Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone (Harry Potter, #1)

by J.K. Rowling

[Jo]

Since watching the very last Harry Potter movie recently, I was bitten by the bug again and decided to re-read the series. It had been quite a few years since I last read Philosopher's Stone, as several years back I decided I prefered the latter books to the first ones and would start from them instead of from the beginning. So picking up the first book again after all these years was really nice!

There was so much I had forgotten about! Just how nasty the Dursleys were originally, Harry and Hermione getting caught after giving Norbert to Charlie's mates, the way the centaurs behaved in the forest, Snapes potion test underneath the trap door! Just so much was re-discovered, and I did go back to being the 11-year-old I was when I originally read this book. The wonder and the excitement all came rushing back.

What I did notice was how younng the writing style was, Harry is definitely a child. I am now reading Chamber of Secrets, and even in one school year, there is a noticeable difference. The language is less simple, and Harry is less self-absorbed - the business with his parents in the mirror didn't show him in the best light.

As I said earlier, I stopped reading the first few books quite a few years back, while I continued to re-read the others. What surprised me the most was how little actually happens. Obviously, the other books are quite long, so there'squite a lot of page time for different events, but I'd forgotten that little happened in the first compared to the latter. In that sense, it was slightly anticlimatical.

However, still a very enjoyable read, and I can still see why I and everyone else, loved this series so much! Completely absorbing!

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Dated 22/08/18:

Just quick notes for this re-read. Either Rowling wrote Philosopher’s Stone with a younger audience - who would grow older as Harry did - in mind, or she became a better writer over time. There are aspects of the story I felt she would have spent more time on was this written around the same time as Goblet of Fire. We don’t get much of the lessons, the fight with the troll happens real quick, as does getting past each obstacle under the trap door. Yet in later books, much more time is spent on things. I think, this time round. I would have preferred a longer book. But still awesome.