harry potter and the cursed child book review

The been there, done that feeling to the whole thing is its greatest weakness. The story doesn’t always read like she wrote it, and that gives it an appealing freshness.īut the big problem with The Cursed Child is that it’s less an original story than a remix of the existing Potter mythology. (Imagine if Star Wars: The Force Awakens had started as a play.) This story would definitely be more fun to see performed on stage. Rowling also deserves credit for giving the characters over to someone else to write. Doing a play is a daring creative choice, especially for a multibillion-dollar franchise like Harry Potter.

The easiest thing for her to do would have been to just write a new book - or even skip the new book and get right to the movie. Rowling should be applauded for pushing the boundaries of form. 'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child' Extends Through End of 2017 Part of me wished this was book one of Harry Potter: The Next Generation and the story really luxuriated in everyday life at Hogwarts in the same way as the original book, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. Seeing how the children of Harry, Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Draco are both like their parents and also distinct characters is fascinating, and the relationship between Albus and Scorpius feels genuine (though Rowling had a better ear for kid’s dialogue than Thorne). (For starters, she’s an epically good quidditch player.) It is the most Rowling-esque part of the story and frankly the most fun. Particularly interesting is the friendship that develops between Albus and Scorpius Malfoy, each so unlike their fathers, and the character of Rose Granger-Weasley, also so unlike her parents. The story focuses on Albus Severus Potter’s arrival at Hogwarts, the Sorting Hat (as Albus feared, he’s a Slytherin) and seeing friendships and alliances reconfigure in a new generation. The best parts of The Cursed Child are the beginning and the epilogue.

'Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two': Theater Review She helped come up with the basic story along with Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, but credit for the play script goes to Thorne alone (Tiffany directs). Rowling herself, making it the first one not written by the original creator. And third, and most important, this one isn’t written by J.K. Second, this one takes place 19 years later (opening with an extended version of the epilogue from Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows on platform 9 3/4). For starters, this isn’t a book, but the script of the two-part play that opened in London on July 30 (hours before the book went on sale). It all feels so 2007.īut it’s 2016 and Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is not your ordinary Potter book. This week saw the release of a new Harry Potter book with midnight parties, fans dressed in costume and pre-orders that already have made it the bestselling book of the year.

Harry potter and the cursed child book review