An intense cold swept over them all. Harry felt his own breath catch in his chest. The cold went deeper than his skin. It was inside his chest, it was inside his very heart…
Harry’s eyes rolled up into his head. He couldn’t see. He was drowning in cold. There was a rushing in his ears as though of water. He was being dragged downwards, the roaring growing louder…
And then, from far away, he heard screaming, terrible, terrified, pleading screams. He wanted to help whoever it was, he tried to move his arms, but couldn’t… a thick white fog was swirling around him, inside him —
(Source: J. K. Rowling, Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban, paper back edition, Bloomsbury 1999, ISBN 0-7475-4950-8.)
It has been way too long since I blogged about Harry Potter. I mean, I already finished this book on March 1! I even finished the complete series on March 30! And I loved every word of it. In fact, I loved it so much, that I couldn’t blog in between books, I just had to read the next one immediately. That’s a good excuse, right? I’ve got no excuse for April though. Life happened, I guess.
But even though it has been more than a month since I finished the Harry Potter books, I still want to share with the world how great they are. That, plus it’s one of my goals to blog about my Day Zero accomplishments. So that’s why today I will tell you my opinion of the book Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban.
To be honest, my review could have ended right after the fragment above. That small piece of the book says it all, I believe. It captures you immediately, you’re dying to know what will happen next and what is even happening right now. Just as the previous two books, (which I blogged about here and here), the whole book is mesmerizing. I started reading Harry Potter when I was ill. And to be honest, that’s the best time to read it, because you will not be able to put the book away once you’ve picked it up.
This third book is even better than the previous ones, I think. J.K. Rowling uses less explanations and more adult language, which means she expected her readers to grow with the books, or she must have realized by then adults were also very fond of her books. Either way, this use of language improved the reading experience for me. The book has a more serious tone than before, also the events are more frightening.
I love the fact that there are two important new locations: Azkaban (which has been briefly described in the second book already) and Hogsmeade, an entire wizarding village! Especially the latter is great. It’s nice to have a change of scenery once in a while.
This book also contains my favorite Hogwarts’ teacher of all times: Professor Lupin. Okay, except maybe for the other new teacher, but mentioning him would be a spoiler for the two people in the world who haven’t read this book yet.
And then there’s the dementors. Creepy creatures that give you the chills when even only reading about them, yet they are keeping everyone safe at the same time. I really didn’t know what to think of them because of this contradiction. I love such confusion in a book, it makes me want to read on and find out what’s the deal.
And patronuses. Oh, patronuses. I can’t wait to see the movie of this book, because in my mind, patronuses are the most wonderful spells in the world. They must be even greater in the movie (Or the movie will ruin my image of patronuses forever, that’s also an option. Although up until now, the movies only enhanced my experiences).
Oh yeah, one last thing. The plot twist at the end is epic.
Don’t you know what in the world I’m talking about with these dementors and patronuses? Then you should really stop reading this blog and start reading the book! It is a definitive must-read for every person in the world.
No Comments