Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Discussion (Spoilers)

[Gryffindorian]

Information on the latest publication

Wikipedia Article

I've read some of the reviews on Facebook, and although they're mostly positive, some readers felt the story was lacking. I think I'm going to wait for the actual book edition next year.

Has anyone seen the play or read the script? What are your likes and dislikes?

 

[JD]

By actual book do you meant that JK Rowling is doing a novel too?

 

[Shamrock Holmes]

Information on the latest publication

Wikipedia Article

I've read some of the reviews on Facebook, and although they're mostly positive, some readers felt the story was lacking. I think I'm going to wait for the actual book edition next year.

Has anyone seen the play or read the script? What are your likes and dislikes?

I have read the script, and although I'd prefer to have another HP novel, the format didn't particularly bother me - possibly because I've done a bit of acting in my time so I'm used to absorbing information in that format.

I'm not sure what they mean in terms of 'lacking', except perhaps the fact that the first couple of acts skip through three years at sometimes dizzing speed (although I think the presentation of the scenes would work a lot better visually) until it gets to the main 'A Plot' in Albus & Scorpius' fourth year. Also, possibly because of the format, it's a much shorter book than the last four.

As far as an actual 'book edition' (if by that you mean a novel?) as far as the offical word goes (and booksellers don't have any different information as yet), the 2017 'Definitive Edition' is still going to be a script, but will have some edits to the narrative and some addition production 'extras' from the rehersals and first run at the Palace Theatre. Do you have different information?

 

[cultcross]

Certainly JK Rowling had been quite clear this is a play, not a novel or a movie, so I haven't heard that we're getting anything other than a tidied up script. (Realistically, there will be a movie at some point, but as it stands it's just a play. I wouldn't hold your breath for a novel although it certainly leaves the door open for more Albus stories).

Just finished reading The Cursed Child, or, Albus Potter and the Difficult Second Album. It took less than four hours to read but then given the format that's not surprising.

Overall, a wobbly B- from me, although as my old English teacher used to say, "Plays aren't meant to be read" - I've heard rave reviews of the play itself so I'm prepared to separate the two in my head.

Spoiler: Spoiler filled review

Too much of this script reads like fan fiction. Pretty decent fan fiction, granted, but nonetheless I can't help but feel the spark is gone a little. A storyline borrowed from a dozen other science fiction shows did little other than provide an opportunity to stage some famous scenes from the Harry Potter canon, while creating the same paradoxes and plot holes which befall other similar stories. Expecting an exciting new take on the Wizarding World I found myself a little disappointed.

Having said that, the characters were spot on. The golden trio, plus twenty two years, were believable extensions of their younger selves, and Harry in particular carried scars literal and figurative which have shaped him significantly after his traumatic youth. It's not all happy families at the Potter household and the play is improved as a result. The new characters, particularly the play's true lead character Scorpius Malfoy, are generally a joy and are crucially much more than mere reflections of their parents. The central theme of Harry's interaction with Albus seems real and doesn't get the neat little bow resolution I was dreading.

And imagining what some bits must look like on stage... well, it would be spectacular to say the least.

 

[JeffinOakland]

I'll read it but I won't buy it. I like HP. I've read all the books, seen all the movies. Much fun was had by me. But I just don't get the Beatlemania over HP. Maybe its a generational thing (I'm 43).

 

[Nerys Myk]

I'll read it but I won't buy it. I like HP. I've read all the books, seen all the movies. Much fun was had by me. But I just don't get the Beatlemania over HP. Maybe its a generational thing (I'm 43).

I would think so. The "generation" the books were aimed at probably have a different connection to the series than an adult.

 

[JeffinOakland]

I would think so. The "generation" the books were aimed at probably have a different connection to the series than an adult.

probably...it was "fun" for adults but it was perfect for kids

 

[cultcross]

I would think so. The "generation" the books were aimed at probably have a different connection to the series than an adult.

Yeah, I was that generation and as we plod past thirty, many of us still feel intimately connected to the stories and characters. It may seem ridiculous, it even does to me a bit, but the Harry Potter stories really mean a lot to me.

 

[Gryffindorian]

@JD

I have read the script, and although I'd prefer to have another HP novel, the format didn't particularly bother me - possibly because I've done a bit of acting in my time so I'm used to absorbing information in that format.

I'm not sure what they mean in terms of 'lacking', except perhaps the fact that the first couple of acts skip through three years at sometimes dizzing speed (although I think the presentation of the scenes would work a lot better visually) until it gets to the main 'A Plot' in Albus & Scorpius' fourth year. Also, possibly because of the format, it's a much shorter book than the last four.

As far as an actual 'book edition' (if by that you mean a novel?) as far as the offical word goes (and booksellers don't have any different information as yet), the 2017 'Definitive Edition' is still going to be a script, but will have some edits to the narrative and some addition production 'extras' from the rehersals and first run at the Palace Theatre. Do you have different information?

The Definitive Edition, that's what I meant. Sorry, I was thinking there would be novelization of it.

 

[Nerys Myk]

Yeah, I was that generation and as we plod past thirty, many of us still feel intimately connected to the stories and characters. It may seem ridiculous, it even does to me a bit, but the Harry Potter stories really mean a lot to me.

I was an adult managing a bookstore when the books first came out. So for me it was more of a "What's this all about" reason for reading the first book. I did get hooked, but probably not in the way a kid reading such a book for the first time did.

 

[JeffinOakland]

I work at a bookstore and people were calling all day Fri and Sat to make sure the book would be available the moment we opened on Sunday.

 

[Nerys Myk]

I work at a bookstore and people were calling all day Fri and Sat to make sure the book would be available the moment we opened on Sunday.

Ah, the memories. Weird release dates were always a pain.

 

[JD]

Was there a specific reason they released in on Sunday, rather than the usual Tuesday?

 

[Nerys Myk]

Was there a specific reason they released in on Sunday, rather than the usual Tuesday?

Potter and Rowling's birthdays.

 

[Random_Spock]

I'll read it but I won't buy it. I like HP. I've read all the books, seen all the movies. Much fun was had by me. But I just don't get the Beatlemania over HP. Maybe its a generational thing (I'm 43).

Nah. I'm in my 30's myself and I'm not that hyped over this. I was with the books and the movies though .

 

[JeffinOakland]

Nah. I'm in my 30's myself and I'm not that hyped over this. I was with the books and the movies though .

I see HP's popularity declining from now on. Even Rowling has indicated that she accepts that the high water mark has passed.

 

[Random_Spock]

I see HP's popularity declining from now on. Even Rowling has indicated that she accepts that the high water mark has passed.

So do I. It's still a nice story though.

 

[JeffinOakland]

So do I. It's still a nice story though.

Totally. Rowling did an amazing job with the series (particularly the 1st 4). She's a very good writer w a wonderful imagination and a very clever sense of humor and what kids and adults find funny.

 

[Samurai8472]

I have read the script, and although I'd prefer to have another HP novel, the format didn't particularly bother me - possibly because I've done a bit of acting in my time so I'm used to absorbing information in that format.

I was hoping for more of an actual novel rather than stage play notes and directions

 

[Mr Light]

I just read Harry Potter and Cursed Child in a single sitting! It was very good. Obviously it's not going to be as epic or in-depth as one of the novels, but it was a fascinating look at the future of Harry and company and their children. It was a real page turner.

Spoiler

I really enjoyed seeing Adult Harry and his relationship with Albus in particular. And I loved how milquetoast Malfoy's son was. I might've done without so much of the story being about time travel and alternate realities, but it definitely worked thematically about them living in the past and trying to change their childhoods through their children. The moment Delphi insisted on going into the past with them I pegged her for being evil, but Voldemort's DAUGHTER?! Yikes! I never saw him as lowering himself to such base physical needs, or being interested enough in another person to do it. I was also trying to work out where in the chronology Bellatrix could be pregnant for nine months without us noticing it....