Friday, October 6

[Review] Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Jack Thorne, John Tiffany & J. K. Rowling


Author: Jack Thorne, John Tiffany & J. K. Rowling
Original Title: Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Publisher: Little, Brown
Release Date: July 31st, 2016
Finished Date: January 5th, 2017
Pages: 343
Read in: English


The Eighth Story. Nineteen Years Later.

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.



Source: GoodReads


Rating


The reading experience of this book did not go as I expected it to. In fact, with the sole exception of one of the characters, I pretty much hated it.
I am an incredibly hardcore Harry Potter fan, and as I’m sure many fans have, I have been eagerly waiting for a continuation of some kind. As such, when this play was announced I was immediately excited to read it (although not as excited as I would have been with some Marauders content).
Anyway, I knew I had no hope of actually going to London to see the play, so I would have to make do with reading the script. And I have to say that although a lot of people complained about the format, it really didn’t make that much of a difference to me - we knew the world already, and we’d spent seven books following most of the characters so that we would automatically understand what would not be written. Or we would have, if the world’s rules hadn’t been overlooked for the sake of this (lack of) plot and the characters hadn’t been completely unrecognisable.
I truly believe that J. K. Rowling did not write this in order to squeeze the cash-cow, as she literally has no financial need for it. In fact, I do not, or better yet, I choose not to believe J. K. Rowling wrote this at all.
There are so many plotholes in this story that it is hard for me to believe this was even allowed by her to proceed to publishing and performing. And most worrying, everyone is out of character. I simply can’t imagine that J. K. Rowling would ever let her characters talk and behave as they did.


I have spent many hours of my life reading Harry Potter fanfiction, and I can with all certainty say that some of those fanfictions are much more believable than this script is. And trust me, this is hard for me to say. You have no idea how much I wanted to love this book. Unfortunately, that was not the case. Maybe I’m being too critical, or I’m looking at it through a magnifying lens and nitpicking, but that is my nature. You might actually find it entertaining. I just couldn’t overlook these flaws enough to actually appreciate the story’s entertainment value.

The following extended review contains spoilers
If you have not yet read the book and/or do not wish to be spoiled, please do not read any further.


 I have so many issues with this book and its plot(holes) that I don't even know where to start.
 I made a list while reading, as I got incredulously confused with the difference between what was written and what I had learned from reading the series. To be honest, I can't read half of what I wrote because I was so mad my handwriting looks like what I imagine Grawp's would. But if you can help me understand how this fits into the canon (yes, because honestly, in my mind, The Cursed Child is not canon), I'd be forever grateful.

  1. How exactly did they get their hands on Polyjuice Potion? I mean we had one entire book of the series dedicated to brewing this potion. It took weeks. And somehow no question arises when it just pops up?
  2. How does one climb into the sink? Did they go down to the Chamber of Secrets through the drain?
  3. HOW THE HELL DID THAT TIME TURNER WORK?? It makes no sense.
  4. How did they manage to get a hold of Harry's blanket without James or Lily noticing? And how did they put it back? Are you telling me James and Lily had stayed hidden from Death Eaters and Voldemort himself for months, but two little kids managed to outwit them?
  5. Since when does transfiguration wear off like Polyjuice Potion?
  6. Which version of Voldemort was Harry transfigured to look like, exactly? Because none of them know how he looked during the first war, and him looking like his freaky second war self would not be believable...
  7. I guess this now means Bellatrix was pregnant during Half Blood Prince, which is why she stayed behind when they attacked Hogwarts... But where was the child during Deathly Hallows? Shouldn't we have seen her at Malfoy Manor?
  8. The characters. Everything about them. Even Moaning Myrtle was out of character! McGonagall was so passive. The Minerva we know would never let anyone walk all over her like Harry did. Also, Ron was never my favourite character, but even I felt insulted with his portrayal... it was like he was mainly there for comic relief. Harry Potter was not Harry Potter. Harry Potter would never treat McGonagall like shit, he would never stay inactive if he heard the remarks about Scorpius and most of all, he would never be that disrespectful toward Albus. I mean, seriously, he makes Minerva follow him around with the map to control who he spends time with and he even says he wishes Albus wasn't his son.
  9. Finally, was I the only one to assume Voldemort being resurrected and ending up as a man-shaped blob had made him infertile? 
  10. Also, I HATE QUEERBAITING.

The only good thing that came out of this mess was Scorpius. I love him dearly.

No comments:

Post a Comment