First of all, I am so sorry for two weeks off the map!! However, I am back with a BRAND NEW REVIEW. Worth waiting for, yes?!?
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two by J. K. Rowling, John Tiffany and Jack Thorne is the script that carries on the story of Harry Potter in a new modality.
Beginning as Harry, Ginny, Ron and Hermione’s children are at the start of their Hogwarts education, Cursed Child introduces us quickly to our primary child character, Albus Severus. We had a brief meeting of him at the very end of the original series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, in which his name brought us to shuddering tears or scoffs of bewilderment of the terrible name – I was in the former category, unashamedly.
Now, though, we see that something happens in the start of young Albus’s time at Hogwarts that puts a strain on his relationship with his father, Harry. And as some initial years pass – quickly in a montage-like scene in script format – growing that resentment in a way that is disheartening and surprising.
In the meantime, Harry and Hermione both play vital roles in the ministry – Harry being the Head of Magical Law Enforcement and Hermione being the actual Minister herself. They deal with what has been a lasting peace after the defeat of Voldemort – but also whispers of a scandalous rumor.
A rumor that Voldemort has a child.
And that this child is living. Somewhere.
There are some that think they know exactly who that child is, too. They believe a time-turner must have escaped the utter destruction in Harry’s fifth year and a devoted follower of He-Who-Must-Not-Be-Named went back in time to make sure this would happen.
When these mutterings reach Albus and his best friend at Hogwarts, and the means of investigating further happens, Albus decides it is a perfect opportunity to correct a vital mistake he feels his father made in the past…
But is this best way to try to conquer the heavy weight of a legacy he never wanted to inherit?
Okay, so y’all know I am a HARDCORE Harry Potter fan. I love it. I’ve read the books so many times that they have become a part of me. Because of this, I like many fans, know these characters and plots through and through.
That’s why as much as I didn’t want it to be the case – Harry Potter and the Cursed Child felt much more like entertaining fan fiction than actual canon. In fact, I cannot include it in my mind as “Book Eight.”
Keep in mind, it is not a bad read. I enjoyed it as I think most fans will. But certain concepts that had been well established throughout the series get a little tweaked here, which is unsettling. Also, the script format is so very different and lacks the lovely, imaginative narrative that Rowling excelled at in the novels. It’s not meant to be a novel, and it’s not.
What it is, is an interesting concept that was never boring and certainly was a fast read. Seeing the children of our favorite protagonist’s is fun in a curious way and the twists the story take are at times quite shucking and, dare I say, eyebrow raising.
As I do not want to give anything away, I cannot go into more detail here. I will just say I do feel it is worth a read from Harry Potter fans – but I warn you to go into with a grain of salt or a preparation to not feel fully satisfied.
I am wholeheartedly excited about going to see Fantastic Beasts and Where To Find Them and honestly am hopeful it will be a more satisfying experience than Cursed Child, as it is not extending a plot and characters we know well and love – it’s a prequel of sorts just taking place in the same world as Harry Potter. I think it will step on less toes and be a more enjoyable experience. I hope.
But, again, still a pleasurable read and I do still recommend it – as a fan fiction type of story that is watered down from the Rowling we know and adore.
