adult author.  I'm sure she will.  I've never really considered the Harry Potter series to be children's books.  I know many adults who have read it, and who agree.  J.K Rowling is a very gifted storyteller who always managed to surprise me with the conclusions of each of the Harry Potter books.  She always kept me guessing, and I always guessed wrong.  If her new novel is a crime drama as rumoured, I just know she will deliver another brilliantly written story with many twists and turns, and unexpected outcomes.

I, for one, am eagerly anticipating Rowling's new book, and I will definitely grab it off the shelfs as soon as it hits.

IT ALL ENDED...

Friday night, with great anticipation I sat myself down to watch the final chapter of the Harry Potter movies, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2. I was a bit worried that the movie might not get it right as the epic ending contains some of my favourite moments of all seven books. In hindsight I had nothing to worry about. It is with delight that I can say the movie does the book perfect justice!

At the outset it must be stated that the 3D was beautifully done! It was smooth and clear, the best I’ve ever seen, and a joy to experience. The scene in Gringotts was brilliantly done, as was the final battle at Hogwarts. Very impressive!

To me, the acting in this last installment was also the best it’s ever been. Daniel Radcliffe, Rupert Grint and Emma Watson perfectly captured Harry, Ron and Hermione’s deep friendship, their intense protectiveness of each other, and their ultimate lifelong bond. Helena Bonham-Carter was again perfect as Bellatrix, even more so as Hermione as Bellatrix (loved those scenes!), and Maggie Smith delightfully reminded me why Professor McGonnagal was always my favourite teacher at Hogwarts – totally stole the show in her scenes!

I loved the several nice touches that made saying goodbye a little bittersweet: I loved the flashback to Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone reminding us how the cast looked when it all started ten years ago; I loved seeing Harry, Ron and Hermione drink butterbeer in Hogsmeade one last time; I loved seeing the remaining members of the Order of the Phoenix, and the DA (Dumbledore’s Army) welcoming Harry, Ron and Hermione back with open arms after a year’s absence from Hogwarts; I loved the excitement of all the portraits when Harry walked back into the castle; I loved Filch running around with his cat, shouting his trademark “Students out of bed!”. I loved getting one last glimpse of Platform 9 ¾ and the Marauders’ map, and I especially enjoyed watching Neville finally become the hero he never knew he was.

The movie had humour, suspense and mystery, and as the book lovers know we lost some of our favourite characters this time around. It was heartbreaking seeing these wonderful characters we have come to love die, but there is some comfort in the fact that it was for a good cause.

Overall, I have no complaints! I think the movie got it absolutely right and I wouldn’t change a thing… well, when Ron and Hermione finally kiss after hiding their feelings for each other for seven long years, I might have liked to see a bit more of their faces, to be honest. It was almost as if they were only pretend kissing. The film makers might have made that moment just a little more special, but in the great scheme of things the scene doesn’t really take away from the movie, and Ron and Hermione’s awkward laughing after the fact makes up for it. As does Ron’s shouting “That’s my girlfriend, you numpties!” at Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle shortly after.

For the first time in my life I was party to an entire theater erupting with cheers and applause as end credits started rolling. And yeah, I was cheering too... on the inside :)

And so it all ended. Thank you J.K Rowling for the wonderful world you created and the wonderful friends you brought into our lives. Goodbye Harry Potter!

…Until I start reading the series again, anyway :)