I actually finished "re-listening" to this three weeks ago, and just have not gotten around to writing my review. (Part of that was, honestly, my goal of making the second half of September "Non-Genre Fortnight," and thus wanting to hold off on this review until those books' reviews were written and posted. Which they have now done.)
Book 59: Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix by J.K. Rowling, read by Jim Dale, isbn 9780807220290, 870 pages / 23 cds, Scholastic / Listening Library, $13.95 / $75.00
If I were hard-pressed to list the Potter books from favorite to l east favorite (understanding that even "least favorite" is still very much enjoyed), OotP would probably place 3rd from the top. PRISONER OF AZKABAN will always be my favorite, and I think GOBLET OF FIRE will always come in a close second. ORDER OF THE PHOENIX and DEATHLY HALLOWS probably tie for third, with OotP just slightly edging out the series finale if push comes to shove.
That said, the book is still not perfect. Listening to Jim Dale perform it on cd, it becomes very apparent where the book slows down and almost terminally loses me: Hagrid's flashback. Please note that I'm not saying Hagrid's flashback is a waste of space: it is important that Harry & company learn where Hagrid has been, what he's been attempting to do both for Dumbledore and for his own purposes; it's important that we the readers know what Hagrid's been up to so that we understand just why it's so important that Dolores Umbridge not know what Hagrid's been up to. But still, for all the importance of that chapter -- it is slooooowww going even with the best of readers. I thought, when I first read the book, that it was my own problem, but listening to Jim Dale showed me that it's the chapter itself (and friends who are Potter fans have largely expressed the same problem). Thankfully, that's one of the few problems I have with the book.
Overall, despite the 870-page length, I find ORDER to be a tightly-plotted book that just keeps moving towards a conclusion we see coming long before Harry does. Even on my initial read of the book the week it was published, I could tell early on that Voldemort had figured out how to use his connection to Harry to manipulate our hero and knew that the trip to the Ministry was not going to end well. No, I did not (probably could not have) predict(ed) Sirius' death in the climactic scene; but I knew something horrible would happen. How could it not, with the tension and dread Rowling builds up in the preceding 700 pages? Of course, people had been predicting "an important character's" death for months before the book came out, and Rowling expertly teases us just before the halfway point with the near-death of Arthur Weasley. Harry never quite, in the books, comes to view Arthur as a father figure the way he does Sirius and Dumbledore, but Arthur's near death should have been the warning sign to all of us: in order for Harry to grow into the role prophecied for him at the end of the book, he needs to grow beyond what his father-figures can provide for him. Arthur, being not quite a father figure, survives his encounter with Nagini (and that wretched Muggle invention, "stitches!"). We should have known that Sirius and Dumbledore would not fare as well.
Rowling uses the animosity she's developed between Harry and Snape (as well as Snape and Sirius) to good advantage in propelling this story. Had Harry taken Occlumency lessons from just about anyone else, he might have been more successful. Had Snape been teaching the skill to just about anyone else, he might have come up with a better method of teaching it. (It's my opinion that Snape isn't actually a bad teacher, when he concentrates on his chosen subject(s). It's his mentoring side that is lacking, probably because he didn't have very good mentors when he was a kid. One wonders exactly where Dumbledore was during the school-days of the Marauders and "Snivellus.") And of course it is Snape's taunting of the house-bound Sirius that contributes, at least a little bit, to Sirius' willingly to chance being caught just to be out and doing something. (To be fair, it's also Sirius' nature -- Remus would never let Snape's taunting get to him, whereas Sirius just uses Snape's taunts to justify doing what he wants to do anyway.)
Rowling does an interesting thing with the Sirius/Harry relationship in this book: she allows the other characters to call Sirius and Harry on the dynamic that has developed between them. Molly Weasley is not the only character to point out that Sirius is trying to replace James and make up for all the years they didn't have together to get into trouble and raise hell. It makes me wonder if, once he was married, James became so much less of a wild-child that Sirius was already feeling the distance growing even before James and Lily were murdered. And Harry, of course, just wants a father who loves him so badly that he's willing to let Sirius egg him on to do the un-wise/un-safe thing -- the thought of disappointing Sirius pushes Harry to not really think through the consequences of his actions.
The revelation of not only the existence of the Prophecy but also its exact wording (as well as the revelation that now only two people in the world know that exact wording, since Sybil Trelawney apparently blacks out when she makes prophecies) is of course what the whole book leads to. Coming as it does after the emotional death of Sirius, it's almost an anti-climactic moment. Yes, yes, we know -- Harry is destined to face down Voldemort, and one has to kill the other. We sort of had that figured out once we realized Voldemort was the behind-the-scenes bad-guy of the first five books (he's barely seen in PHOENIX, despite being mentioned every other page, so he counts as "behind the scenes"). Again, it's an important moment, but it can't compete with the death of Sirius for sheer punch-in-the-guts power.
Voldemort may be behind-the-scenes, but Rowling's true gift to the readers in this book is the creation of a character who shows you don't have to be the Ultimate Evil to still be a menace. Dolores Umbridge, Senior Under-Secretary to the Minister of Magic, Hogwarts High Inquisitor and Defense Against the Dark Arts ... teacher is not the right word, is it? A woman who truly believes she is doing the right thing by setting Dementors on "out of control liar Harry Potter," by dumbing-down the curricula of the DADA class to "protect" the children as well as the Ministry, by inflicting bodily harm on her charges in the name of "discipline," Dolores is that every-day sort of evil that lurks in all of our lives: the horrid teacher, the petulant boss, the distant spouse. She is as big a threat to Harry's well-being as Voldemort. To me she is the scarier of the threats, because the last time I checked there were no Dark Wizards running around the real world, but there are hundreds of people just like Dolores Umbridge.
I could go on and on, as I could for just about any book in the Potter series, but I have to stop typing sometime and press "post." Final analysis: despite the occasional slow spot, ORDER OF THE PHOENIX pushes along at top speed, sprinkling some great character background and some great comedic moments in with a ton of tension and action. Well worth the read.
On the audiobook side, I do have one question that will probably never be answered: what made Jim Dale and his directors decide to give Bellatrix and Narcissa BLACK (married names: LeStrange and Malfoy) French accents? It seems clear in the books that Bella and Cissa grew up in England just as their cousins Sirius and Regulus did -- Bellatrix's French last name is her married name. Radolphus and Rabistan LeStrange should have the French accents, not Bellatrix.
(and one final note to those who disagreed with my stance that Hermione's House-Elf Crusade in GOBLET goes nowhere -- thank you for not pointing out just how much it bears on the action of PHOENIX and eventually PRINCE. Any one of you could have not-so-gently reminded me that Hermione continues her crusade in PHOENIX by leaving knitted caps all around the Gryffindor common room, a move I'd completely forgotten about. One of you did point out that Hermione's treatment of Kreacher is an outgrowth of her SPEW movement, but I'd forgotten just how much it plays into the center of this book.)
Showing posts with label harry potter. Show all posts
Showing posts with label harry potter. Show all posts
Monday, October 4, 2010
Friday, August 6, 2010
2010 Book 42: Goblet of Fire
Book 42: Harry Potter And the Goblet of Fire by J.K. Rowling, read by Jim Dale, isbn 9780807282595 , 17 cds / 752 pages, Listening Library / Scholastic, $69.95
As with the three earlier books in the Potter series, if memory serves correctly this is my third time through Goblet. I've read it twice, and now listened to it on cd. Overall, I still love the story and the way it basically changed everything. While Prisoner of Azkaban, my favorite Potter book (and movie, to date), was a bit darker than its predecessors, the danger still felt a little bit removed and the book still maintained a somewhat lighter tone. With Goblet, Rowling turns Harry's world upside down and almost from the start the book feels darker; the joy and wonder of the Quidditch World Cup, people tend to forget, is preceded by Harry "dreaming" about Lord Voldemort killing a Muggle and beginning his return to power. The bad stuff doesn't start with the Death Eaters and the Dark Mark at the Cup, but it certainly escalates from that point.
Experiencing the book for the third time, I was once again struck by how well Rowling builds on earlier throw-away comments and sets the stage for the later books. She allows her teen characters to grow, while most of her adult characters remain infuriatingly predictable. We can see Hagrid's blast-ended skrewt experiment ending badly before it even begins, and we know Hagrid will have at least one "I should not have told you that" moment; Dumbledore will be so focused on keeping Harry safe that he will neglect to share the very information Harry needs to make the smart decisions that will keep him safe; McGonagall will be stern and motherly at the same time; Snape will have those one or two moments where he vaguely threatens Harry and obstructs Harry's path but will ultimately not be a major part of the storyline .... except that, while all of that happens, Rowling actually gives us reasons this time. We get a bit more of Hagrid's history, we get to see just why Dumbledore is so distracted, and we start to see the Snape of the movies. In the first three books, Snape is a speedbump in the road and not much more. In this book, Snape quite literally is indirectly responsible for a character's death (had he not delayed Harry from seeing Dumbledore, Barty Crouch Sr might not have died) and in the final pages we see that he is going to be more than just a menacing teacher from this point on. Rowling expands even the secondary characters' roles (with the Madame Maxime subplot for Hagrid, and the heightened involvement of the adult Weasleys), and her page count expands to accommodate that change in story-style.
She also introduces at least one intriguing new character: Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody. Moody quickly became a favorite character of mine, and remains so. Even after what I think is one of the best plot twists in the Potter series (if not all of series fiction). Listening to the book, I found myself even more attentive to Moody's scenes than I am when I'm rereading the book. And yes, the clues are all there early on, once you know where to look.
Some people have said that upon rereading Goblet, the teen relationship angst comes across as more forced than on the first read. I didn't find that to be so. Because while spurned feelings and requited attractions motivate the characters at various points, those emotions are still not the main plot (unlike at least one other YA urban fantasy series of great popularity, or so I've been told). Harry's interest in Cho and jealousy of Cedric, Ron's jealousy of Hermione and Krum, the poor Patil sisters stuck with dates who won't even pretend they're interested, even the ease with which Fred (or is it George) asks Angelina (or it is Katie) to the Ball ... all of this fits into the book as fine character work and subplot without taking our attention away from the main plots: the Tri-Wizard Tournament and the Return of Voldemort.
Unfortunately, there is one spbplot that annoyed me on the initial reading, annoyed me again when I reread the book, and still annoys me listening to the book. As wonderful a reader as Jim Dale is (and he is stretched to prove himself in this book, not only due to the length but due to the number of speaking characters to be interpreted), even he cannot generate any interest or excitement in the SPEW sub-plot. Way too much time is spent for a subplot that is ultimately dropped mid-book and not revisited in any of the remaining books. Yes, it's an important development for Hermione's character that she takes up the mantle of gaining equality for a down-trodden race. And yes, I'm sure in adulthood she worked tirelessly at the Ministry to finally get house elves the respect they deserve. But an already long novel could have been 50 pages shorter if Hermione's Crusade had been cut out or at least mentioned less frequently. Perhaps my largest disappointment of the Potter series is that this major subplot ultimately went nowhere. (I can foresee certain arguments having to do with events in Half-Blood Prince which were cut from the movie version, and in Deathly Hallows. I would ask that if you feel the urge to debate me / tell me I'm wrong, you try to be as vague as possible. I know of at least one person reading this blog regularly who has not read the books and so far has managed to not have any of the major events of DH spoiled for him before the movie comes out (which he will see opening weekend, as he has every other Potter movie, I'm sure).
I could natter on for pages yet, I'm sure. I haven't talked about the representation of sensationalist media in the form of Rita Skeeter. I haven't talked about Karkaroff and Krum, or the concept of other nation's schools of magic (I've always wondered why Rowling didn't use an American school, since the books were already selling so well over here. Might have been a nice nod to her American fans. Then again, the portrayal may have been unflattering.) But this is a review, not an essay. Overall, Goblet is my second-favorite book in the Potter series. Great character development, great new characters introduced, lots of groundwork laid for the second half of the series and especially for the next book.
As with the three earlier books in the Potter series, if memory serves correctly this is my third time through Goblet. I've read it twice, and now listened to it on cd. Overall, I still love the story and the way it basically changed everything. While Prisoner of Azkaban, my favorite Potter book (and movie, to date), was a bit darker than its predecessors, the danger still felt a little bit removed and the book still maintained a somewhat lighter tone. With Goblet, Rowling turns Harry's world upside down and almost from the start the book feels darker; the joy and wonder of the Quidditch World Cup, people tend to forget, is preceded by Harry "dreaming" about Lord Voldemort killing a Muggle and beginning his return to power. The bad stuff doesn't start with the Death Eaters and the Dark Mark at the Cup, but it certainly escalates from that point.
Experiencing the book for the third time, I was once again struck by how well Rowling builds on earlier throw-away comments and sets the stage for the later books. She allows her teen characters to grow, while most of her adult characters remain infuriatingly predictable. We can see Hagrid's blast-ended skrewt experiment ending badly before it even begins, and we know Hagrid will have at least one "I should not have told you that" moment; Dumbledore will be so focused on keeping Harry safe that he will neglect to share the very information Harry needs to make the smart decisions that will keep him safe; McGonagall will be stern and motherly at the same time; Snape will have those one or two moments where he vaguely threatens Harry and obstructs Harry's path but will ultimately not be a major part of the storyline .... except that, while all of that happens, Rowling actually gives us reasons this time. We get a bit more of Hagrid's history, we get to see just why Dumbledore is so distracted, and we start to see the Snape of the movies. In the first three books, Snape is a speedbump in the road and not much more. In this book, Snape quite literally is indirectly responsible for a character's death (had he not delayed Harry from seeing Dumbledore, Barty Crouch Sr might not have died) and in the final pages we see that he is going to be more than just a menacing teacher from this point on. Rowling expands even the secondary characters' roles (with the Madame Maxime subplot for Hagrid, and the heightened involvement of the adult Weasleys), and her page count expands to accommodate that change in story-style.
She also introduces at least one intriguing new character: Alastor "Mad-Eye" Moody. Moody quickly became a favorite character of mine, and remains so. Even after what I think is one of the best plot twists in the Potter series (if not all of series fiction). Listening to the book, I found myself even more attentive to Moody's scenes than I am when I'm rereading the book. And yes, the clues are all there early on, once you know where to look.
Some people have said that upon rereading Goblet, the teen relationship angst comes across as more forced than on the first read. I didn't find that to be so. Because while spurned feelings and requited attractions motivate the characters at various points, those emotions are still not the main plot (unlike at least one other YA urban fantasy series of great popularity, or so I've been told). Harry's interest in Cho and jealousy of Cedric, Ron's jealousy of Hermione and Krum, the poor Patil sisters stuck with dates who won't even pretend they're interested, even the ease with which Fred (or is it George) asks Angelina (or it is Katie) to the Ball ... all of this fits into the book as fine character work and subplot without taking our attention away from the main plots: the Tri-Wizard Tournament and the Return of Voldemort.
Unfortunately, there is one spbplot that annoyed me on the initial reading, annoyed me again when I reread the book, and still annoys me listening to the book. As wonderful a reader as Jim Dale is (and he is stretched to prove himself in this book, not only due to the length but due to the number of speaking characters to be interpreted), even he cannot generate any interest or excitement in the SPEW sub-plot. Way too much time is spent for a subplot that is ultimately dropped mid-book and not revisited in any of the remaining books. Yes, it's an important development for Hermione's character that she takes up the mantle of gaining equality for a down-trodden race. And yes, I'm sure in adulthood she worked tirelessly at the Ministry to finally get house elves the respect they deserve. But an already long novel could have been 50 pages shorter if Hermione's Crusade had been cut out or at least mentioned less frequently. Perhaps my largest disappointment of the Potter series is that this major subplot ultimately went nowhere. (I can foresee certain arguments having to do with events in Half-Blood Prince which were cut from the movie version, and in Deathly Hallows. I would ask that if you feel the urge to debate me / tell me I'm wrong, you try to be as vague as possible. I know of at least one person reading this blog regularly who has not read the books and so far has managed to not have any of the major events of DH spoiled for him before the movie comes out (which he will see opening weekend, as he has every other Potter movie, I'm sure).
I could natter on for pages yet, I'm sure. I haven't talked about the representation of sensationalist media in the form of Rita Skeeter. I haven't talked about Karkaroff and Krum, or the concept of other nation's schools of magic (I've always wondered why Rowling didn't use an American school, since the books were already selling so well over here. Might have been a nice nod to her American fans. Then again, the portrayal may have been unflattering.) But this is a review, not an essay. Overall, Goblet is my second-favorite book in the Potter series. Great character development, great new characters introduced, lots of groundwork laid for the second half of the series and especially for the next book.
Friday, July 16, 2010
Prisoner of Azkaban review
Book 37: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban by J.K. Rowling, read by Jim Dale, isbn 9780807282328, 448 pages / 10cds, Scholastic / Listening Library, $54.95 (for the cds)
Even with the book series all said and done, I still proclaim the third Harry Potter novel my favorite in the series. At this point, Rowling has mostly smoothed the rough edges off of her style, and she has a much clearer idea of where the series is going. She lays so much groundwork here not just for book four, but for the end-game of the entire series. Draco Malfoy begins the slow fade to the background that will remove him as any kind of main plot participant until Half-Blood Prince, while Severus Snape steps up into the limelight and becomes more than an aggravation / subplot. With the arrival and then departure of Remus Lupin, we get our first hint that the constant vacancy of the Dark Arts position is more than just happenstance. And with the introduction of Lupin, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew, we start to get the history that will affect every decision Harry makes throughout the rest of the series.
What I've always liked about Rowling's writing is that Harry, Ron, Hermione and their teenage friends don't always make the right decision -- they go on their instincts, their hormones, and sometimes make the kind of mistake we as readers are slapping our foreheads and shouting at them to not make. Every time Harry fails to tell Dumbledore something, every time the Trio hare off on their own someplace, the writer in me recognizes Rowling setting up important complications but the reader in me yells at them to stop being stupid and myopic. Of course, they are teenagers -- they are virtually made of myopia. And that's what makes them so real. They are not perfect. Even amongst themselves -- the discord between Ron and Hermione here, how easily they cut each other out, is a great hint at how Seamus Finnegan will turn completely against Harry in "Phoenix" based solely on what Seamus thinks he knows versus what is the truth.
Prisoner is also the last of the short books in the series, the last that is tightly plotted and in which the subplots are not given equal page time with the main plot. Which also mirrors the age Harry and the gang are at -- life gets more complicated the older kids get, as their world-view expands beyond themselves.
Jim Dale, of course, does his usual fantastic job performing the book. I've commented before that his Hagrid and McGonagall sound just like Robbie Coltrane and Maggie Smith, while the rest of his characters sound original. This time, he manages to also make Remus Lupin sound almost exactly like David Thewlis. Certain voices, certain inflections, just fit certain characters, and I think in these cases Dale is wise to go with what sounds right rather than differentiating just to avoid comparisons.
Even with the book series all said and done, I still proclaim the third Harry Potter novel my favorite in the series. At this point, Rowling has mostly smoothed the rough edges off of her style, and she has a much clearer idea of where the series is going. She lays so much groundwork here not just for book four, but for the end-game of the entire series. Draco Malfoy begins the slow fade to the background that will remove him as any kind of main plot participant until Half-Blood Prince, while Severus Snape steps up into the limelight and becomes more than an aggravation / subplot. With the arrival and then departure of Remus Lupin, we get our first hint that the constant vacancy of the Dark Arts position is more than just happenstance. And with the introduction of Lupin, Sirius Black and Peter Pettigrew, we start to get the history that will affect every decision Harry makes throughout the rest of the series.
What I've always liked about Rowling's writing is that Harry, Ron, Hermione and their teenage friends don't always make the right decision -- they go on their instincts, their hormones, and sometimes make the kind of mistake we as readers are slapping our foreheads and shouting at them to not make. Every time Harry fails to tell Dumbledore something, every time the Trio hare off on their own someplace, the writer in me recognizes Rowling setting up important complications but the reader in me yells at them to stop being stupid and myopic. Of course, they are teenagers -- they are virtually made of myopia. And that's what makes them so real. They are not perfect. Even amongst themselves -- the discord between Ron and Hermione here, how easily they cut each other out, is a great hint at how Seamus Finnegan will turn completely against Harry in "Phoenix" based solely on what Seamus thinks he knows versus what is the truth.
Prisoner is also the last of the short books in the series, the last that is tightly plotted and in which the subplots are not given equal page time with the main plot. Which also mirrors the age Harry and the gang are at -- life gets more complicated the older kids get, as their world-view expands beyond themselves.
Jim Dale, of course, does his usual fantastic job performing the book. I've commented before that his Hagrid and McGonagall sound just like Robbie Coltrane and Maggie Smith, while the rest of his characters sound original. This time, he manages to also make Remus Lupin sound almost exactly like David Thewlis. Certain voices, certain inflections, just fit certain characters, and I think in these cases Dale is wise to go with what sounds right rather than differentiating just to avoid comparisons.
Sorcerer's Stone review
Book 28: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling, read by Jim Dale, isbn 9780807281956, 7 cds, Listening Library, $49.95
Listening to this on cd while on my current travel swing for work, I realized that I read most of the Potter books long before I started blogging on Livejournal, and definitely before I started putting so much effort into my book reviews here. I came to the Potter books relatively late: it wasn't until Goblet of Fire came out in hardcover that I gave in to the recommendations of the countless teenagers (and quite a few random adults) in my life who were virtually ordering me to read them. This first book hooked me enough to read the second; the second likewise; but it was the third, Prisoner of Azkaban, that made me a fan who would read the whole series in hardcover and buy the books the day they came out.
Being the obsessive-compulsive I am when it comes to book series (and comic books, and tv shows on dvd, and ... okay, yeah, just about anything of a continuing nature), I also decided I had to have the Potter books on cd because they were performed by one of my all-time favorite actors, Jim Dale. I got the first four, lent them to various people ... and never actually got around to listening to them myself. The first two were returned in less-than-good condition (boxes crushed, cds scratched), and I pretty much tucked them away for a long time. Even with all the travel I've done the past four years, I kept avoiding bringing the Potter cds with me. I think perhaps I was afraid of aggravation at the skipping on the cds (which was not as bad as I thought it would be) and afraid of disappointment because I'd built Jim Dale's performance up so much in my head. A needless fear, as his performance is everything I thought it would be. His light tone fits this first book especially, and he makes the character voices distinct. Of course, the characters with the heaviest accents -- Hagrid, McGonnagle -- are the performances that most closely match the actors from the movies (Robbie Coltrane, Dame Maggie Smith), but for the most part Dale eschews trying to match the actors and just imbues the characters with his own take on what they would sound like. It's a wonderful performance overall.
Because I never actually wrote a book review for this when I read it, I'll say a few words about the book itself. Listening to it, the joy I had in discovering an interesting new world returned. I entered Rowling's world not knowing much about it. I remember thinking her characters were a bit simple but not simplistic, if that makes sense. I took to Harry, Ron, Dumbledore and McGonnagle immediately in those early chapters; I wondered how much of a threat Draco would become as the series went on (the answer, of course, was "not much of one until HBP"). I knew early on that Snape would not turn out to be the major bad-guy of the book (the set-up for him to be the bad-guy was TOO obvious, something that really stands out in Dale's reading), although I didn't call the real villain's identity at all. Overall, I felt the book was a good start, and a nice tight little mystery on it's own. Had I read the book when it was first published, I'm not sure I would have immediately rushed out to grab the second book -- knowing books 1 through 4 were immediately available may have helped my decision to push on to the next book right away.
I was very proud, the past few months, that my now-twelve-year-old nephew has decided to read the Potter books (after he'd read, and gotten me hooked on, the Percy Jackson books and I told him his excitement for the Jackson books matched my excitement for the Potter books). And I think that also played a part in my decision to "reread" the Potter series by listening to them on cd. I do plan, on the next travel swing, to bring Chamber of Secrets.
Listening to this on cd while on my current travel swing for work, I realized that I read most of the Potter books long before I started blogging on Livejournal, and definitely before I started putting so much effort into my book reviews here. I came to the Potter books relatively late: it wasn't until Goblet of Fire came out in hardcover that I gave in to the recommendations of the countless teenagers (and quite a few random adults) in my life who were virtually ordering me to read them. This first book hooked me enough to read the second; the second likewise; but it was the third, Prisoner of Azkaban, that made me a fan who would read the whole series in hardcover and buy the books the day they came out.
Being the obsessive-compulsive I am when it comes to book series (and comic books, and tv shows on dvd, and ... okay, yeah, just about anything of a continuing nature), I also decided I had to have the Potter books on cd because they were performed by one of my all-time favorite actors, Jim Dale. I got the first four, lent them to various people ... and never actually got around to listening to them myself. The first two were returned in less-than-good condition (boxes crushed, cds scratched), and I pretty much tucked them away for a long time. Even with all the travel I've done the past four years, I kept avoiding bringing the Potter cds with me. I think perhaps I was afraid of aggravation at the skipping on the cds (which was not as bad as I thought it would be) and afraid of disappointment because I'd built Jim Dale's performance up so much in my head. A needless fear, as his performance is everything I thought it would be. His light tone fits this first book especially, and he makes the character voices distinct. Of course, the characters with the heaviest accents -- Hagrid, McGonnagle -- are the performances that most closely match the actors from the movies (Robbie Coltrane, Dame Maggie Smith), but for the most part Dale eschews trying to match the actors and just imbues the characters with his own take on what they would sound like. It's a wonderful performance overall.
Because I never actually wrote a book review for this when I read it, I'll say a few words about the book itself. Listening to it, the joy I had in discovering an interesting new world returned. I entered Rowling's world not knowing much about it. I remember thinking her characters were a bit simple but not simplistic, if that makes sense. I took to Harry, Ron, Dumbledore and McGonnagle immediately in those early chapters; I wondered how much of a threat Draco would become as the series went on (the answer, of course, was "not much of one until HBP"). I knew early on that Snape would not turn out to be the major bad-guy of the book (the set-up for him to be the bad-guy was TOO obvious, something that really stands out in Dale's reading), although I didn't call the real villain's identity at all. Overall, I felt the book was a good start, and a nice tight little mystery on it's own. Had I read the book when it was first published, I'm not sure I would have immediately rushed out to grab the second book -- knowing books 1 through 4 were immediately available may have helped my decision to push on to the next book right away.
I was very proud, the past few months, that my now-twelve-year-old nephew has decided to read the Potter books (after he'd read, and gotten me hooked on, the Percy Jackson books and I told him his excitement for the Jackson books matched my excitement for the Potter books). And I think that also played a part in my decision to "reread" the Potter series by listening to them on cd. I do plan, on the next travel swing, to bring Chamber of Secrets.
Chamber of Secrets review
Book 32: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets by J.K. Rowling, audiobook read by Jim Dale, isbn 9780807281949, 352 pages / 8 cds, Scholastic / Listening Library, $49.95
Chamber of Secrets is a fine book, but even after having read it several times and now listening to it on audiobook (the first time I've revisted the story in probably 5 years), my feeling hasn't really changed in regard to it being my least favorite of the Potter books. Even saying that, it's not that I hate the book. There's a lot to like in it. I just feel like it remains the volume in which the main mystery is the least well-developed; it's the book in which two of the final reveal feels like they come from out of left field. Yes, I'm still bothered by the way Ginny is absent for most of the book yet stands revealed in the end as a main component of what has been going on at the school all year long. I felt like there should have been more indicators than the occasional "Ginny looks like she's got a stomach ache" toss-off line. I also think the reveal of Lucius Malfoy's connection is a bit of a stretch, although there at least you can go back to the beginning of the book and think "okay, yeah, I guess that happened."
However, as I said, even with that dissatisfaction, there's still plenty to like. Gilderoy Lockhart remains one of my favorite smarmy, self-involved characters of all time. I can't help but picture Kenneth Brannagh when I reread the book, and even with Jim Dale's slightly different take on the voice of the character, I still felt Brannagh's presence. And of course, Rowling used this book to set up so much of what will come later: the mystery of Harry's shared abilities with Lord Voldemort, the Harry-Draco Quidditch rivarly, the possibility that rather than being the Heir of Slytherin, Harry is actually the Heir of Gryffindor, and of course the introductory mention of Azkaban prison. While Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday party feels like a bit of a waste of space considering the smaller and smaller roles the ghosts play as the series evolves, it is still a fun diversion.
Jim Dale, of course, does his usual stellar job at performing the book and giving characters individual voices. It is a little tough listening to these while driving because his voice is just so darn soothing, but if I don't listen to them on the road, I never will!
Chamber of Secrets is a fine book, but even after having read it several times and now listening to it on audiobook (the first time I've revisted the story in probably 5 years), my feeling hasn't really changed in regard to it being my least favorite of the Potter books. Even saying that, it's not that I hate the book. There's a lot to like in it. I just feel like it remains the volume in which the main mystery is the least well-developed; it's the book in which two of the final reveal feels like they come from out of left field. Yes, I'm still bothered by the way Ginny is absent for most of the book yet stands revealed in the end as a main component of what has been going on at the school all year long. I felt like there should have been more indicators than the occasional "Ginny looks like she's got a stomach ache" toss-off line. I also think the reveal of Lucius Malfoy's connection is a bit of a stretch, although there at least you can go back to the beginning of the book and think "okay, yeah, I guess that happened."
However, as I said, even with that dissatisfaction, there's still plenty to like. Gilderoy Lockhart remains one of my favorite smarmy, self-involved characters of all time. I can't help but picture Kenneth Brannagh when I reread the book, and even with Jim Dale's slightly different take on the voice of the character, I still felt Brannagh's presence. And of course, Rowling used this book to set up so much of what will come later: the mystery of Harry's shared abilities with Lord Voldemort, the Harry-Draco Quidditch rivarly, the possibility that rather than being the Heir of Slytherin, Harry is actually the Heir of Gryffindor, and of course the introductory mention of Azkaban prison. While Nearly Headless Nick's Deathday party feels like a bit of a waste of space considering the smaller and smaller roles the ghosts play as the series evolves, it is still a fun diversion.
Jim Dale, of course, does his usual stellar job at performing the book and giving characters individual voices. It is a little tough listening to these while driving because his voice is just so darn soothing, but if I don't listen to them on the road, I never will!
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