Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, Parts One and Two: The Official Playscript of the Original West End Production
The Eighth Story. Nineteen Years Later. Based on an original story by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne, a play by Jack Thorne.
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.
The playscript for Harry Potter and the Cursed Child was originally released as a "special rehearsal edition" alongside the opening of Jack Thorne's play in London's West End in summer 2016. Based on an original story by J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany, and Jack Thorne, the play opened to rapturous reviews from theatergoers and critics alike, while the official playscript became an immediate global bestseller.
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I was very disappointed in this book. Obviously, I had such high hopes for it. This book felt flat to me.
Ahhh... Harry Potter. I grew up with Harry as much as the next person from my generation and anxiously awaited the next book installment every few years. There's something about THAT particular book series that changes who you are and how you read and gives you a feeling of wonder and excitement. Harry was that for me, as I'm sure he was for many many others. Most of my copies of the original 7 are falling apart due to the number of times they've been read.
Cursed Child definitely has a different feel than the others, mainly because we're following Albus Severus more than the original crew. The play format itself doesn't bother me, although I do think it would have been nice for Rowling to have made it more of a novel instead of the script. Still, I read every word with as much dedication as I did before and loved being back in the wizarding world.
While I know Rowling has said that Harry's story is now officially done, I would love to see more books in this world. I get that there is a fear of them becoming less "magical" (no pun intended) than the originals, but I know I cannot be alone in wanting a multiple book series on the Marauders, or picking up the story of Albus and Scorpius where Cursed Child leaves off. As far as I'm concerned, there's no reason to not expand this universe as much (if not more) than Tolkien's Middle Earth or Lewis' "Narnia" or Goodkind's "Sword of Truth" series, or shoot even to the degree that Star Trek has become. I want to know everything. Ilvermorny, schools in Africa, South America, Asia, etc... what happened to those who fled after Voldemort was defeated at the Battle of Hogwarts? What about Dumbledore and Grindlwald's legendary battle?
Please J.K. tell us everything. And then, after you've told us everything, tell us more.
Cursed Child definitely has a different feel than the others, mainly because we're following Albus Severus more than the original crew. The play format itself doesn't bother me, although I do think it would have been nice for Rowling to have made it more of a novel instead of the script. Still, I read every word with as much dedication as I did before and loved being back in the wizarding world.
While I know Rowling has said that Harry's story is now officially done, I would love to see more books in this world. I get that there is a fear of them becoming less "magical" (no pun intended) than the originals, but I know I cannot be alone in wanting a multiple book series on the Marauders, or picking up the story of Albus and Scorpius where Cursed Child leaves off. As far as I'm concerned, there's no reason to not expand this universe as much (if not more) than Tolkien's Middle Earth or Lewis' "Narnia" or Goodkind's "Sword of Truth" series, or shoot even to the degree that Star Trek has become. I want to know everything. Ilvermorny, schools in Africa, South America, Asia, etc... what happened to those who fled after Voldemort was defeated at the Battle of Hogwarts? What about Dumbledore and Grindlwald's legendary battle?
Please J.K. tell us everything. And then, after you've told us everything, tell us more.
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.
“The truth is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution.”
When I heard about this story coming out, I was excited. No, it's not totally written by the queen herself, but she had a hand in it and that was okay with me. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a script. It's not an actual story, written in the typical book style. It is a script. I know many didn't realize this before going in, and probably let that cloud their judgement. But for me, I liked it. Let me tell you why:
Albus Severus Potter is almost the complete opposite of his father, Harry. I wasn't quite expecting this when I went into it, thinking that a son of Harry's has to have the same virtues and courage he himself showed at a young age. But it was the opposite and let me tell you, I liked that. Albus wasn't another Harry, and I think that made the story itself a grander one. Albus is his own character with his own thoughts and words. It was interesting to be in his mind when we've been in Harry's for so long. Now, that doesn't mean Albus is perfect. In fact, he's quite the little brat, and yet, a part of me can see why. What would it be like to have Harry as a dad? Everyone would watch you, waiting for you to be exactly like him. Pressure much?
Scorpious, Draco's own child is the opposite of his dad. See what happened there? It's like everything is kind of different, the characters did the old switch-a-roo on us. Scorpious is timid, nervous, and a sweetheart. I found that to be a huge contrast to the type of man his father is. I did like the differences in characters. They weren't written in the way we expected them to be written.
“SCORPIUS: Thank you for being my light in the darkness”
Many of our favorite-and least favorite-returned in this play. I enjoyed...
If you want to finish this review, check it out here: http://abibliomaniacs.blogspot.com/2016/08/review-harry-potter-and-cursed-child.html
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.
“The truth is a beautiful and terrible thing, and should therefore be treated with great caution.”
When I heard about this story coming out, I was excited. No, it's not totally written by the queen herself, but she had a hand in it and that was okay with me. Harry Potter and the Cursed Child is a script. It's not an actual story, written in the typical book style. It is a script. I know many didn't realize this before going in, and probably let that cloud their judgement. But for me, I liked it. Let me tell you why:
Albus Severus Potter is almost the complete opposite of his father, Harry. I wasn't quite expecting this when I went into it, thinking that a son of Harry's has to have the same virtues and courage he himself showed at a young age. But it was the opposite and let me tell you, I liked that. Albus wasn't another Harry, and I think that made the story itself a grander one. Albus is his own character with his own thoughts and words. It was interesting to be in his mind when we've been in Harry's for so long. Now, that doesn't mean Albus is perfect. In fact, he's quite the little brat, and yet, a part of me can see why. What would it be like to have Harry as a dad? Everyone would watch you, waiting for you to be exactly like him. Pressure much?
Scorpious, Draco's own child is the opposite of his dad. See what happened there? It's like everything is kind of different, the characters did the old switch-a-roo on us. Scorpious is timid, nervous, and a sweetheart. I found that to be a huge contrast to the type of man his father is. I did like the differences in characters. They weren't written in the way we expected them to be written.
“SCORPIUS: Thank you for being my light in the darkness”
Many of our favorite-and least favorite-returned in this play. I enjoyed...
If you want to finish this review, check it out here: http://abibliomaniacs.blogspot.com/2016/08/review-harry-potter-and-cursed-child.html
It's HP, so I knew I would love it. It's a great continuation. The play format didn't bother me, it just made it a quicker read. It will be nice if they bring this production to the U.S. And honestly I can see this being turned into a film later on. My only complaint, and all along really, is the lack of depth with Ginnys character. There just isn't a lot there. But I loved the friendship between Scorpius and Albus. I thought it was a great turn of events in the HP world. I would like to read more with Albus as the central figure.
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