Book Review of “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” — (9/52)
(Re)Reading J.K. Rowling’s seminal work after seven years
If I put a tiny bit of effort, I can pretty much relive a part of my late childhood and teenage years simply by reading the Harry Potter series over again. I can still distinctly recall waiting for my parents to pick up the fifth book (Order of Phoenix) from our local Walmart store at midnight. Once they returned home with the new book, I would stay up all night to read it.
But, out of all the HP books, the first one will always have a special place in my heart. Not because it’s the first book in the series. Or, because it’s even that well-written (I feel the last book — Deathly Hallows — is the best one in the series in terms of writing and content). The first Harry Potter book is special to me because it was one of the first “big” books I read when I was learning how to read, write, and speak English.
Since I immigrated to the United States with my family at the age of seven from India, I had never been introduced to English before I stepped foot in this country. And, when I started school in the U.S., I was woefully behind and felt out-of-place because I didn’t really know the people around me and I knew the language even less. But, I found my solace in books. Over the next year, I worked my way up from books that featured big pictures and few words to books featuring many words and little to no illustrations. In that vein, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone [affiliate link] was the first time I ever read a book that contained more words than I knew what to do with at the time.
Of course, from the book’s first pages, I was immediately hooked. J.K. Rowling’s conversational, yet eloquent, style of writing sparked my imagination and allowed me to relate to the characters in a way I never had with other books. Harry’s journey to adjust in a completely new wizarding world mirrored my own journey to make it in the United States as an immigrant. Where Harry felt out of place, I felt out of place. In the instances where Harry missed home, I would miss home (India) too. And, the little triumphs Harry experiences in his first year at Hogwarts vaguely resembled some of my own during my first year in the American school system.
In essence, Harry’s transition to the wizarding world roughly mirrored my transition to the American way of life: Started off shaky, but ended up with some amazing moments.
Of course, as I grew older, more books from the series released in the intertwining years and I was able to tag along with Harry and his friends for all seven years of their life. However, since high school, I haven’t been able to read any of the books. And, something kept tugging at me to start re-reading the series from book one again.
I certainly wasn’t disappointed by this re-reading of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. In fact, I picked up on many funny moments, subtle nuances, and insightful ideas that had, for whatever reason, previously gone completely unnoticed by me.
The Funny Moments
While the Harry Potter series would, by no means, fall under the “comedy” category, for some reason, the first book was hilarious at times. In the opening pages, Rowling uses some clever choice of words while describing Harry’s cousin, Dudley:
“Aunt Petunia often said that Dudley looked like a baby angel — Harry often said that Dudley looked like a pig in a wig.” (Page 21)
Some short pages later, Harry has convinced his aunt and uncle to take him along with the rest of the family to the zoo (the Dursleys are celebrating Dudley’s birthday).
“While he drove, Uncle Vernon complained to Aunt Petunia. He liked to complain about things: people at work, Harry, the council, Harry, the bank, and Harry were just a few of his favorite subjects.” (Page 25)
A few more pages later, Harry finds himself anxiously awaiting the arrival of midnight, which will signify his birthday. Reflecting on birthdays of the past, Harry has this thought:
“Of course, his birthdays were never exactly fun — last year, the Dursleys had given him a coat hanger and a pair of Uncle Vernon’s old socks.” (Page 43)
Who in the world would give a child a coat hanger and some worn out socks as a birthday present?? Oh, yeah…the treacherous Dursleys!
The Subtle Nuances
For whatever reason, after reading this first book in the Harry Potter series, I picked up (or did a double take) on some moments that previously had not stood out to me. And, generally speaking, that makes sense since they are subtlely woven into the fabric of Rowling’s words that you may miss the hidden gem. Rereading the series is definitely a rewarding task in that sense.
For example, the Weasley twins, Fred and George, are seen at one point harassing Professor Quirrell, who wears a turban.
“One morning in mid-December, Hogwarts woke to find itself covered in several feet of snow. The lake froze solid and the Weasley twins were punished for bewitching several snowballs so they followed Quirrell around, bouncing off the back of his turban.” (Page 194)
*Cue the double take.*
In the book’s climax, it is revealed that Professor Quirrell wears a turban in order to hide the fact that the evil wizard, Voldemort, is on the other side of Quirrell’s head! So, the Weasley twins were unknowingly pelting snowballs at Lord Voldemort’s face (i.e. the back of Quirrell’s turban)! Insane tidbit.
The next “double take” moment for me was actually once the book had ended and Harry once again links up with his “muggle” aunt and uncle for the summer vacation. For some weird reason, “meeting” the Dursleys again at the end of the book made me think for a bit about why Dumbledore made the decision eleven years ago to leave Harry Potter on the Dursleys’ doorstep (thereby forcing the Dursleys to raise him until Harry went off to Hogwarts).
Fortunately, I ran into this Quora discussion on the first book centered around my very question. And, it was this insight from Quora user, Faguni Jain, that answered my question (and more).
So, in an odd and terrible way, having the Dursleys raise him helped Harry the most. Is your mind blown now?
I mean just think about it. Because the Dursleys treated him so horribly in their home, Harry came to truly love and appreciate Hogwarts as a second home. Of course, the castle would have been endearing to Harry nevertheless, but I feel that if we come from a bad experience (i.e. for Harry, living with the Dursleys), then having some good experiences are much more meaningful for us (we enjoy them more because we realize how much it hurt to be a part of the bad experiences). Additionally, living with the Dursleys where he was shown little to no love meant that Harry came to value and respect each and every relationship he made in the wizarding world.
The Insightful Ideas
Among the many funny moments and the subtle nuances of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone, there were a few deeply insightful ideas that shed some light on life and its mysteries. For example, once Harry and his first year pals were sorted by the Sorting Hat, the Headmaster, Albus Dumbledore, rises to give a short speech before the feast began. In light of the fact that the Sorting Hat had just finished singing an elaborate song that highlighted the merits of each of the four houses, Dumbledore took the time to say, “Ah, music…A magic beyond all we do here!” (Page 128).
As the book ends, Dumbledore leaves us with yet another tidbit of life’s complexities and distinct beauty when Harry questions Dumbledore as to why Quirrell wasn’t able to touch Harry while the two were fighting for the Stone:
“Your mother died to save you. If there is one thing Voldemort cannot understand, it is love. He didn’t realize that love as powerful as your mother’s for you leaves its own mark. Not a scar, no visible sign…to have been loved so deeply, even though the person who loved us is gone, will give us some protection forever. It is in your very skin. Quirrell, full of hatred, greed, and ambition, sharing his soul with Voldemort, could not touch you for this reason. It was agony to touch a person marked by something so good.” (Page 299)
Forget the “double take,” cue the water works!
Sources
Rowling, J. K. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone. New York, NY: Scholastic, 1999. Print.
Notes
This is the NINTH 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!
