So.
I read it.
The "it" I'm referring to is, of course, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the script of a recent play in London. It's Rowling-approved and officially canon, and ever since it came out it's been a source of extreme controversy within the fandom.
I, myself, quite liked it.
This is actually the second post on this blog about The Cursed Child. Citali wrote one already (go read it! It's far more eloquent than I could ever be), but I actually disagree with her opinions somewhat, so here I am. This post's probably going to be less coherent and more rambly, so you've been warned.
The book's in script format, so it's like (as quoted from one of my friends) reading Harry Potter on fast-forward. That, and the fact that the plot wasn't quite as stellar as we've come to expect from Rowling, explain why it's gotten less-than-great reviews from those who've read it.
However.
The Cursed Child is so, so important in that it acknowledges the characters' flaws and traumas. Lily and James and Rose are exactly what their parents wanted, perfect friendly happy Gryffindor children, not a care in the world, their parents' perfect legacy, but Albus? Oh, Albus. Albus Severus Potter: Slytherin, friendless, tormented, lonely. Albus, who so desperately wants to be more than just Harry Potter's loser son, Albus whose only friend is the son of Draco Malfoy, Albus who doesn't understand his father, whose father doesn't understand him, who isn't sure what to do about it and--
this is important, here. Not everyone is Harry Potter, who came to school and built a Golden Trio. Not everyone is Harry Potter, who stepped into the Wizarding World and became the youngest Seeker in a hundred years. Not everyone is Harry Potter, the golden child, the hero, the star, the Boy Who Lived.
This book, I think, focuses so much on stepping out of legacies and shadows. It takes Albus and Scorpius (and even Rose, to some extent) and says, firmly, "No. We are not our parents." Who would've thought, nine years ago, that there would be a tolerant Malfoy and a prejudiced Weasley?
I like this book because it forces you to confront the fact that its characters are imperfect, are scarred. That Harry Potter (the Chosen One, the one who killed the Dark Lord) is afraid of the dark. That Dumbledore made a hideous mistake in choosing to keep Harry with an abusive family (and wasn't reading that incredibly cathartic?). That Amos Diggory, all these years later, is still aching because his son was written off as merely "the spare." Rose Granger-Weasley, daughter of a Mudblood and a blood traitor, turns her nose up at Albus because he's friends with a Malfoy.
(I'm not saying The Cursed Child is perfect. It isn't, especially plotwise. I'm just saying that it's worth reading, because it delves into what Rowling didn't. )
Another thing. As we well know, Harry Potter suffers from a lack of diversity, both racially and otherwise. The Cursed Child (the play, I mean) cast Black actresses to play both Hermione and Rose Granger-Weasley. (!!!!! I know, right? So great.) In addition, although it's been confirmed that the late, the great Albus Dumbledore was in fact gay, he's the only canonically LGBTQ+ character in the Wizarding World thus far. Dare we hope Cursed Child is taking the first steps to change that? Nothing is stated explicitly, but. Reading the book, Scorpius's and Albus's interactions feel very much like the first steps towards romance. I'm gonna be honest with you: I ship it.
(Didn't I tell you it was going to be rambly? Hopefully it made sense. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )
Anyway. If any of you have read it, feel free to tell us what you thought of it!
Happy reading, as always.
~Willow
I read it.
The "it" I'm referring to is, of course, Harry Potter and the Cursed Child, the script of a recent play in London. It's Rowling-approved and officially canon, and ever since it came out it's been a source of extreme controversy within the fandom.
I, myself, quite liked it.
This is actually the second post on this blog about The Cursed Child. Citali wrote one already (go read it! It's far more eloquent than I could ever be), but I actually disagree with her opinions somewhat, so here I am. This post's probably going to be less coherent and more rambly, so you've been warned.
The book's in script format, so it's like (as quoted from one of my friends) reading Harry Potter on fast-forward. That, and the fact that the plot wasn't quite as stellar as we've come to expect from Rowling, explain why it's gotten less-than-great reviews from those who've read it.
However.
The Cursed Child is so, so important in that it acknowledges the characters' flaws and traumas. Lily and James and Rose are exactly what their parents wanted, perfect friendly happy Gryffindor children, not a care in the world, their parents' perfect legacy, but Albus? Oh, Albus. Albus Severus Potter: Slytherin, friendless, tormented, lonely. Albus, who so desperately wants to be more than just Harry Potter's loser son, Albus whose only friend is the son of Draco Malfoy, Albus who doesn't understand his father, whose father doesn't understand him, who isn't sure what to do about it and--
this is important, here. Not everyone is Harry Potter, who came to school and built a Golden Trio. Not everyone is Harry Potter, who stepped into the Wizarding World and became the youngest Seeker in a hundred years. Not everyone is Harry Potter, the golden child, the hero, the star, the Boy Who Lived.
This book, I think, focuses so much on stepping out of legacies and shadows. It takes Albus and Scorpius (and even Rose, to some extent) and says, firmly, "No. We are not our parents." Who would've thought, nine years ago, that there would be a tolerant Malfoy and a prejudiced Weasley?
I like this book because it forces you to confront the fact that its characters are imperfect, are scarred. That Harry Potter (the Chosen One, the one who killed the Dark Lord) is afraid of the dark. That Dumbledore made a hideous mistake in choosing to keep Harry with an abusive family (and wasn't reading that incredibly cathartic?). That Amos Diggory, all these years later, is still aching because his son was written off as merely "the spare." Rose Granger-Weasley, daughter of a Mudblood and a blood traitor, turns her nose up at Albus because he's friends with a Malfoy.
(I'm not saying The Cursed Child is perfect. It isn't, especially plotwise. I'm just saying that it's worth reading, because it delves into what Rowling didn't. )
Another thing. As we well know, Harry Potter suffers from a lack of diversity, both racially and otherwise. The Cursed Child (the play, I mean) cast Black actresses to play both Hermione and Rose Granger-Weasley. (!!!!! I know, right? So great.) In addition, although it's been confirmed that the late, the great Albus Dumbledore was in fact gay, he's the only canonically LGBTQ+ character in the Wizarding World thus far. Dare we hope Cursed Child is taking the first steps to change that? Nothing is stated explicitly, but. Reading the book, Scorpius's and Albus's interactions feel very much like the first steps towards romance. I'm gonna be honest with you: I ship it.
(Didn't I tell you it was going to be rambly? Hopefully it made sense. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ )
Anyway. If any of you have read it, feel free to tell us what you thought of it!
Happy reading, as always.
~Willow
