Pages: 327
Goodreads, Amazon
The "Harry Potter" series holds a special place for me because it introduced me to the world of fantasy. I read the series quite late after all the books were released. I even ignored all the movies considering them as imbecile. Credit to a niece who challenged me to give the first book a try and then stop myself from reading the rest of the books. Like innumerable people across the globe, I was smitten by the wonderful world of Harry Potter.
The buzz around the new play in the Potter series was quite strong since last year. Of course, it would have been wonderful to watch the play especially since it featured actors besides the ones in the movies. However, since the play is currently playing only in UK, one had to take solace in the next best option - the play's screenplay. Having read the main series and having watched all the movies based on them, I bought the screenplay without reading about its reviews.
The plot revolves around Harry Potter's son, Albus. It portrays Albus' pain of bearing the burden of expectations that the world has thrust upon him simply because he is the son of a famous hero. In his journey of finding his own identity, Albus comes across and befriends Draco Malfoy's son, Scorpius. While Albus is nothing like Harry when it comes to magic, Scorpius' personality is extremely different from that of his evil (until the previous book) father, Draco. The villainous touch to the plot is lent by Voldemort's daughter, Delphini.
The plot relies heavily on time travel in order to take the readers and the characters back to the plots of the previous books. Like the characters in the main series, Albus and Scorpius are consistent at making mistakes, stick to love and friendship, and recover from their setbacks after receiving help from unexpected quarters. Finally, they also overcome their opponent and everything ends up being well. The added theme of children trying to find themselves by coming out of the shadows of their parents has been well portrayed.
As the book is a screenplay (not sure what 'special rehearsal edition' is), it obviously doesn't read like an ordinary book. However, my main complaint is regarding the characters. While a play may not give the writers the liberty of developing characters as well as they'd like to, there was a distinct disconnect in this book from how the characters behaved in the main series. Especially, Ron was presented as a joker who is mocked by everybody. I found myself saying, "This is not something this character would say," several times. Though I have my set of complaints about the main series, this botheration about characters in this books, shows how well the previous books were written and presented in the movies.
I'd like to forget this book quickly and let the special place of the main series remain intact with me. But will I miss the chance to watch the play? Book the best seats please.
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