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Harry Potter and the Cursed Child

by J. K. Rowling, Jack Thorne, John Tiffany

Other authors: See the other authors section.

Series: Harry Potter (8)

MembersReviewsPopularityAverage ratingMentions
15,683566337 (3.36)19
As an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband, and a father, Harry Potter struggles with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs while his youngest son, Albus, finds the weight of the family legacy difficult to bear.
  1. 30
    Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J. K. Rowling (LiteraryReadaholic)
  2. 10
    Quidditch Through the Ages by J. K. Rowling (LiteraryReadaholic)
  3. 00
    Short Stories from Hogwarts of Heroism, Hardship and Dangerous Hobbies by J. K. Rowling (LiteraryReadaholic)
  4. 00
    Magic for Liars by Sarah Gailey (Anonymous user)
    Anonymous user: A non-magical detective investigates a murder at the magical high school where her gifted sister teaches. Smart and fascinating examination of the tropes used in HP, including the Chosen One.
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» See also 19 mentions

English (547)  Spanish (4)  German (3)  Italian (2)  Dutch (2)  French (2)  Portuguese (Portugal) (1)  Portuguese (Brazil) (1)  Swedish (1)  Catalan (1)  All languages (564)
Showing 1-5 of 547 (next | show all)
Having just finished the other 7 books, I found this one quite disappointing. I don't think it was the screenplay format that turned me off, more the lack of character development and the forced plot. It felt fairly flat with no "realness" to it. ( )
  Linyarai | Mar 6, 2024 |
What this shows is you really shouldn't leave time turners laying around where 4th year Hogwarts students can steal them. Although the idea that Hermione Granger would be so incompetent as to fuck up the hiding of a time turner (if Hermione Granger didn't want two blockheaded teen boys finding the most powerfully dangerous item in the magical universe, they wouldn't find it, thank you very much) is but one of the glaring plot holes here.

Some people argue that play scripts should not be read by the casual reader; created to be a performing art, the script is necessarily a shadow of the richness of the whole thing. At the least we have to allow that reading this script is going to be inferior to seeing the play acted out on the stage. Reading a script is also going to be a fundamentally different reading experience than reading a modern novel, in inherently less promising ways.

This work then, existing in an lesser form from a reading point of view by its nature, and suffering from numerous plot weaknesses in addition, really should not be a very good read, and surely isn't for anyone who's not already a Harry Potter fan. Because I am such a fan of the books, I still mostly enjoyed this despite its faults, but to be real, it will likely remain outside the Potter Canon as a semi-successful curiosity. ( )
  lelandleslie | Feb 24, 2024 |
Okay, so, by the time I finished Part 1 of this book (about half of it), I was honestly considering just dropping it. I absolutely despised it and willingly tried to convince myself that it was not canon; that it was just some weird fan-fiction that J.K. Rowling produced for whatever reason. However, Part 2 actually turned out pretty good. I was thoroughly entertained by it, and the ending actually left me somewhat emotional. Crazy, right?

What I disliked most about this book was actually the dialogue. I found it atrociously awful, especially by Rowling's standards. The characters did not feel anywhere near as human or nuanced as they did in the previous 7 books. I found Scorpius Malfoy insufferable, and I thought Albus was an extremely unlikeable shit head. By the end, though, I thought Albus and Harry himself were well-written. The conversation they had in the final chapter was incredible. The themes of pertaining to parenthood, loss, and love were very interestingly explored. Rowling actually created a very interesting conflict for Harry to grapple with: raising his own son. It honestly made me kinda emotional seeing Harry Potter, the character whom we've read so much about for so long, build his relationship with his son and try to mend the many problems in it.

Another I don't like about this book is the pacing. Things move way too quickly. For as complex and multi-layered as this plot is, things move along way too quickly. As a result, not every character and plot element is given the time it deserves. Ron Weasley, one of the 3 most important characters of the entire freaking franchise, barely has anything interesting to do or say throughout this whole thing. Come on! He's Ron Weasley; he's not just some background character to be used solely for comic relief.

As I mentioned previously, I thought Part 1 was terrible. It has none of the positive things I've mentioned in this review, and it is exceedingly boring. I actually had to force myself to read it page by page because of how uninteresting I found it. Part 2, however, is miles better. I thought the conflicts were really interesting, and I really liked seeing the alternate, post-apocalyptic Wizarding World. I'm a massive fan of dark fantasy. Too bad it wasn't explored very much, but it was quite interesting reading about it nonetheless.

In conclusion, I'm somewhat mixed on this one. I don't think it's terrible, but I don't think it's really good either. It just sits somewhere in the middle for me. ( )
  Moderation3250 | Feb 24, 2024 |
Pretty good fanfic! Like everyone else, including the coworker who lent it to me, I ship the heck out of Albus/Scorpio.

Dumbledore saying he was unworthy to love people was the only thing that made me cry. I know you can legitimately understand that statement as "wow, my first puppy love was in league with Hitler, that was kind of traumatic" but I can't help but read it as "I grew up a century ago and I spent most of my life closeted. My homophobic shame and self-loathing stunted all my relationships because I was always holding a part of myself back."

:( ( )
  caedocyon | Feb 23, 2024 |
So, yeah, definitely more like fan fiction. I was on the fence about it because I knew it was going to be, and because it was a script. This is why I left if for as long as I did. I've sat and looked at the book for a while.

That said, I loved it. There were obviously some things that didn't quite work because of canon issues--polyjuice and the like (and why didn't Albus and Scorpius just go back to before they used the time turner and stop themselves by destroying it before they could get to it?). But I genuinely enjoyed this foray back into the Potter world, and feel that if it got the stamp of approval from J.K. Rowling, then it had to be pretty spot on. ( )
  BrandyWinn | Feb 2, 2024 |
Showing 1-5 of 547 (next | show all)
Un constat s'impose : c'est forcément beaucoup moins riche que les romans - on s'ennuie de la plume de Rowling et des passages plus narratifs.
added by vibesandall | editLaPresse (Nov 9, 2016)
 
D'accord, rien de tout cela n'a l'impact d'un «vrai» Harry Potter. Mais il fait tellement bon se promener dans ce monde-là, soulever le rideau pour découvrir anecdotes et secrets bien gardés!
added by vibesandall | editLaPresse, SONIA SARFATI (Oct 12, 2016)
 
Christian Bos ahnt es schon, Harry Potter gibt es künftig nur noch als Spektakel. Wenn nun J.K. Rowling, John Tiffany und Jack Thorne den offiziellen achten Teil der Saga vorlegen, macht Bos erst einmal klar, dass es sich nicht um einen Roman, sondern um die Textfassung zu dem Stück handelt, das derzeit am Londoner Palace-Theatre läuft, und zwar auch nur um die Probenfassung, die Endfassung erscheint, gewinnträchtigerweise, dann demnächst. Zum Inhalt verrät Bos dies: Harry, 19 Jahre nach seinem Sieg über Voldemort, bringt seinen Sohn zum Zug ins Zauberinternat, der aber hat einen gewöhnungsbedürftigen neuen Freund: Scorpius Malfoy, einziger Sohn Dracos. Da muss sich Bos erst einmal kneifen. Der Rest der Story scheint ihm vor allem von Zeitreisen in die gute alte Zauberwelt zu leben. Das Original erreicht der Text nicht, meint Bos. Und wer liest schon gern Regieanweisungen?
added by vibesandall | editFrankfurter Rundschau (Sep 24, 2016)
 
Le temps d’une lecture souvent avalée d’une traite, on assiste à des retrouvailles dans le ton et non dénuées d’émotion, à défaut de faire renaître tout à fait la même magie que celle déployée par Rowling par le passé.
added by vibesandall | editElbakin.net, Gillossen (Aug 17, 2016)
 
It’s ambitious, studded with predictable and consequently satisfying twists that reach a critical mass in the finale. This feels very much like Rowling ... Even in the relatively fixed future where most of Cursed Child takes place, the characters are the right degree of surprising. Harry Potter himself has been so thoroughly, faithfully imagined since 1997 that it’s satisfying to see him as a crappy father and an awkward bureaucrat ... Without set decoration, it cleanly shows the moral imagination of the Harry Potter universe, in which goodness is circumstantial and endings are never guaranteed.
added by vibesandall | editTHE NEW YORKER, JIA TOLENTINO (Aug 8, 2016)
 

» Add other authors (3 possible)

Author nameRoleType of authorWork?Status
J. K. Rowlingprimary authorall editionscalculated
Thorne, Jackmain authorall editionsconfirmed
Tiffany, Johnmain authorall editionsconfirmed
Buddingh', WiebeTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Fries-Gedin, LenaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Fritz, KlausTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Hansen-Schmidt, AnjaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Kapari-Jatta, JaanaTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Lammers, AnneCover designersecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
Ménard, Jean-FrançoisTranslatorsecondary authorsome editionsconfirmed
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Dedication
To Jack Thorne
who entered my world
and did beautiful things there.
--J.K. Rowling
For Joe, Louis, Max, Sonny, and Merle...wizards all...
--John Tiffany
To Elliot
As we rehearsed, he gurgled.
--Jack Thorne
First words
A busy and crowded station, full of people trying to go somewhere. Amongst the hustle and bustle, two large cages rattle on top of two laden trolleys.
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(Click to show. Warning: May contain spoilers.)
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Information from the Spanish Common Knowledge. Edit to localize it to your language.
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As an overworked employee of the Ministry of Magic, a husband, and a father, Harry Potter struggles with a past that refuses to stay where it belongs while his youngest son, Albus, finds the weight of the family legacy difficult to bear.

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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.
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Average: (3.36)
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