Losing my Harry Potter virginity #3: The Prisoner of Azkaban

“Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” by J.K. Rowling. Published by Bloomsbury in 2013 (originally 1999).

English version below

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Fangen fra Azkaban. Sirius Black. Så nåede jeg så langt, og hvor må jeg dog udtrykke min kæmpe begejstring for denne bog i rækken (hvorfor denne x-small kommentar nok også udvider sig til en medium kommentar – bare with me)!

“A mass of filthy, matted hair hung to his elbows. If eyes hadn’t been shining out of the deep, dark sockets, he might have been a corpse. The waxy skin was stretched so tightly over the bones of his face, it looked like a skull. His yellow teeth were bared in a grin. It was Sirius Black.”

Jeg blev faktisk følelsesmæssigt påvirket – mange gange. Medlidenhed med Hagrid, frustration over skæbnens uretfærdige gang, frygt for Hermiones mentale helbred. Faktisk følte jeg, Harry i denne tredje bog måtte træde lidt tilbage i billedet sammenlignet med hans konstante meget fremtrædende rolle i de to foregående. Jeg nød virkelig, at andre karakterer måtte komme til og få rum – selvom alting jo naturligvis stadig drejer sig om Harry wonderboy.

Rowlings noget mere sammenvævede plot her i The Prisoner of Azkaban end i de to første, er nok det element, jeg værdsatte mest. Der droppes hints til konklusionen helt fra første kapitel, og trådende samles, synes jeg, ganske elegant i forløsningen til sidst. Som også i både ettere og toeren, følte jeg Rowling gav den lige nok gas over se sidste tre kapitler, som havde et kæmpe forløsningsansvar hvilende på sine skuldre. Der går lige lidt for meget “skurken-bruger-en-time-på-at-udpensle-hele-sin-plan-for-offeret-inden-han-gør-det-af-med-ham” i den til min smag. Denne meget komprimerede, intense afslutning har utvivlsomt den ønskede effekt på mig, men helt rationelt, synes jeg, der på en måde går lidt for meget børnebog i den (men granted – det er jo egentlig det, den er).

På Goodreads har jeg givet bogen fire stjerner og gav faktisk megen tanke til min rating. Jeg var overvældet af følelser efter at havde vendt den sidste side og kunne have været tilbøjelig til at poppe en fem-stjerne. Men jeg lod være. Rowling er i min optik fantastisk til at bygge verdener og planlægge komplicerede plots, men sproget er alligevel en tand for fladt til, at den kan være en ægte femmer for mig.

Herfra giver jeg mig i kast med den fjerde i rækken, The Goblet of Fire, som jeg hiver med mig på flyet til Florida på søndag! Jep. Så skulle der være nok at tage sig til på den ti timers flyvetur. Sol, sommer, American boys og britiske Harry.

The Prisoner of Azkaban. Sirius Black. Then I got this far and I must express my great enthusiasm for this book in the series (which is why this x-small comment probably expands into a medium comment – bare with me)!

 “A mass of filthy, matted hair hung to his elbows. If eyes hadn’t been shining out of the deep, dark sockets, he might have been a corpse. The waxy skin was stretched so tightly over the bones of his face, it looked like a skull. His yellow teeth were bared in a grin. It was Sirius Black.”

I was actually very emotionally affected by this third book – many times. Sympathizing with Hagrid, frustration over the unfairness of fate, fear for Hermione’s mental health. In fact, I felt that Harry, in this third book, stepped back a little and dominated the story less compared with his constant very prominent role in the previous two. I really enjoyed that other characters were able to come forward and get some space – even though all things, of course, still revolves around Harry wonderboy.

Rowling’s somewhat more interwoven plot here in The Prisoner of Azkaban than in the first two, is probably the element that I appreciated the most. Hints are dropped about the conclusion from the very first chapter, and the threads are gathered, I think, quite elegantly when it all comes together at the end. Like both in book one and two, I felt that Rowling gave it just a little too much gas throughout the last three chapters, which had a huge responsibility of redemption resting on their shoulders. It became too much of “the-villain-spends-an-hour-elaborating-his-plan-for-the-victim-before-he-does-him-in” for my taste. This highly compressed, intense ending undoubtedly had the desired effect on me, but rationally, I found it too children’s book like (which – granted – really is what it is).

On Goodreads I gave the book four stars and actually gave much thought to my rating. I was overcome with emotion after having turned the last page and I might have been inclined to pop a five star. But I didn’t. Rowling is in my opinion, very talented at building worlds and planning complex plots, but the language is still a bit too flat to make it a genuine fiver for me.

From here I’ll throw myself into the fourth, The Goblet of Fire, which I’ll bring on the flight to Florida on Sunday! Yep. So there should be plenty to do for the ten-hour flight. Sun, summer, American boys and British Harry.