J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany & Jack Thorne
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child
Little Brown
327 pages
6.7
Blurb
Based on an original new story by J.K. Rowling, Jack Thorne and John Tiffany, a new play by Jack Thorne, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is the eighth story in the Harry Potter series and the first official Harry Potter story to be presented on stage. The play will receive its world premiere in London’s West End on July 30, 2016.
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.
Review
The eighth installment of the most successful series ever, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, isn't as magical as its predecessors, lacking in wonderful worldbuilding of Rowling and offering nothing but fanservice. Nevertheless, this eighth installment sates people's appetency for the next The Boy Who Lived's newest adventure, and reading this book indeed brings that sense of nostalgia and transports us back to the wonderful world where we all laugh, cry, and fight with Harry Potter.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is basically pointless. It's as wasting paper as, let's say, Underground. Both books can be deemed comparable, to be honest. Both come from great writers with gigantic fanbase, and in their respective mentioned books, they're not at the fullest. While Underground is probably nonredeemable, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is still Harry Potter, and no matter how messy it becomes, there's something that's still enjoyable from reading the spawn of Harry Potter.
Not trying to disregard that a play script isn't as splendiferous as the novel version, but when Rowling announced that she will continue the Harry Potter, the anticipation bar has been set really high. It is interesting to see Harry Potter in form of a play script as we can see the world of Harry Potter in a conciser way, but let's just admit it, we all miss the incredulous amount of details that Rowling puts in his works, how his characters look, how descriptive Hogwarts is that we always keep thinking that Hogwarts is a real place. Publishing the script isn't a wrong thing to do, absolutely, but let's just admit that we all wish that Rowling somehow does more work by rewriting in much fuller form.
That being said, the fact that Harry Potter and the Cursed Child gives us such nostalgic feeling is undeniable. Started right off from the ending of Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows in Platform 9 3/4, Rowling passes the baton from Harry Potter, the boy who lived, to his second son, Albus Potter, the cursed child. We continue to see Albus' struggle when he's put in Slytherin by Sorting Hat, and his constant worry and annoyance of not fully living in his Dad's standard. Hogwarts isn't as great and magnificent as what his Dad describes and he's got Scorpius Malfoy, of all people in the world, to be his only best friend. Rowling fertilizes their friendship and it blooms. Albus and Scorpius' friendship is probably the sweetest and the tenderest friendship in the world more than anything.
The conflict starts when Harry find there's one remaining Time-Turner, and he doesn't know how to care and love Albus, until he says something that he's not supposed to say. Discombobulated by his father's words, Albus decides to run away with Scorpius (with Carly Rae Jepsen's "Run Away With Me" faintly heard from the background) from Hogwarts Express and meets someone who can assist him in changing the fact that he's Harry Potter's child. The story continues in The Butterfly Effect-esque fashion, as Albus and Scorpius try to change the past and the future turns out to be completely different.
The plot looks cliche, indeed, and we all wish there's something more from Rowling. But, that's pretty much it. It won't satisfy your hungers of more Potter stories, but at least it will sate some of it, and at least, it's canon. The Dramione shipping ship may rejoice in the book, as both of them will interact more and Draco slips a kind remark that makes Hermione's (and definitely yours) stomach flutter. Scorpius and Albus' bromance makes you swoon so hard that you can't stop shipping both of them. You will see Harry and Ginny as parents. You will relive the days from Triwizard Tournament. You will relive the day that starts it all when Voldemort tries to kill Harry Potter. You will keep smiling while reading it and you will whisper, "I'm with you all guys, please stay strong" to these characters.
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child may not be as superior as the previous installments, but it still has some magic left to transport us back to the world of Harry Potter and once again it allows us to laugh, cry, and fight alongside Harry Potter. Harry Potter's world may not be idyllic, but as long as we go through with all of our best friends who love us, there's nothing that cannot be conquered. Once again, Rowling proves the power of friendship, and that makes her a maven in that department.
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