Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone

READING IN ENGLISH

► Title : Harry Potter and te Philospher's Stone
     Author : J.K. Rowling
     Released in 1997
     Read in March
     Publisher : Editions Bloomsbury (London Berlin  New-York)
     Literary genre : fantasy / youth literature

► Back cover : 

Harry Potter has never even heard of Hogwarts when the letters start dropping on the doormat at number four, Privet Drive. Addressed in green ink on yellowish parchment with a purple seal, they are swiftly confiscated by his grisly aunt and uncle. Then, on Harry's eleventh birthday, a great beetle-eyed giant of a man called Rubeus Hagrid bursts in with some astonishing news: Harry Potter is a wizard, and he has a place at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. An incredible adventure is about to begin! These new editions of the classic and internationally bestselling, multi-award-winning series feature instantly pick-up-able new jackets by Jonny Duddle, with huge child appeal, to bring Harry Potter to the next generation of readers. It's time to PASS THE MAGIC ON .

→ french review

Pauline, it's for you. ♥

     At long last ! I read it! Pauline (Satine’s Books) said and said and said to me “Read it, read it!!”. She absolutely loves this saga and now I can finally understand why. Funny thing by the way, I tried, many times, to read this book in french, I tried so hard but I have never been able to read more than one chapter. It was as if something was telling me “No, read it in english, please”. I decided to start reading it carefully in the language of Shakespeare. and the magic enchanted me. 

     Now, the most difficult part of my review is trying to express my opinion, to express my feeling and write something with heart, to write something with all my passion. Everybody knows Harry Potter, the famous wizard. Everybody. Even if you haven’t read the books or watch the movies, you must have heard of Harry Potter and his friends. It is hard to describe and to talk about this wonderful saga, I don’t know what to say, what to add. Words escape me this time, I have lived this story as if I was at Hogwarts; with my eyes filled with stars. 

     J.K. Rowling created a wonderful world with some amazing characters. Harry, Ron, Hermione, Draco, many teenagers figures you can meet, whether you like them or hate them. The real narrative force of this novel lies in how the author makes her protagonists vibrant and realist, how she makes them so lovely or detestable. It is really impressive when you know the story since you have watched the movie. Harry is the most important, the chosen one but the other are not ignored and forgotten, on the contrary, everybody has his role to play. 

    If I can give you an advice: take your magic wand and your broomstick, it’s time to become a wizard. The first volume of the saga enables the discovery of Hogwarts, of wizardry and a lot of other things. I have loved discovering this fantastic world and learning wizardry’s lessons with some odd professor. I was like a student, trying to understand and repeat – the most correctly possible – the magic spell. I don’t know if you imagine the scene, this have something very funny. In fact, throughout all the reading, I read aloud, playing with sounds and pronunciations. I confess, I tried to improve my accent but it is a big flop! 

Image par Waldo Miguez de Pixabay

     Friendship is in the heart of the story, Harry, Ron and Hermione form a great trio and embody numerous values: bravery, assistance, love, determination… Together, they brave danger, trap and unexpected situation. They prove that the power of friendship is incomparable and amazing. I understand, finally, why Harry Potter’s story has such a popularity. It’s just crazy. I wanted to turned quickly each page to know how to the story continues even if I knew it. This book is a great tale which makes me feel a lot of emotions: love, kindness, fear, happiness, sadness and even anxiety. 

     I realise that it is not really a review but more a feeling, the feeling of my english experience. It was a very good one, better than my tries in French. I am proud of myself since I read it and, especially, it loved it. I improved my english (I guess) and learned a lot of vocabulary. It was a really good reading, an exciting et captivating one. Thanks to the book, I recollected details that I have forgotten or missed. Now, I have to buy the next volume and recover the lovely characters. 

     To put it in a nutshell, I enjoyed read the book and (re)discover this fantastic world and its wonderful protagonists. Hogwarts, wizardry, broomstick, lesson, quidditch, J.K. Rowling created unique, fascinating and absolute universe. I love the characters or I hate them, they are so realists and funny. Read Harry Potter is like enter in another world, a magic world, an amazing world… Let yourself be driven by words and their power. 

A very big thanks to Killian for the correction.

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