Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone by J.K. Rowling
Hardcover, 320 Pages
2008, Scholastic Inc.
ISBN: 054506967X
Series: Book 1 of Harry Potter
Synopsis
Harry Potter has never been the star of a Quidditch team, scoring points while riding a broom far above the ground. He knows no spells, has never helped to hatch a dragon, and has never worn a cloak of invisibility.
All he knows is a miserable life with the Dursleys, his horrible aunt and uncle, and their abominable son, Dudley--a great big swollen spoiled bully. Harry's room is a tiny closet at the foot of the stairs, and he hasn't had a birthday party in eleven years.
But all of that is about to change when a mysterious letter arrives by owl messenger: a letter with an invitation to an incredible place that Harry--and anyone who reads about him--will find unforgettable.
For it's there that he finds not only friends, aerial sports, and magic in everything from classes to meals, but a great destiny that's been waiting for him...if Harry can survive the encounter.
Review
I read Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone for the first time right before the movie adaptation was released. I was a bit behind the already numerous series fans, but still managed to experience Harry before he took the remaining non-reading, but movie-loving world by storm. I read the books. I saw the movies. A lot. And as I patiently, yet sadly, await the release of the final part of the final movie, I finally sat down to re-read the series in its entirety.
I could rave maniacally over the utter perfection that is Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, but I won't. That's been done. To death. Over 4,700 5-star reviews on Amazon.com alone.
What I will do is point out the things that became very obvious to me during this re-reading of the book. So many things became clear years later, that I never noticed or appreciated at the time of the first reading. As much as I'd like to take credit for being older and therefore wiser, the real truth of it was I became so enamored with the book from the first chapter that I devoured it as quickly as possible. Needing to know what happened, needing to experience this new and fantastical world, I read as fast as I could - totally glossing over things I wish I'd took the time to notice the first time around.
We all know Harry Potter is a wonderful story. Arguably the best of its generation. But I never noticed how wonderful the writing was until this re-read. This new world, complete in every minute detail, is world building at its finest. Never is the reader confused as to how the world is supposed to work or appear. Never do we stumble over the many invented words. The story flows so smoothly that you never realize how huge an endeavor this must have been for the author.
As the first book in a series, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone lays the groundwork for everything to come. Harry's relationship with the Dursley's. Harry's friendship with Ron and Hermoine. Harry's rivalry with Malfoy. The tone is set for Harry's future interactions with Dumbledore, Hagrid, and Snape. So much character interaction, coupled with the introduction of both Hogwarts and the magical community as a whole, in such a small book. We know Rowling can write a doorstopper, so fitting all of these important things into barely 300 pages is nothing short of miraculous.
More than just magical adventure, Rowling weaves some charming humor into the Harry Potter world from the get-go. Naming Filch's mean, old cat Mrs. Norris - genius. And the school song. How did I miss that? It's ridiculous and wonderful all at the same time.
Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone is often dismissed in favor of the later, darker books in the series, but I think that's a mistake. The entire series hinges on what is contained in this one book. The magnificence this series reaches by the end is only possible by the limitless imagination Rowling puts forth in Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone.
Rating
Links
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