book review: harry potter and the sorcerer's stone

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I'm on a quest to re/read all of the Harry Potter books. I started reading Harry Potter the month before the fourth book came out, and I was spoiled. By the time the fifth book came out a year later, I didn't remember what was happening, and I didn't even finish it. Now that all seven are out, I'm rededicated to my efforts. I thoroughly enjoyed Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, even though I still maintain the first fifty pages are unnecessarily slow and depressing. Once Harry gets to Hogwarts, the story really comes alive, and I enjoyed the story much more this time than I remember enjoying it last time. Perhaps because I had more realistic expectations going in. When I first read it, I was expecting the greatest children's book ever written. It's really good, and at times it's great, but I don't think the books themselves are brilliant. J.K. Rowling is brilliant, and the world she created is mesmerizing. She's a good storyteller, but there's a certain depth missing (at least so far, I may recant after book seven) to make me call the books brilliant. I'm eager to start rereading Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets.

Rating: 2.5 stars (really liked it)

Comments

  1. neal callMay 24, 2012 at 12:03 AM

    It seems like a bit of a stretch to put this at a 2.5 and the Graveyard Book at a 4.5, although I agree that the latter is better than the former. I also agree that it felt light, and that other novels for kids (anything by...Spinelli, for instance) has an emotional depth that I just don't get from Rowling. Terry Pratchett is probably a little like Rowling but for adults, and at the same time that he is funny, he also uses really clever, really insightful satire, and sometimes even really poignant characters and situations, something mostly lacking in Rowling.

    I scored this a 6/10.

    http://englishmajorversustheworld.blogspot.com/

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