Review: Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.

“‘After all, to the well-organized mind, death is but the next great adventure.'”

“Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” by J. K. Rowling

It’s always great to revisit the classics, and I don’t think anyone can (effectively) deny that the Harry Potter series by J. K. Rowling is a modern classic. Not only that, but the books are pretty quick reads, thus helping me boost the numbers toward my goal of 100 books this year. I won’t lie; the main reason I picked up Book One again to start through the series is to beef up my numbers, but, thankfully, it’s a very enjoyable little trick at that.

Just in case you’ve been living under a heavy rock for the last decade or so, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone (yes, yes, I have the American version) is the tale of a young man named (go on, guess it) Harry Potter, who lives in a cupboard under the stairs of his aunt and uncle’s house and discovers that he is actually a wizard. Not just any wizard, either. He is the Boy Who Lived, surviving an attack by the evil Voldemort when he was just a baby. The event left him orphaned, but it also left Voldemort powerless. But, as young Harry ships off to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, it appears that perhaps Voldemort is not so powerless after all…

This is the book that started it all, in all its charming, magical glory. One thing I noticed more in this recent reading was how heavily Rowling seemed to have relied on similes in the first half of the book; I didn’t notice it as much in the second half, but many of the things she describes are often being described as being “like” something else. It’ll be interesting to see if the following books have any little ticks like that which stand out that I might not have noticed before. It’s a debut book, though, not to mention incredibly successful, so I probably shouldn’t be sitting her, hashing out critique on writing crutches. The book is still incredibly cute, entertaining, and vividly imaginative. As always, finishing a Harry Potter book leaves my mind wild with ideas and still checking the sky for any owls that might have my own letter addressed in emerald-green ink…

Books read: 3/100.