May 02, 2005 06:28 PM
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(Updated May 02, 2005 06:28 PM)
After writing the review of the first two books of the series, I plan to write this review slightly differently from my usual style which is more topic wise.
J.K. Rowling was a pretty unfamiliar name in the ethos of book writers till ''Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'' hit the markets in 1997. The story of a wizard kid, living a tough life amongst ordinary people, only to stumble upon his legacy and go on to join a wizard school with too many wonders all around, really caught the imagination of the public as well as critics. Awards like the Triple Smarties Gold Award started to flow in.
Following this came the next installment ''The Chamber of Secrets'' which represented Harry's second year at Hogwarts School of WitchCraft and Wizardry. This was another roaring hit and by now the public started realizing that more is in store for the rest of years of Harry in the Hogwarts.
So by the time ''Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban'' hit the stands, people were already queuing up for the next book in their collection.
Plot Details
As expected the book details the third year of Harry at Hogwarts. As Harry enters Hogwarts, he finds all hell has broken loose. A mass murderer has escaped from the Prison of Azkaban, something unheard of in wizarding circles.
Suddenly there are strange characters everywhere. Professor Lupin, the new Defense against Dark Arts teacher, although the first real good teacher for the subject seems to be pretty strange. Hermione gets a cat Crookshanks which seems to loose it every time it catches an eye on Ron's Rat. Dementors, the guards from Azkaban, are running loose in the School grounds in search of their prisoner.
To add to this Hermione seems to be mixed into something where in she seems to be at multiple places at the same time. Harry and Ron are going through a confusing year at school. One event seems to chase another event... There is more magic, more incidents, more secrets than ever before...
If I reveal anything more than the above, believe me you would kill me for spoiling your fun in reading the book...
Reflections
The first two Harry Potter books were books for kids with a lot of magic and lot of wizarding gadgets and creatures around. With the ''Prisoner of Azkaban'' JK Rowling for the first time has tried to move away from the Children's book writer tag to a more fulfilling Fiction writer tag.
So for the first time we see some senior characters in the novel getting some weight like Professor Lupin, Severius Snape, Dumbledore and Sirius Black. Also another notable aspect is that the novel now seems to be running on central theme which is more important than what Harry is doing. Harry is now beginning to become just another central character in a larger plot.
I think JK Rowling must have taken the award of ''Whitbread Children's Book of the Year'' with a pinch of salt after the above efforts. But looking at it from a reader's point of view, the book is an excellent work of fiction writing. The narration is beautiful and the relation of the narration with events around the world in today's world is fantastic. Add to that the various characterizations in the novel and you have a masterpiece developing. Of course, the subject of wizardry and gadgets attract kids a lot, but that doesn't make a book a kid's book. So I would like to pat JK Rowling on the back for a great effort in that regard.
Also another thing which Rowling must have realized is that the novelty of all the gadgets and wizardry of the first two novels would be wearing off on people, so she needs to get new things going. Again the example was here with some real new creatures like Hippogiffs and Dementors and the concept of Transfiguring into a creature of choice.
Now that Harry Potter is also a marketing success and two of his movies have also hit the market, the expectations on Rowling is sky high. This is the time for her to make the jump to the big league or fade by the way-side. At the writing of this novel, she had made to the Forbes list of top 300 money earners in the world - a testimony to the quality of the Harry Potter series.
Summary
If you think this is another Children's book in the market, think again. I think this is a wonderful book good for children as well as their parents. A nice read and a feel good ending to keep your moods nice at the end of it.
A five star rating for this JK Rowling Spellbinder.
Other Harry Potter Articles by me
1) Chamber of Secrets (The Book): https://mouthshut.com/review/Harry_Potter_And_The_Chamber_Of_Secrets_-_J_K_Rowling-73703-1.html
2) Philosopher's Stone (The Book): https://mouthshut.com/review/Harry_Potter_And_The_Philosopher's_Stone_-_J_K_Rowling-73660-1.html
