Books I read in Lockdown: Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (SPOILERS)

**"The narrow path had opened suddenly onto the edge of a great black lake. Perched atop a high mountain on the other side, its windows sparkling in the starry sky, was a vast castle with many turrets and towers..." (pg 119)

You can also read Part 2: Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets review here

So, I decided to re-read Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone properly, for the first time in quite a few years. I first read this novel aged 10, when my aunt decided it was time for me to be introduced to the wizarding world, and she would send me the books in the post each time I finished the last.

I have learnt, not that I really ever doubted it, that this book is still as magical, gripping and absolutely enchanting as it ever was! I read this book in one morning just as I did the very first time and I firmly believe that this book will never fail to have people completely lost for several hours - the pages just seem to fly by.

The description in Rowling's books can be described as nothing short of sublime. The quote I chose to start this post with perfectly encapsulates just what I mean here. The first description of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry is for me the defining moment of this entire franchise and the moment in which Hogwarts became a symbol of worldwide interest.  It is this beauty, alongside other descriptions such as the bewitched ceiling of the Great Hall with its "thousands and thousands of candles which were floating in mid-air" (page 124) that captured me at a young age and still manages to do that.

For me one of the main things that cemented my love for this series from a young age was Rowling's ability to create a completely magical, fictional world but fill it with so many easy to relate to characters. Aside from being wizards and witches, Harry, Ron, Hermione and their teachers and peers could easily be characters in our own lives. Harry; orphaned, abused and bullied finds himself thrown into a school full of people he deems to be more able, and more important than himself and suffers anxiety when first arriving there. Ron; one of many siblings, ashamed of his poor family background despite being a pure-blooded wizard is constantly aware of his appearance, second hand belongings and feels overshadowed by the successes and popularity of his older brothers. Hermione; or little miss "I've learnt all our set books of by heart, of course" (page 113), is a muggle in a world where she will struggle to belong, desperate for friends and acceptance as well as academic success has slightly off putting personality traits to begin with and a bossy attitude but is a personality I'm sure we have all come across in our own school lives. At the initial age of 10, it was these accessible and therefore highly lovable characters that made me feel like it was a world in which I could vicariously belong.

Something else I enjoy about this book and indeed the whole series is that Rowling writes in third person. Given that Harry is the central character, the books could quite easily have been first person and it would have worked. However, the use of third person means we get a much much larger understanding of all the characters and of course events that are happening simultaneously, giving the books so much depth of plot.

I am a massive, dedicated Harry Potter fan and it will feature heavily on this blog however, I do have two major issues with this book one of which pretty much follows through the whole series. So, first up, and specifically about the Philosopher's Stone - how and why does Dumbledore not know that Voldemort is under Professor Quirrell's turban? Albus Dumbledore is supposedly the greatest wizard of all time, an excellent legilimens and the only wizard that Voldemort is afraid of, yet he doesn't notice at any point during the year that one of his professors is literally harboring Voldemort on the back of his head. Just seems odd to me, but it is a great plot.

Secondly, is poor Ron. Now, this is an issue that I have with the entire series and its mostly just that I wish Rowing gave Ron a few more story lines. Harry is obviously central to the whole series and is an excellent student/wizard, fairly academic, great quidditch player, famous etc; and then Hermione is a really high academic achiever, logical, gets a fairly decent plot line in the third book due to the time turner and later in the series becomes stunning and desirable. Ron is praised in the first book for his wizard chess skills and yes, he is there for all the important things that happen to Harry, but besides that he spends most of the series as a third wheel to Harry and Hermione's excellence until he turns up in the last book and saves Harry from the pool. His sister Ginny gets her time to shine in the second book, and then you get pretty big plot lines surrounding other students like Cedric Diggory, Cho Chang, Neville Longbottom. Where is Ron's major plot line?

All that being said, obviously it is one of my favourite books of all time and I do love all the characters. The Philosopher's Stone is definitely one of the best books in the series and I think some of the settings have the best descriptions out of the whole series, especially Diagon Alley and Gringotts bank. Definitley a book I will continue to re-read throughout my life and I don't regret any of my decisions to keep buying more copies of the series. I would say I have a very healthy interest in Harry Potter... albeit, quite a big interest!

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone is definitely worthy of 5 stars.  

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

** all quotes and page numbers mentioned in this post are in reference to J.K. Rowling, 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone' (Bloomsbury Publishing, London, 2014) ISBN 978-1-4088-5565-2

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