Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone
Book by J.K. Rowling
DETAILS
ASIN : 059035342X Publisher : Scholastic; 1st Scholastic Td Ppbk Print., Sept.1999 edition (September 1, 1998) Language : English Paperback : 309 pages ISBN-10 : 0439708184 ISBN-13 : 978-0439708180 Reading age : 7+ years, from customers Lexile measure : 880L , Harry Potter has no idea how famous he is. That's because he's being raised by his miserable aunt and uncle who are terrified Harry will learn that he's really a wizard, just as his parents were. But everything changes when Harry is summoned to attend an infamous school for wizards, and he begins to discover some clues about his illustrious birthright. From the surprising way he is greeted by a lovable giant, to the unique curriculum and colorful faculty at his unusual school, Harry finds himself drawn deep inside a mystical world he never knew existed and closer to his own noble destiny. Read more
REVIEW
I am currently rereading the Harry Potter books for the first time since J. K. Rowling concluded her series. What most impressed me about the series the first time through was how much better it got as it went along. The first two novels in the series -- THE SORCERER'S STONE and THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS -- were fun and interesting, but not great. THE PRISONER OF AZKABAN, however, I did think qualified as great, and the subsequent books were even better. I tremendously admired Rowling in all this. I'm sure that she had absolutely no idea that the books would become the phenomenon that they did. She could have coasted and produced several more novels on the same level as the first two, but instead she worked extremely hard, improved her craft, and kept faith with her readers. The quality of the first novels compared with the later novels is immense. Whether or not the series deserved the degree of hype it received early on can be debated, but by the time Rowling completed her saga it definitely warranted all the praise that it had received. Nonetheless, even though THE SORCERER'S STONE is nowhere as good as the later books would be, this is a better book than I remembered. Rowling does a tremendous job of setting up the overall situation, imbuing her story with primal elements that perfectly appeal not merely to child readers, but any reader. Many of these elements are similar to what one finds in classic fairy tales: a child with a hidden destiny and unacknowledged worth is abused and debased by uncaring foster parents. This is as basic a set up as they come. And the details that Rowling develops as she chronicles Harry's life with the Dursleys are exquisite. There are times when she almost goes over the top and the neglect of the Dursleys become absurd, but all in all the effect is delightful. The contrast between Harry's nightmarish life with the Dursleys and his exciting, if sometimes dangerous, life at Hogwarts is immense. The closest thing I have to a complaint to the first novel is that the overall story is simply not very strong. What makes up for this is the frequently delicious description of Hogwarts. The places, traditions, people, and entities she describes are consistently marvelous. Diagon Alley, Haggrid, the Hogwarts Express departing from Platform Nine and Three Quarters, the Sorting Hat, the four houses of Hogwarts, Nearly Headless Nick, and numerous other details are simply superb. And Rowling creates a wonderful cast of characters. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are a truly great trio, as is Dumbledore and Snape and all the denizens of Hogwarts. As I said, I think the dramatic arc of this novel is the weakest part of the book, but the world she creates is nearly perfect. The subsequent novels would exploit this wonderful world to create a great overall story. Now I'm going to say something controversial and will probably make some people mad, but I want to write an honest review. For me the one really false note that runs through all of the Harry Potter books is quidditch, which is improbably described as the greatest game in the world. I find almost nothing interesting and appealing about this game, even if people could ride on brooms. One could point to a host of minor problems with the game, but the biggest would be the absurd number of points assigned to the catching of the Golden Snitch. Catching the Snitch garners so many points as to render the rest of the game as nearly irrelevant. Apart from the fact that the game is played by people who are flying, I found almost nothing interesting about the game. And as much as I came to love the series in the later novels, I never came to like anything about quidditch. All in all this is a fine start to a great series. The main achievement in this first book is the wonderful, literally magical world that Rowling creates. While the stories would get better, the initial set up could not have been more perfect. I look anxiously forward to the next book in the series.
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