I thought it was amazing, even in script format SPOILERS ALERT
A great number of reviews regarding the anxiously anticipated new Harry Potter book 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' have expressed fans' apparent rage at the new release.
Many Harry Potter fanatics have already taken to the web pages to criticise J.K. Rowling's newest work. In fact, that is probably the first disappointment- that J.K. Rowling didn't write the entire book herself, in fact she is only one third the author, co-writers Jack Thorne and John Tiffany having developed the story and formatted it as a script, whilst J.K. Rowling only wrote the plotline. That said, the text is Rowling approved, and certainly doesn't include any noticable contradictions to the original series. Some readers seem to forget that Rowling was the mastermind behind the intricate plotline, however. One angry amazon review states "if i knew J.K. Rowling didn't write every word [in the book] i never would have read it in the first place".
While some disappointment at this can be understood, it is a huge overreaction to say you never would have read it. A good book is a good book, right?
Some even go as far as to say that it isn't a good book. There was quite some upheaval when the excited fans who bought the book opened it to find out that it is in script form. Amazon is full of cranky fans going off about how they "couldn't read it for more than ten minutes", and one that went as far as talking about it being boring. Everyone is entitled to their own opinion of course, but this feedback is coming from Harry Potter fanatics who are used to reading NOVELS, not scripts. The only reason these readers are feeling bored and like the text doesn't flow well is because they don't understand the conventions of scriptwriting. That, of course, is flaws of releasing it as a script, and that's the authors' fault, but that doesn't mean that it's a bad book. That doesn't give anybody the right to get on the internet and slam these brilliant writers just because you aren't educated on the format of the text. No.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a brilliantly composed piece of writing with all the ins and outs and ups and downs of the original series of novels. As soon as one starts playing with the concept of time travel they risk, first of all, contradicting themself, but also contradicting the concept itself, which is difficult. Time travel is an impossibly complex idea, so trying to create a new story for a series that is so intricate in itself, and then throwing in time travel- that's difficult. It's a credit to the authors that they pulled it off, and smoothly.
We revisit Ron's humour, Hermione's genius, and we get a new look at the infamous Harry Potter as his son Albus, middle child in the Potter family, discovers that there is more to his father then being the boy who lived. He is a tragically realistic character, complete with all the flaws of a father struggling to understand his son.
Overall, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a brilliant addition to the Harry Potter series, and it shows the audience the world after the war; rebuilt. At peace. It demonstrates how our past can come back to haunt us, and even haunt our children. In the words of Albus Dumbledore,
"There is never a perfect answer in this messy, emotional world. Perfection is beyond the reach of humankind, beyond the reach of magic. In every shining moment of happiness is that drop of poison: the knowledge that pain will come again. Be honest to those you love, show your pain. To suffer is as human as to breathe."
It is an absolutely amazing read if you can get past the script format. I laughed and cried and just all in all LOVED it. My advice: if you can't understand script, then wait and watch the play.Read full review
Verified purchase: Yes | Condition: New
