The world of Harry Potter is suddenly abuzz with the recent release of Harry Potter And The Cursed Child. I caught wind of National Bookstore’s pre-reservation promo and immediately told my brother Ken about it, which is a wise move as a lot of eager readers had trouble securing their copies on the release day. We got our hardbound copy a few days after the worldwide release and I was poring over its pages several days after.
I read a number of mixed and dismal reviews about the latest installment on the story of our favorite wizard, but I did not allow that to dampen my excitement. It wasn’t your usual Harry Potter book as only a small portion of it was written by JK Rowling and if you were expecting the same experience as with the previous 7 books, then you are in for more disappointment. On a lighter note, this particular book is a very easy read, divided into 2 parts, one can easily finish this in 4-5 hours. Veering away from the narrative, descriptive style that we’ve come to love from the previous Harry Potter books, this one is actually a special rehearsal edition script of the play with the same name that premiered at the Palace Theatre in London on 30 July, 2016.
Here’s a short summary of the book from goodreads.com:
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.
Personally, I thought the book did not live up to the hype. Neither did it live up to the legacy its 7 predecessors left, but putting all that aside, it is still a good experience to actually hold a new Harry Potter book in my hands after so many years. Even though I believe they could’ve given Harry a better father-son relationship with his son, Albus, a small consolation after he willingly volunteered his life to save wizard-kind from Voldemort, and they sure could’ve given the adult Ron a better character, reminiscent of his heroic exploits in the last few chapters of the 7th book, I am still delighted to have read this book and revisited Harry Potter’s world. It brought me back to those nights many moons ago when I was younger and was just discovering the wonders of Hogwarts through these books. For allowing me to relive that beautiful experience, I give this book :yes: :yes: :yes:, and, yes, I am in the process of re-reading this book. I am done with the first part and would read the second one as soon as my busy mum schedule allows me or when I am done reading about MF’s tube stack.