Hooked! (Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - J. K. Rowling)

Member Name: tairrie

Product:	Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone - J. K. Rowling
Date:	03/12/00 (16 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: see text

Disadvantages: the hysteria

A friend of mine had told me about Harry Potter before the great wave of Pottermania swept across the Channel and hit Germany. But I didn't get round to reading the books then becaus I was in the middle of my exams.

Then when the big hysteria tore loose I automatically jumped into boycott mode as I'm not the one to jump the bandwagon usually. However my friend kept raving, the press, TV, everyone kept telling me how simply wonderful these books were. As I'm going to be a teacher soon I thought there was really no way around it.

We're talking a 26-year old woman here by the way but the child inside hasn't really gone for good yet, I like reading children's books every now and then and am still fond of a very popular children't detective series (more popular in Germany than in the UK though) called the "Three investigators", so Rowling had mixed all the important ingredients together to tickle out the child inside. I'm hooked!

I've always liked what I called the "boarding school books", especially Enid Blyton (The Twins at St Clare's and all that), for some strange reason, don't ask but I liked them. :-) Stories about magic, wizards, sorcerers, ghosts, etc. came second, loved them, too. Now, if combined with "ordinary life" giving the possibility to identify myself with the heroe/or heroine it was always the best, I loved Michael Ende's "Neverending Story" to death!! (Don't know if it was as popular in Britain as it was in Germany though)

So, Harry Potter starts out as an "ordinary" boy, growing up an orphan in his aunt's family. They hate him and treat him poorly, especially his cousin Dudley's a pain in the backside. Strange things happen around Harry though and soon he finds out why: his parents were wizards and he'll become one himself. Off he goes to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, that's where t
he boarding school element comes in with all the stock characters you'd expect: the "bad" guy who is pretentious and stuck up, plotting against the heroe but constantly being outwitted by the latter, the slightly clumsy but nice person, the rascals, someone from a poor family, etc. Lacrosse (Enid Blyton seems to have been obsessed with) is replaced by Quidditch. (Seven players on broomsticks and four balls) there are dragons, ghosts, moving portraits, miles better than the adventures the O'Sullivan twins got up to in the old times. ;-)

And of course there is the evil sorcerer in the background, usually called "You Know who" because mere mention of his name leaves the wizard world shivering. Harry's parents were killed by him only lucky Harry survived although he still bears a scar on his forehead in the shape of a lightning bolt from "You Know Who's" attack. Of course Harry will have to face him at some point and as there are volumes two, three and four I guess I don't give away too much if I say he survives.

All the elements I liked as a kid are there in a new combination and brilliantly written. Easy enough for a child to understand but not too childish and boring for an adult. Also the slightly satirical elements (the way the wizarding folk see the "Muggles", the non-magic people) are intelligently made.

There you go, I'm hooked, I'm just on page 153 of the second book which I will finish tonight I guess and volume three is waiting for me, four wasn't available in paperback yet but I've pre-ordered... ;-)

It's an easy read, you can put your feet up, relax and be a child again for a while. Thumbs up!!

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