Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts One and Two: The Official Playscript of the Original West End Production

My 7-year-old boy loves this book. I went to see the stage play and loved it, as my son is a Harry Potter fan, I thought he would like it. Honestly, we read through the book so quickly as he was captivated by the storyline, he is now reading it himself and sleeping with it. He even learned a new word, discombobulated, which has quickly become his favourite word and even knows how to spell it. Definitely a great read for the Potter fans.

First of all, let me state that this is the script of the play and not a new Harry Potter book - as has been previously stated by JK Rowling on numerous occasions!!! Now that we have that issue out of the way, let's move onto the review. I am admittedly a huge HP fan so while I was excited about ordering this script, I was also somewhat nervous - could a play live up to the writings of Rowling and how well could they interpret our favourite characters? Of course, the writing is not the same - (i) Rowling is not writing the story and (ii) over 19 years have passed since the tremendous (2nd) Battle of Hogwarts. For many readers these two issues have proved to be absolute dealbreakers and have lead to low ratings for the script. Personally, well, while it took me a few pages to settle into the style, I quickly adapted and enjoyed reading the stage directions as the simple instructions allowed by own imagination to take over and design the scene. Now for the characters. .. of all the characters, I was disappointed by the writing of Ron - it seemed to fit more with the movie version rather than the book version of Ron. In otherwords, a secondary character that supports Harry & Hermoine and serves mainly to provide comic relief. It's such a pity to see Ron described in this way as there is far more to his character and this really is an injustice to him. Though he did make me smile with his constant support for his friends and esp his declaration of support in front of the angry council. Otherwise the characters are fairly well written and while they are not drawn in the same depth as usual, this is of course a play and not a 300+ page book. Of course, several decades have passed since our last adventure with the trio so it's no surprise if their attitudes have changed somewhat - after all they are no longer teenagers etc. Without a doubt my favourite of the "new" characters is Scorpius Malfoy - the son of Draco and Astoria. He reminds me of the trio in many ways - he is will to support his friend to the end/brave when it counts/sassy/intelligent and enjoys reading about the history of Hogwarts. The character of Delhi and her storyline could indeed have been fleshed out in greater depth and this would help to eliminate the plot holes but all in all the story is enjoyable. In short, yes the story is different to the stories we know and love but it is a wonderful addition to the Potterverse and a fitting "end" to the HP saga ..... maybe Rowling can continue with some Albus/Scorpius/Rose stories???

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is something I have done my waiting for (9 years of it! IN AZKABAN!) and I can say, when the new edition to the series (Sirius?) was announced I was overjoyed but worried. History has shown that when you take something that is perfect (or as close too perfect as can be) and add to it you negate what was there originally (look at the Star Wars prequels). I have heard a lot of people complain that the Cursed Child does this to the Harry Potter series. I decided to write this review to explain why I think this is not the case, before I do, I will give a brief, spoiler free synopsis of the story: Set two decades after the Deathly Hallows, The Cursed Child follows Harry and his son Albus (many other characters such as Ron, Hermione, Ginny, Draco and Professor McGonagle – amongst others – make an appearance). When we begin Albus has just started at Hogwarts and soon becomes friends with Draco Malfoys son Scorpius (who in my opinion was one of the best characters in the play but more on that later). Albus has a difficult relationship with Harry and the pair can’t seem to get along the way he does with his other children – Lily and James – and so Albus feels isolated from his family because of this. Soon into the story it is revealed that, contrary to the belief set in the original books that all time turners were destroyed in the battle of the department of Mysteries in the Order of the Phoenix, that there is a time turner still in existence. After some time Albus and Scorpius manage to steal the time turner and they travel back to 1994 to try and save Cedric Diggory (their logic is that if he loses the first tri-wizard task he will not be able to tie for the cup in the third task) however, this blows up in their faces and the story is set when they have to try and repair the damage they have done by meddling with time. I understand the fact that it angers people that a time turner exists because we were told they were destroyed and even more so I understand why they are annoyed that it can travel back over twenty years when it was made clear they can only travel back around five hours (this is explained when Hermione comments that it is an entirely different kind of time turner than the one she had). However, while I don’t love this, I still think it makes for fun reading. Another complaint is that, because Rowling wrote this in the form of a play and with outside help – she usually writes solo, that it reads at times like a fanfiction. I get this, at some points during dialogue I see myself thinking that a character would never say that, however, we must remember they are over twenty years older in this story. No one is the same when they are around forty as they were when they were a teenager. This is most evident with Ron who now seems to be there purely because the plot dictates that he returns as he is part of the golden trio. I found myself thinking he was acting like a bit of a comedic idiot throughout, however, this is not a bad thing through and through as it is understandable. What I’m trying to articulate is that I can see how he got to this point in his life (I mean he has been running a joke shop with George – his brother – for years so you can see why he likes to crack a joke here and there). I can’t lie and say this is my favourite entry in the series – that honour goes to the Prisoner of Azkaban – but I can say that I’m glad it exists and I’m not really sure why it is receiving so much heavy criticism. As an avid Harry Potter fan who has read and re-read the series more times than I care to remember I find happiness in a new edition in which I will be able to do this with. While I respect that some people simply don’t enjoy the story I think it is childish for them to deny it as canon, Rowling has said this is canon and so it is. My one major quarrel which really infuriates me is a part of the story I thought to be outright crazy was ***SPOILER – SPOILER – SPOILER!!!*** Voldemort having a child. Without revealing who he or she is I have to say that this made me madder than a hatter, it was established that Voldemort couldn’t feel love and was inhuman and while love isn’t needed to conceive a child I just cannot believe that he would bump uglies with ***SPOILER – SPOILER – SPOILER!!!*** Bellatrix Lestrange. Other than this I enjoyed the Cursed Child. I did and as I mentioned earlier I really liked Scorpius. When I heard he would be a major character I felt quite, I don’t know, cautious. Even his name kind of annoyed me (I knew it beforehand because of the epilogue of Deathly Hallows, pottemore and whatnot but it still didn’t sit right with me) however I thought he was, in a word, fantastic. It is established early on that he is Albus’ best (and only) friend and that they are outcasts at Hogwarts but he was still, despite this, a funny and kind character unlike his father at that age. He says many things throughout which gave me a giggle and even the way he spoke when he fumbled over his words and said exactly what he was thinking as he was thinking it (not in an entitled way more of a silly way) made me think he was a great character but he was by no means dumb and he had his own set of family problems to rival Albus’. More on the Malfoys, I have never been a fan of Dramione (don’t worry Draco and Hermione have no romantic interests in the story) fanfics and was never able to understand why people obsessed over Draco – I guess it was the “bad boy” aspect – as I thought he was an ass when he was at Hogwarts and while in the end he never followed Voldemort I think he was a pretty s***ty person and as he raised Scorpius he was able to instil him with better values and it’s apparent as he is a far friendlier person – though this may be down to his mother, Astoria, however, I think this story shows that Draco is not a bad person when it comes down to it. He is by no means an amazing guy though he shows in the Cursed Child that he cares deeply for his son and eventually even comes to see Harry, Ron and Hermione as pretty great people. The scene that made me come around to Draco was when he said that he always envied Harry because he had real friends while he had Crabbe and Goyle who were never really his friends, they were to him, even in school, just like lackeys who only followed him because of who he was. I realise I have rambled in writing this and I hope, if you’ve read this far, that you have enjoyed what I’ve had to say. Yes, the Cursed Child has flaws (bringing up and changing past rules with time, returning characters who may not have been necessary – I never touched on this but read and make up your own mind on the subject – amongst other things that people don’t like) but it also a nice addition to the Harry Potter franchise. I would have, honestly, preferred it in book form because most of the story is set during Albus’ third year and so it kind of jumps to that and I think it might have been good to have a sort of next generation series, something I have never been a fan of until now, however, I can see why this wouldn’t have worked as it seems the first two might be a bit of a bore. I’m giving it four stars because I think there were a few flaws but overall I really did enjoy the story and I will be adding it to my next re-read of the series. I think the characters were great, if a bit off at time, I think the story, while a bit flawed, made for a fun read (and likely many re-reads) and I think that it was overall a nice new addition, and hey, if you don’t like it we always have Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them in November. I would recommend it to any Harry Potter fan but I’d do so with caution because it is clear that some people don’t like it, however, if you’re on the fence just go for it. I enjoyed it and I think, if you like the originals you might too, sure it might make you shout at the page a couple of times like I did but in the end it was worth it and I would like to see more of these characters (both old and new). As for the live stage play, well I’m yet to see it, however, I hear it is just wonderful.

Christmas present for family

Bought for my great niece who is a Harry Potter fan and has read the whole series. She actually requested this book and loves it too

My daughter was very happy

La calidad de impresión y el empastado es maravilloso

The Fine Quality Of The Pages , The Condition Of The Book And The Delivery Process All Were Perfect 😍🤩 Highly Recommened It And It's The Proper Worth Of Money 💰✅😁

Boa qualidade, capa dura com outra capa de papel em cima, folhas boas

Qu'il est plaisant de revenir à Poudlard (ou enfin presque). Bien que le format pièce de théâtre soit un peu plus compliqué à lire que les romans, on replonge avec plaisir dans l'univers créé par J.K.Rowling, 20 après nos première péripéties. Sans dévoiler quoi que ce soit, nous repartons exactement là où la lecture des précédents volets nous avait arrêté, puisque le début reprend presque au mot près l'épilogue du tome 7 des aventures du sorcier à lunette. Nous suivons ici les pérégrinations d'un de ses fils, en compagnie d'un autre élève de Poudlard. La lecture est agréable, l'anglais n'a rien de compliqué et même sans être parfaitement bilingue on peut se permettre de lire cette version originale. L'histoire est simple, mais nous remet immédiatement dans le bain, et nous montre à quel point on était en manque de cet univers simple et fantastique. Ce qui suit peut contenir d'éventuel spoilers, mais rien de méchant. Ce qui m'a peut-être un peu gêné, bien qu'on soit sur l'aventure du fils d'Harry Potter, et qu'on puisse légitimement se dire qu'on n'a pas besoin de la présence des anciens personnages, c'est l'absence marquée de Ron. Autant les autres sont bien dosés, autant j'ai trouvé son personnage assez éloigné de ce que j'avais en souvenir. Après, il faut bien percevoir qu'il s'agit d'une pièce, tout ce qu'on lit a pour vocation d'être joué, d'être interprété, c'est donc un choix volontaire que de faire de Ron une sorte d'amuseur public, mais c'est un peu dommage. Le fil conducteur autour du voyage temporel, bien que simpliste là aussi nous permet d'en apprendre cependant plus sur l'univers de la saga originale. Je ne m'avancerai par contre pas sur le twist final, car je ne veux rien dévoiler d'une part, et d'autre part j'ai trouvé ça un peu gros. Au final, bien que cette pièce verse plus du côté "œuvre enfantine" que ne l'était réellement la saga originale, ça reste un vrai plaisir de lecture. A conseiller à tout ceux qui aiment cet univers, même si l'approche sous format pièce de théâtre pourra en rebuter certains.