the Harry Potter-series. He is not an alien anymore. Please start talking to him
again as normal.
After a lot of work went into convincing me to read a Potter -from more than
one person (well, to be honest more like five or six) that I would enjoy it despite
all the hype, I was still not ready to pick up one. I finally did read one because
one of my dear friends casually left one at my home as a gift, marking it with the
magical (no pun intended) words: "This is not great literature, but it is great
entertainment." Well, here I am, a new recruit fresh from his first Potter
experience. Curious to know what I think? Read on!
I must admit that I somewhat acquainted with the Potter universe- I have
seen the films that were made from book one, Harry Potter and the
Philosopher's Stone, and book three, Harry Potter and the prisoner of Azkaban.
I did not like the first movie, found it badly paced and rather un-involving,
though I could image why kids liked the book (not the movie). I went to see the
third movie because I had hoped a new director could perhaps repair some of
the problems I had with the first movie; even though it was a tighter effort than
the meandering 'Philosopher's Stone', I did not like it, mainly because I found
the story difficult to follow, not having read the novel. I have thus decided to
give up on child-actor Daniel Radcliffe's version of Harry Potter, and give him
one last chance in his original, written version. To avoid mixing film and book, I
read 'The Chamber of Secrets', of which I have not seen the film adaptation.
'The Chamber of Secrets' details the adventures of Harry Potter and his
comrades in his second year at the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and
Wizardry. J.K. Rowling, unlike the film-makers of 'Azkaban', re-introduces the
entire Harry Potter universe, not taking for granted that you have visited it
before. She knows how to turn her phrases in order to remind fans or enlighten
first-time readers about many of the curiosities present in Harry's world.
In terms of a story, the book is roughly divided up in two, the first half
almost exclusively dealing with a (re-)introduction to the characters and the
world they inhabit, and only dealing with the titular 'Chamber of Secrets' in the
book's second half. This gives the novel an episodic feeling that reminded me
of the first film; maybe the entire series is like that? Perhaps each book really
tries to convey many of the happenings in any one school-year, and thus
delivering not one adventure with a head and a tail, but rather one major
adventure surrounded by many secondary plots. Some of the secondary
plot-strands will inevitably join the main story, though other seem really
designed to give us a sense of place and character.
I will not divulge the plot here in detail, suffice it so say that of the three
episodes I have got to know, I found the story of 'The chamber of secrets' the
most chilly, scary and engrossing. Perhaps I am just one of those people for
whom the cinematic version of the boy-wizard really does not deliver the goods;
to understand whether I really like him, I would have to perhaps read part four...
and in that sense Harry has put a spell on me too.
