A review by studiomikarts
Harry Potter and the Cursed Child - Parts One and Two by J.K. Rowling

adventurous dark mysterious sad fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

1.0

I finally decided to try reading this again for the first time in years because it was the December selection for the Protego Foundation book club, which I had only recently discovered. The first time I attempted to read this, back when it was first published, I only got a few pages in before completely losing interest. This time, my second attempt, I got a bit farther. I found it easy to read, and even though I'm extremely busy this time of year, I was able to finish Part One before the book club meeting.

By that point, I am disappointed to say, I didn't care if the meeting ended up spoiling Part Two. There was so much that was off about the story, the characters, and their relationships. I did my best to give a generous amount of leeway, in consideration of the fact that this is the script for a stage production and not a novel, but that wasn't enough. A word I found myself constantly using in my reading notes was "unbelievable". Examples:
The father-son issues between Harry and Albus felt contrived, even forced. The Trolley Witch throwing explosives and growing spikes from her hands as a method of keeping passengers onboard the Hogwarts Express was utterly ridiculous; I think most people would jump overboard in fear, not quietly return to their seats! And the big drop, Cedric turning Death Eater because he was publicly embarrassed. Truly unbelievable to anyone who is a fan of the main series of novels. But that was not the worst moment. The poor taste of including a scene where adult Harry literally stands there and watches his parents being murdered: sickening, and out of line with everything we have come to expect from the Harry Potter stories.
There were plenty more complaints along those lines, but I don't want to spend any more time on this book than is necessary to express my deep disappointment. The only reason I finished it at all, after the book club was over, was because it was so easy to read. Even without the impetus of interest, I was able to breeze through it without any effort. I think that's perhaps the reason I gave it one star, instead of zero.

I think I'm generally quite a generous reviewer and an easy-to-please reader, but this book was horrible. I kept thinking, well, at least it can't get worse than this, and I kept being proven wrong! At the book club, I was hesitant to present a sure opinion, but it was already strongly unfavorable. Now that I'm done, I can say for sure I hated this story!

P.S. The Protego Foundation is an animal rights charity, so I read this with a focus on the depiction of animals. While there weren't many animals in it, I can't say I ever saw a positive mention. They were either used as weird insults (like 'only animals wet the bed' wtf?) or as symbols of evil, when they weren't rehashed elements from a previous Harry Potter novel or weak jokes (
a book club member pointed out that it's ridiculous to suggest Harry had no problem with the filthy owlery at Hogwarts but finds pigeons creepy because they're dirty?
). Even when reading it from this unusual perspective, there was nothing good about Harry Potter and the Cursed Child...at the book club, many people espoused the opinion that the actual performance is much better than the book. At the time, I said I'd probably see the play if I ever had the opportunity. Now I don't feel that way. I feel like it would be saying all the things that were so miserable about this reading are acceptable so long as something else is there to cover them up.
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