REVIEW: "Harry Potter and The Cursed Child"

SYNOPSIS:

" 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”.

Credits to Goodreads.com

REVIEW: 

Nine years. Fans of the most famous saga of all times had to wait for nine years to get the awaited sequel. The truth is that this “eighth” book is quite different from the rest. Indeed, it is not a novel per se, but a theater script and this time Rowling count on Jack Thorne´s and John Tiffany´s collaboration.

Of course, the story is not disappointing at all. The reader becomes fully involved in a Wizarding World that had been normalized after the War. However, dark forces emerge again and Harry Potter and his friends are the ones to fight them. We encounter a more mature Harry, who is starting to feel his age and has to deal with his teenage rebel son that doesn´t want to have anything to do with his father.

After reading certain information (cough* spoilers *cough) about the play, I started my reading with a mixture of fear and excitement, that led to a nostalgic feeling and even a little bit of sadness because it was over.

Pros

The fact that the book is actually a script made to be performed makes it really easy to be read and the structure of the play doesn´t get in the way when reading. Furthermore, the essence of every single character has been respected and also lots of the old secondary characters appear.

My favorite character in the play has been without hesitation Scorpius Malfoy, the loveliest character and the one who surprises the reader, maybe because I expected him to be more like his father. If Albus Severus in the story provides a “rebel without cause” tone, Scorpius is the one who makes the reader laugh and makes the most of every situation.

Cons

Even at the risk of sounding  a little bit fair-minded, as it is Harry Potter and I absolutely love everything in it, I don´t think I found negative aspects in the play, but there is a character that has definitely disappoint me, and that is Rose Granger-Weasley. I have hated Rose´s arrogant and cocky personality and the fact that  she is totally opposite to her mother. Maybe that has been my problem since Hermione is my favorite female character in the saga and I wanted her daughter to be a little bit more like her.

To put it in a nutshell, I have enjoyed the play a lot and I think, if given the chance to saw it live in London, I would have enjoyed it even more. No matter what, Rowling´s characters still give off the magical feeling they gave us when last seen (more like read) at Kings Cross.

Harry Potter and The Cursed Child move us to Hogwarts, introduced by Albus Severus, who unlike his father, hates school and we witness the clash between father and son and how “fame” sometimes can be detrimental.  The reader meets Harry and his friends once more, in an adventure that implies dealing with something as complex and dangerous as time, as evil never rests. Luckily Hogwarts is always there for those who need help. Even if Rowling has stated publicly a few days ago that this book is the last one on the saga, we all know that even if we won´t get more adventures, Harry and the magical world she has created will be eternal.