Book Review of “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” — (13/52)
J.K. Rowling’s third installment in the Harry Potter series introduces Harry to his Godfather.
If you missed my book review of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone and Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets earlier, then please read those as well. Preferably, before starting this review.
The first two Harry Potter films were directed by Christopher Columbus (not the explorer who found America in 1492, but the guy who gave us The Goonies and Home Alone, in 1985 and 1990, respectively). The first two films were a mega-success and they catapulted Daniel Radcliffe (Harry), Emma Watson (Hermione), and Rupert Grint (Ron) to superstardom at a young age.
However, after directing the first two Potter films, Columbus moved on and another director by the name of Alfonso Cuarón — who would, in 2014, go on to win the Academy Award for Best Director for the 2013 film, Gravity, starring Sandra Bullock and George Clooney — was selected to direct the third film. When Cuarón arrived to the sets of Prisoner of Azkaban, he was determined to get to know a bit about the child actors who played the three major characters.
As a result, he gave Radcliffe, Watson, and Grint an assignment: Write a short essay about their respective characters. The end result? True to their roles, Emma Watson turned in a 16-page paper (Hermione would be proud!), Daniel Radcliffe submitted a one-page paper, and Rupert Grint never turned one in (Ron would also be proud!).
While Radcliffe and Grint may not have been as vigilant as needed for Cuarón’s assignment, their characters in the magical world, now starting their third year at Hogwarts, had to immediately remain nothing but vigilant since a serial killer named Sirius Black had broke out of the wizard prison, Azkaban.
In this third iteration of the series, I again felt that Rowling had increased her writing acumen from the last book because the plot felt much more involved and unpredictable. In this book, Harry, for understandable reasons, was also much more temperamental and prone to acting irrationally. At one point, he became so fed up with the safety of the castle that he wanted to go seek out Black and murder him (Harry erroneously believed that Black had betrayed Harry’s parents and, as a result, got them killed). To their credit, Hermione and Ron did an admirable job of reining Harry in and preventing him from causing even more harm to himself due to his bull-headed ways.
As I have done in the past two Harry Potter book review posts, I will break this post down to three categories: the funny moments, the subtle nuances, and the insightful ideas (my favorite of the three).
The Funny Moments
Ostensibly, it is readily apparent that the Potter series is slowly beginning to turn darker. Even though Lord Voldemort is still wandering around Europe weak and feeble, the wizarding world continues to act with precaution. However, there are still moments of comedic gusto aptly sprinkled here and there by Rowling.
As we all know, Harry returned every summer to the terrible Dursley family once the school term ended at Hogwarts.
For years, Aunt Petunia and Uncle Vernon had hoped that if they kept Harry as downtrodden as possible, they would be able to squash the magic out of him. To their fury, they had been unsuccessful. (Page 2)
Apparently, as terrible as the Dursleys were, they always made sure the children were well fed. By the use of the word “children,” Harry, by tradition, is excluded. That only leaves Dudley, Harry’s cousin. And, trust me, Dudley was very well fed.
They were watching a brand-new television, a welcome-home-for-the-summer present for Dudley, who had been complaining loudly about the long walk between the fridge and the television in the living room. Dudley had spent most of the summer in the kitchen, his piggy little eyes fixed on the screen and his five chins wobbling as he ate continually. (Page 16)
A few pages later, Harry finds himself meeting up with Ron and his family at the Leaky Cauldron. At dinner that same night, Fred and George seize the perfect opportunity to make fun of their older brother, Percy Weasley, who has just been awarded the prestigious “Head Boy” position at Hogwarts.
“The Ministry’s providing a couple of cars,” said Mr. Weasley.
Everyone looked up at him.
“Why?” said Percy curiously.
“It’s because of you, Perce,” said George seriously. “And there’ll be little flags on the hoods, with HB on them — ”
“ — for Humongous Bighead,” said Fred.
Everyone except Percy and Mrs. Weasley snorted into their pudding. (Page 63)
The Subtle Nuances
While at this point in the series, there haven’t been too many contradictory statements being made, I found a piece of Mr. Weasley’s advice to be both a safety measure and a hindrance at times. Mr. Weasley once advised, “Never trust anything that can think for itself, if you can’t see where it keeps its brain.”
Surely, Mr. Weasley was well-intentioned when giving this advice to the younger characters in the series, but I have found that this advice falters at times. For example, the Marauder’s Map that Harry gets in this third book from the Weasley twins affords him the opportunity to stealthily navigate the castle when normally he would not have been permitted to do so. The Invisibility Cloak is also another example. Mr. Weasley himself owned the flying Ford Anglia that Harry and Ron took to Hogwarts in the second book.
Another example of something whose brain is not readily visibly is the Dementor. The Dementors function by “sucking” the soul from a human being. Therefore, it is one of the worst ways to die as a wizard. The Dementors are also charged with wardening Azkaban, the prison from which Sirius escaped.
In researching for this book review, I came across an Oprah interview that J.K. Rowling gave shortly after the publication of the seventh and final book. In it, Rowling discusses the foul and treacherous Dementors. She asserted that while writing the third book and earlier in her life, she suffered from clinical depression and, as a result, the feeling of utter hopelessness (commonly a symptom of depression) caused by the Dementors is rooted in Rowling’s personal experience with depression. Dementors, just like Depression, operate and exist to evaporate all joy and meaning out of a person’s life, which is why their mere presence affects Harry and the other characters so negatively.
The Insightful Ideas
If I ever need an insightful idea from the Harry Potter series, I know to thumb through and find the passages during which Dumbledore makes an appearance. In the third book, Dumbledore serves an ancillary role until the ending. At this point, Harry feels a twinge of regret at allowing Peter Pettigrew (who did betray Harry’s parents) escape while Sirius, Harry’s Godfather, would remain an escaped prisoner.
“But — I stopped Sirius and Professor Lupin from killing Pettigrew! That makes it my fault if Voldemort comes back!”
“It does not,” said Dumbledore quietly. “Hasn’t your experience with the Time-Turner taught you anything, Harry? The consequences of our actions are always so complicated, so diverse, that predicting the future is a very difficult business indeed. . . . Professor Trelawney, bless her, is living proof of that. . . . You did a very noble thing, in saving Pettigrew’s life.”
( Page 426)
Dumbledore goes on to add the following:
“Pettigrew owes his life to you. You have sent Voldemort a deputy who is in your debt. When one wizard saves another wizard’s life, it creates a certain bond between them . . . and I’m much mistaken if Voldemort wants his servant in the debt of Harry Potter.”
“I don’t want a bond with Pettigrew!” said Harry. “He betrayed my parents!”
“This is magic at its deepest, its most impenetrable, Harry. But trust me . . . the time may come when you will be very glad you saved Pettigrew’s life.” (Page 427)
All of Dumbledore’s words ring true. Later in the series, Pettigrew pays back his debt to Harry with his life, which allows Harry to live on. The part that caught my attention was Dumbledore’s sage observation regarding the complexities of our decisions and how much they do or do not shape our future.
His words serve as a strong reminder to me about the power of being in the “here and now.” There are just so many variables and infinitely many permutations that our future holds, we can never control all of them. So, it behooves all of us to just live life as it’s meant to be lived: In the present.
Sources
Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. New York, NY: Arthur A. Levine, 1999. Print.
Notes
This is the THIRTEENTH post (out of 52 in total eventually) that is a part of my 2015 Book Reading Challenge.
If you liked this post, then please hit the green “Recommend” button below — thanks in advance!
