At the start of this new year I was hit with the urge to relive my childhood. Maybe it’s the current economic crisis, or maybe the growing social struggles that we all seem be facing, but I felt like revisiting the past. How better to do this than read a series that meant so much in my youth?
Harry Potter is a young boy, neglected and cast aside. He lives with his aunt and her husband, tormented daily by his cousin Dudley, due to a terrible accident in which his parents befell a terrible fate. Shoved under the stairs, hidden from the neighbours, distain towards him is all he has ever known. That is until he finds out the truth….
HARRY POTTER IS A WIZARD!
Although a children’s book, this story tackles themes deeper than they might seem at first glance. Isolation, abuse, and friendship are but a few which Harry needs to navigate during his first year at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. J.K Rowling does an excellent job of bringing the harsher themes, such as the abuse, to the forefront of her work in a way which isn’t too overbearing and yet doesn’t shy away from the seriousness. Harry’s journey is a believable one, and one that many of us can relate too as we’ve grown older, especially over the last couple of years.
We are taken on an interesting adventure in which we see Harry take on his first battle against evil. The action comes and goes, meaning we are always on the move; the story never experiences a lull. This can in some ways be a bit jarring, but for a children’s book I understand that it is necessary to keep shorter attention spans. Although the plot is a bit minimalist, predictable, it’s engaging enough that the simplicity doesn’t really matter. The fact that some of the story revolves around Hagrid not being able to keep secrets, something that he can do in the rest of the series, can be a bit coincidental, but he’s so loveably goofy in this first story that it’s almost forgivable.
Now, one of the downfalls of the book sadly is the writing style. It’s very simple, and at times can read a bit amateur. But it is important to remember that this book is the first work of J.K Rowling, so it was always going to be. As I remember, even as the series goes on, her writing styles grows and grows as she gains experience, and as the tone of the story gets darker.
But over all this a great story for any child enjoy, and those who have loved it to re-read. The topic of J. K Rowling is hard one to navigate now, I don’t myself agree with all of her opinion’s, but there’s no way of denying that this story is a good one. I can’t wait to continue my re-read.
Writings Of A Queer Mind 