Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Book 1)

by J.K. Rowling

book data

146497 ratings, 4.18 average rating, 7933 reviews (more data...)

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published

September 6th 2000 (first published 1997) by Raincoast Books

binding

Hardcover, 223 pages

isbn

1551923963 (isbn13: 9781551923963)

description

Say you've spent the first 10 years of your life sleeping under the stairs of a family who loathes you. Then, in an absurd, magical twist of fate you...more

[close] Say you've spent the first 10 years of your life sleeping under the stairs of a family who loathes you. Then, in an absurd, magical twist of fate you find yourself surrounded by wizards, a caged snowy owl, a phoenix-feather wand, and jellybeans that come in every flavor, including strawberry, curry, grass, and sardine. Not only that, but you discover that you are a wizard yourself! This is exactly what happens to young Harry Potter in J.K. Rowling's enchanting, funny debut novel, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. In the nonmagic human world--the world of "Muggles"--Harry is a nobody, treated like dirt by the aunt and uncle who begrudgingly inherited him when his parents were killed by the evil Voldemort. But in the world of wizards, small, skinny Harry is famous as a survivor of the wizard who tried to kill him. He is left only with a lightning-bolt scar on his forehead, curiously refined sensibilities, and a host of mysterious powers to remind him that he's quite, yes, altogether different from his aunt, uncle, and spoiled, piglike cousin Dudley.

A mysterious letter, delivered by the friendly giant Hagrid, wrenches Harry from his dreary, Muggle-ridden existence: "We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Of course, Uncle Vernon yells most unpleasantly, "I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!" Soon enough, however, Harry finds himself at Hogwarts with his owl Hedwig... and that's where the real adventure--humorous, haunting, and suspenseful--begins. Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, first published in England as Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, continues to win major awards in England. So far it has won the National Book Award, the Smarties Prize, the Children's Book Award, and is short-listed for the Carnegie Medal, the U.K. version of the Newbery Medal. This magical, gripping, brilliant book--a future classic to be sure--will leave kids clamoring for Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets and Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. (Ages 8 to 13) --Karin Snelson [close]

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Harold rated it:

(review of isbn 0439554934)

05/29/07

bookshelves: therabblement

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in June, 2000

recommends it for: children, the carrion-eaters of scholarship

Can 35 Million Book Buyers Be Wrong? Yes.

Taking arms against Harry Potter, at this moment, is to emulate Hamlet taking arms against a sea of troubles. By opposing the sea, you won't end it. The Harry Potter epiphenomenon will go on, doubtless for some time, as J. R. R. Tolkien did, and then wane.

The official newspaper of our dominant counter-culture, The New York Times, has been startled by the Potter books into establishing a new policy for its not very literate book review. Rath...more Can 35 Million Book Buyers Be Wrong? Yes.

Taking arms against Harry Potter, at this moment, is to emulate Hamlet taking arms against a sea of troubles. By opposing the sea, you won't end it. The Harry Potter epiphenomenon will go on, doubtless for some time, as J. R. R. Tolkien did, and then wane.

The official newspaper of our dominant counter-culture, The New York Times, has been startled by the Potter books into establishing a new policy for its not very literate book review. Rather than crowd out the Grishams, Clancys, Crichtons, Kings, and other vastly popular prose fictions on its fiction bestseller list, the Potter volumes will now lead a separate children's list. J. K. Rowling, the chronicler of Harry Potter, thus has an unusual distinction: She has changed the policy of the policy-maker.

Imaginative Vision

I read new children's literature, when I can find some of any value, but had not tried Rowling until now. I have just concluded the 300 pages of the first book in the series, "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone," purportedly the best of the lot. Though the book is not well written, that is not in itself a crucial liability. It is much better to see the movie, "The Wizard of Oz," than to read the book upon which it was based, but even the book possessed an authentic imaginative vision. "Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone" does not, so that one needs to look elsewhere for the book's (and its sequels') remarkable success. Such speculation should follow an account of how and why Harry Potter asks to be read.

The ultimate model for Harry Potter is "Tom Brown's School Days" by Thomas Hughes, published in 1857. The book depicts the Rugby School presided over by the formidable Thomas Arnold, remembered now primarily as the father of Matthew Arnold, the Victorian critic-poet. But Hughes' book, still quite readable, was realism, not fantasy. Rowling has taken "Tom Brown's School Days" and re-seen it in the magical mirror of Tolkein. The resultant blend of a schoolboy ethos with a liberation from the constraints of reality-testing may read oddly to me, but is exactly what millions of children and their parents desire and welcome at this time.

In what follows, I may at times indicate some of the inadequacies of "Harry Potter." But I will keep in mind that a host are reading it who simply will not read superior fare, such as Kenneth Grahame's "The Wind in the Willows" or the "Alice" books of Lewis Carroll. Is it better that they read Rowling than not read at all? Will they advance from Rowling to more difficult pleasures?

Rowling presents two Englands, mundane and magical, divided not by social classes, but by the distinction between the "perfectly normal" (mean and selfish) and the adherents of sorcery. The sorcerers indeed seem as middle-class as the Muggles, the name the witches and wizards give to the common sort, since those addicted to magic send their sons and daughters off to Hogwarts, a Rugby school where only witchcraft and wizardry are taught. Hogwarts is presided over by Albus Dumbeldore as Headmaster, he being Rowling's version of Tolkein's Gandalf. The young future sorcerers are just like any other budding Britons, only more so, sports and food being primary preoccupations. (Sex barely enters into Rowling's cosmos, at least in the first volume.)

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The first half of a little piece I wrote from the Journal in July 2000. Rest is available at [http://wrt-brooke.syr.edu/courses/205.03/bloom.html]....less

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Mike rated it:

(review of isbn 0439554934)

09/04/07

Read in January, 2003

I'm not going to comment on the literary shortcomings of this book, the cliches, the painfully long narrative, the fact that the characters will not think about an issue for months, but then suddenly it becomes important again. Smarter people than me have already said all this.

What bothers me about the Harry Potter universe is its characterization of magic. Why is magic so easy in the Harry Potter universe? It's only moderately a matter of skill to use magic. Magic is mostly saying the corre...more I'm not going to comment on the literary shortcomings of this book, the cliches, the painfully long narrative, the fact that the characters will not think about an issue for months, but then suddenly it becomes important again. Smarter people than me have already said all this.

What bothers me about the Harry Potter universe is its characterization of magic. Why is magic so easy in the Harry Potter universe? It's only moderately a matter of skill to use magic. Magic is mostly saying the correct word with the correct intonation and the correct flourish of the wand and boom! you've done something magical. If it were only for small things I don't think this would bother me so much, but the same works for more serious things, like killing someone.

There is so much that is contrary to logic (and I don't mean science, I mean how reasonable people would behave) in the magic of Harry Potter that it drives me crazy. Why is the magical world so separated from the real world? What is their interaction? If magic works in the muggle world, what is preventing someone like Voldemort from completely taking over the muggle world? What is preventing any character from killing any other character by simpling saying the killing curse at any time? Human decency? Obviously there are a lot of characters in the books that don't have any. This never made any sense to me.

I would like to draw a comparison with (and I'm sure people on a site about reading books will crucify me for mentioning TV, which is obviously incapable of being an art form) Buffy the Vampire Slayer. In Buffy, every time you use magic, you pay for it. For little things, like floating a pencil, you pay for it in concentration, and maybe a little physical energy, but not more than going for a walk. However, the more you take, the more you have to give back in one form or another. The show is not always entirely consistent on this, but the idea makes sense. To bring someone back from the dead, you have to kill something else, or pay some other kind of price. If you want to kill someone, there is a physical price, a mental price. Nothing is free. In Harry Potter, it seems like everything is free.

It's always put me off, and every time a fan tries to explain to me why I'm wrong it sounds like a deus ex machina, or just a plain old stretch.

Also, quidditch is the most pointless sport ever created. Only in 1 game out of 1000 does anything 99% of the action matter to the outcome of the game. Only the seeker and the bludgers mean anything....less

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Jason rated it:

(review of isbn 0439554934)

02/08/08

Has a copy to sell/swap — Read in January, 2002

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

The novel begins with the wizarding world's celebration of the downfall of Lord Voldemort, an evil, powerful and cruel Dark wizard. killing Lily and James Potter, Voldemort attempted to kill one-year-old Harry Potter, but the curse rebounded upon him, destroying his body and leaving a lightning-bolt scar on Harry's forehead. Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall and Gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid leave Harry on the doorstep of his ultra-conventional and unsympathetic Muggle relatives, the Dursley famil...more The novel begins with the wizarding world's celebration of the downfall of Lord Voldemort, an evil, powerful and cruel Dark wizard. killing Lily and James Potter, Voldemort attempted to kill one-year-old Harry Potter, but the curse rebounded upon him, destroying his body and leaving a lightning-bolt scar on Harry's forehead. Professors Dumbledore and McGonagall and Gamekeeper Rubeus Hagrid leave Harry on the doorstep of his ultra-conventional and unsympathetic Muggle relatives, the Dursley family. Petunia Dursley is the sister of Harry's mother Lily, although Petunia never approved of her magical sister. The Dursleys resolve to conceal Harry's magical heritage from him, and mistreat him while overindulging their own son Dudley. They tell Harry that his parents' deaths and his scar were caused by a car accident.

Shortly before Harry's eleventh birthday, he receives a mysterious letter addressed specifically to him. His outraged uncle reads and burns the letter before Harry can see it. The sender does not capitulate, and the Dursleys receive increasingly greater numbers of the same correspondence over the next few days. Soon, his uncle becomes so paranoid that the Dursleys, with Harry in tow, hide in a hut on a small island to escape. That night, Hagrid bursts through the hut's locked door. As Hagrid holds the Dursleys at bay, Harry finally reads his letter in which he learns he has been invited to study magic at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. The next day, Harry and Hagrid leave the hut and head to London's magic hub Diagon Alley via famous wizarding pub The Leaky Cauldron. Harry enters the wizarding world for the first time, learns to his surprise that he is famous for his defeat of Voldemort, and meets the new Hogwarts Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher, Professor Quirrell. He returns to the Dursleys and a month later, takes the train to Hogwarts from Platform Nine and Three Quarters at King's Cross Station. On the trip to Hogwarts, Harry befriends Ron Weasley and meets the forgetful Neville Longbottom and Hermione Granger, a precocious, if bossy, Muggle-born witch.
Upon arrival, the Sorting Hat places Harry, Ron, Hermione and Neville in Gryffindor House, one of the four houses at Hogwarts. Draco Malfoy, an arrogant and elitist student, is placed in Slytherin. At the end of his first week at Hogwarts, Harry and Ron discover that the wizarding bank Gringotts was robbed, and a vault that Harry and Hagrid visited had been the subject of the burglary. Later, Harry discovers he has a talent for riding broomsticks, and after a broom-mounted game of keep away with Malfoy over Neville's Remembrall, he is recruited to join Gryffindor's Quidditch team as Seeker. He is the youngest Quidditch player at the school in a century, much to Malfoy's displeasure.

Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville in Hogwarts' halls late at night, accidentally stumble across the door to a corridor on the third floor that they had been warned not to enter, finding in the corridor a monstrous three-headed dog, christened Fluffy by Hagrid, that guards a trapdoor. On Halloween, Quirrell informs everyone that a troll has entered the castle and is in the dungeon. As the rest of the students are ushered to their dorms, Ron and Harry remember overhearing that Hermione is in the girls' bathroom crying because Ron insulted her, and they realise that she would not know about the troll. The two of them go to the girls' bathroom, fight the troll, and save Hermione. When confronted by Professor McGonagall over why they did not go back to their dorms when directed, Hermione defends the boys and takes the blame, which results in the three becoming best friends.
At Harry's first Quidditch match, Harry's broom becomes jinxed, nearly knocking him off. Hermione sees Professor Severus Snape, the sinister Potions master, staring at Harry and mouthing words, leading her to believe that Snape has cursed the broom. Hoping to save Harry, she runs to Snape, accidentally knocking over Professor Quirrell in the process. Hermione secretly sets Snape's robes on fire, distracting him and others and allowing Harry to survive and catch the Snitch to win the game for Gryffindor.

At Christmas, Harry receives an Invisibility Cloak, once belonging to his father, which renders its wearer invisible. Harry uses it to explore the Restricted Section in the library to learn about Nicolas Flamel, a name Hagrid let slip when confronted about his knowledge of Fluffy. On being discovered in the library by caretaker Argus Filch, Harry escapes to an unused classroom in which he finds the Mirror of Erised, which shows Harry standing amongst his entire family. After three nights of returning to the mirror, once accompanied by Ron, Harry is confronted by Dumbledore, who explains that the mirror shows nothing more or less than our deepest desires: Harry sees his family, while Ron sees himself achieving more than his older brothers. Dumbledore explains that the mirror gives neither knowledge or truth and that men have wasted away before it, entranced by what they see. Dumbledore tells Harry the mirror is to be moved, and if he sees it again, he will be prepared. Eventually, Harry learns (through Dumbledore's Chocolate Frog card) that "Nicolas Flamel is the only known maker of the Philosopher's Stone, which produces the Elixir of Life which will make the drinker immortal."[1:]

Harry sees Snape trying to get information from Quirrell about getting past Fluffy; Quirrell says he does not know what he's talking about. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are sure that Snape is trying to steal the Philosopher's Stone in order to restore Lord Voldemort to power, but Hagrid denies it. While at Hagrid's hut, the trio discover a dragon egg Hagrid is nursing in a fire. The egg hatches a Norwegian Ridgeback dragon, Norbert. The friends are nervous for Hagrid, since dragon breeding has long been outlawed in the wizarding world, and Hagrid, with his reckless nature, has long nursed a strong desire to own a dragon. Finally, the trio are able to convince Hagrid to let Norbert go live with other dragons of his kind with Ron's older dragon trainer brother, Charlie, in Romania. They arrange for the dragon, (now quite large in size), to be picked up by friends of Charlie's at midnight.

Harry and Hermione are caught out late at night while sending off Norbert (Ron is in the hospital wing, being treated for a bite from Norbert), and they are forced to serve detention with Hagrid in the Forbidden Forest along with Draco, who had been spying on them. Neville is also present, having been caught out-of-bounds while trying to warn Harry of Draco's mal-intent. Harry sees a hooded figure drink the blood of an injured unicorn, which causes pain in Harry's forehead scar. Firenze, a centaur, tells Harry that it is a monstrous thing to slay a unicorn, let alone drink its blood, that unicorn blood sustains life but gives the drinker a cursed life in return, and that the hooded figure is in fact Voldemort.
Harry, Hermione, and Ron discover that an intoxicated Hagrid told a hooded stranger how to get past Fluffy in exchange for Norbert's egg, and they believe the theft of the Stone is imminent. Rushing to finally confide their news to Professor Dumbledore, the headmaster of Hogwarts, they meet Professor McGonagall. McGonagall is shocked to find out how much they know about the Stone, but reassures them that it is safe in the castle. She also tells them that Dumbledore has been sent away on an important mission by the Ministry of Magic. Positive that Dumbledore's summons was a red herring to take him away from Hogwarts, the trio make plans to thwart Snape's theft of the stone. They set out to reach the stone first, navigating the security system, which is a series of complex magical challenges set up by the school's faculty. The three make it through the rooms together, with Hermione using her talent at logic and Ron using his chess skills, until finally, Harry enters the inner chamber alone. There he finds that meek Professor Quirrell, not Snape, is the one attempting to steal the Stone; Snape was trying to protect him from Quirrell all along. The final challenge protecting the Stone is the Mirror of Erised, and by looking in the mirror, the Stone falls into Harry's pocket. Harry confronts Quirrell and survives a second encounter with Lord Voldemort, who has possessed Quirrell and appears as a ghastly face on the back of Quirrell's head. Voldemort tells Harry that Lily Potter died protecting him. Quirrell feels severe pain when he touches Harry's skin, and Harry's scar feels immense pain because of his close proximity to Lord Voldemort. Dumbledore arrives just in time to rescue Harry. Voldemort then pitilessly abandons Quirrell, who dies in the aftermath of his possession.
Dumbledore confirms to Harry that Lily died while protecting Harry as an infant. Her pure, loving sacrifice provides Harry with an ancient magical protection against Voldemort's lethal spells and prevents Voldemort from touching Harry without suffering terrible pain. Dumbledore also says that the Philosopher's Stone has been destroyed to prevent future attempts by Voldemort to steal it. Harry asks how he managed to get the Stone from the mirror, and Dumbledore explains that only those who wanted the Stone to protect it but not use it, would be able to retrieve it. Asked by Harry why Voldemort attempted to kill him when he was an infant, Dumbledore promises to tell Harry when he is older.[2:]

At the end-of-year feast, where Harry is welcomed as a hero, the House Points totals are given: Gryffindor is in last place. However, Dumbledore gives a few "last-minute additions," granting points to Harry, Ron, Hermione, and Neville, so that Gryffindor wins the House Cup, ending Slytherin's six-year reign as house champion.

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Sue rated it:

(review of isbn 0439554934)

11/14/07

Read in November, 2007

Harry Potter is the most miserable, lonely boy you can imagine. He’s shunned by his relatives, the Dursley’s, that have raised him since he was an infant. He’s forced to live in the cupboard under the stairs, forced to wear his cousin Dudley’s hand-me-down clothes, and forced to go to his neighbour’s house when the rest of the family is doing something fun. Yes, he’s just about as miserable as you can get.

Harry’s world gets turned upside down on his 11th birthday, however. A g...more Harry Potter is the most miserable, lonely boy you can imagine. He’s shunned by his relatives, the Dursley’s, that have raised him since he was an infant. He’s forced to live in the cupboard under the stairs, forced to wear his cousin Dudley’s hand-me-down clothes, and forced to go to his neighbour’s house when the rest of the family is doing something fun. Yes, he’s just about as miserable as you can get.

Harry’s world gets turned upside down on his 11th birthday, however. A giant, Hagrid, informs Harry that he’s really a wizard, and will soon be attending Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry. Harry also learns that, in the wizarding world, he’s a hero. When he was an infant, the evil Lord Voldemort killed his parents and then tried to kill Harry too. What’s so amazing to everyone is that Harry survived, and allegedly destroyed Voldemort in the process.

When Harry hears all this, he doesn’t know what to think. However, everything Hagrid tells him turns out to be true, and with a joyful heart Harry starts wizarding school in September. He quickly becomes best friends with a boy named Ron Weasley, and before they even make it to Christmas, they break tons of school rules when they attack a troll and prevent it from killing fellow student Hermione Granger. After the troll incident, the three become inseparable, and Harry is amazed to have found such great friends. He is constantly busy trying to stay on top of the mounds of homework, as well as participating in weekly Quidditch practices. Quidditch is a popular sport among wizards and Harry is the youngest Quidditch player in over a century. It's also a game Harry loves more than anything else at school.

As the year progresses, the three friends set out to solve the mystery of the gigantic three-headed dog that is guarding something in a deserted corridor in the school. They figure out that a very valuable object, the Sorcerer’s Stone, is being hidden in the school, although they don’t know why. When one of the professor’s starts acting as if he’s trying to steal it, they quickly take action to circumvent the theft.

Things come to a head when they sneak past the vicious, three-headed dog and go down into the bowels of the school, determined to save the stone. Ron and Hermione help Harry get through the challenges set forth to stop the thief, but Harry must go on alone to battle the professor. When he finally gets to the last room, however, he’s astonished to find someone else entirely.

Harry is forced to do battle with the wizard that tried to kill him so many years before, Lord Voldemort. He’s able to save the Sorcerer’s Stone, although he’s almost killed in process. The school headmaster, Dumbledore, arrives just in time to save Harry.

The school year ends spectacularly. Harry, Ron, and Hermione are honored for their service to the school, and Harry leaves to go back to the Dursley’s for the summer feeling as if he’s finally found a place where he really belongs.
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Silvercharmer rated it:

(review of isbn 0439554934)

08/09/07

bookshelves: harry-potter

Read in January, 2002

recommends it for: Is there someone out there who hasn't read it?

It's nice to go back and re-read the first HP book, because this is where Rowling's strengths as a writer really show through: her imagination and line by line prose. As the series goes on, it becomes more and more about Voldemort and the issues at hand, pushing the wizarding world to the background and forcing her to rely on what she is not best at, which is character development and pacing.

I think this is Rowling at her best. There's no debating that this woman has an imagination to...more It's nice to go back and re-read the first HP book, because this is where Rowling's strengths as a writer really show through: her imagination and line by line prose. As the series goes on, it becomes more and more about Voldemort and the issues at hand, pushing the wizarding world to the background and forcing her to rely on what she is not best at, which is character development and pacing.

I think this is Rowling at her best. There's no debating that this woman has an imagination to kill for, and she renders the things she sees in her head extremely well on the page. I think this is due to the fact that she writes these outrageous and fascinating things as common, non-noteworthy occurrences in the wizard-world (which they essentially are), which only makes them more interesting to us muggles. Especially in this book, where she is catering mostly to a child/young adult audience, her writing style is perfect. With her approach, what would ordinarily be cause a reader irritation and an inability to maintain the suspension of disbelief becomes genuinely enjoyable. My example would be the Dursleys. Written for an older audience, the things those characters do and say are so extreme and unlikely that they would normally bring about frustration in the reader, but as she writes them, they are funny if not likeable, in a strange way.

It’s that very thing, however, that gets her into trouble when the series starts to mature. Already in this book you can see her weak spot: characterization. In a children’s book, it’s easier to get away with cookie cutter characters, which is what we have here. Everyone is a predictable extreme: Malfoy, Snape and the Dursleys are about as awful as they can get, and of them, only Snape has any redeeming qualities, which are mostly drowned out and forgotten in the books to come. Hermione’s book nerd qualities are also extreme, and her statements about studying for exams 10 weeks before they happen and her “light reading” textbooks are little more than a stereotype taken to its furthest limits. Harry is a stereotypical hero, in that he is the suffering boy who’s virtue and commitment to doing the right thing prevail every time. Dumbledore, Hagrid, even McGonagall are all cutouts from the stereotypes they represent. Don't get me wrong, they are well written and enjoyable, but so is tough-guy-with-a-heart-of-gold Han Solo.

At this point in the series, all of these things are acceptable, even enjoyable, because children’s stories often rely and thrive on extremes and stereotypes. But these things become very big problems if they do not evolve into other things as the books mature.

But again, this book’s primary success and focus is this strange new world of wizarding, and Rowling does a beautiful job with it.

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Anthony M. Bookfly rated it:

(review of isbn 059035342X)

07/24/08

Read in July, 2008

recommended to Anthony M. Bookfly by: EVERYONE
recommends it for: Hufflepuffs, other less awesome houses

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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19 comments

Nikki rated it:

(review of isbn 0747532745)

10/02/08

Read in October, 2001

I really don't like Harry Potter. It's one of those little concealed but apparently not widely known facts about me, which shocks everyone when I say I love books and they're all, "yeah, rite, Harry Potter is so awesum rite?" and I say "...no, it really isn't." I confess: when I was eleven or twelve or so, I read them. I also read the Sabrina the Teenage Witch novels. I read everything and wasn't very discriminating about it. I did enjoy them. I continued to enjoy them...more

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Mark added it (review of isbn 0439554934)

04/03/08

Read in March, 2008

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

Reference information:
Title: “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone”
Author: J.K. Rowling
Publisher: Scholastic, Inc. Year: 1997
# of pages: 309 Genre: YA Lit, Science Fiction
Reading level: Interest level: Ages nine and up
Potential hot lava: Witch Craft and Wizardry

General response/reaction:
After hearing the up-roar about the ‘Harry Potter’ books and the movies, I did not even know what to expect. What if I hated the book? Would people shun me for not liking it? What was t...more

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Chloe rated it:

(review of isbn 0439554934)

02/23/08

recommended to Chloe by: my sister
recommends it for: Fantasy-lovers and those who can still remember their childhoods.

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

The phenomenal success of Harry Potter makes it almost superfluous to review the books. Nothing a detractor could say will deter fans. Nothing a fan could say will make the books any more enjoyable. However, I would like to try to comment on this first book, simply to try and understand the appeal.

As everyone who has not been living on a deserted island or in a deep pit already knows, Harry Potter is the story of a boy who learns that he is a wizard. Recently, the final book of the series c...more The phenomenal success of Harry Potter makes it almost superfluous to review the books. Nothing a detractor could say will deter fans. Nothing a fan could say will make the books any more enjoyable. However, I would like to try to comment on this first book, simply to try and understand the appeal.

As everyone who has not been living on a deserted island or in a deep pit already knows, Harry Potter is the story of a boy who learns that he is a wizard. Recently, the final book of the series came out and the epic battle between the good wizards and the hellish Death Eaters has drawn to a close. However, this first book shows few signs of the saga to come. It opens with a Roald Dahl-esque story about a unique child in an exaggeratedly bad –yet humorous– situation (not unlike Matilda). As the story progresses it becomes more whimsical, but retains the dark humor and colorful (sometimes even grotesque) characters that testify to the Dahlian influence. Even by the end, when Harry faces off (for the first time) with the evil Dark Lord, the story is no darker than the climax of The Witches. There is no hint in this work of the dangers to come.

But, everyone knows the plot of Harry Potter. Or else, they really should. Anyone who wants to be up to date in the world of literature and modern culture must read the most popular book series of all time. Not everyone will enjoy it, but it must be read. The real question is, are the books of any merit?

There are really two dominant groups when it comes to a book as popular as HP: the detractors who give it but one star, and the fans who heap on as many as allowed. The detractors, however, are also made of two groups: those who honestly do not like the books, and those who are jealous and biased against them (one reviewer was obviously against fantasy). The latter, who believe that reading one of the books enables them to judge the scope of the series, who brush aside the fans with cheep name-calling, are not to be taken seriously. After all, with a series so universally loved, there must be some element of universality that should be honestly examined. Are all of the millions of fans idiots? Or is there an element to the story that touches on a universal aspect of mankind? I would argue that it is the latter, as to stereotype a huge number of people is not only difficult but probably impossible and smells of elitism.

The universality of the story, in my opinion, lies within J.K. Rowling’s characters. One could go on and on about certain weaknesses in her prose (though I notice many of these detractors tend to dislike children’s books in general and cannot come to grasp the idea that the writing in a book for children should be less dense than the writing of Dante). One could complain about various discrepancies. But, one cannot condemn her characters. And it is in these characters that her genius lies. Any one of them could be someone you know. I found myself so often looking at this or that character and thinking, “Why he/she is just like so-and-so!” What is more, Rowling’s insights into the hearts of children are penetrating. Who cannot recall the feelings that she gives her characters? And each one perfectly fits the situations given in the book.

The characters are not the sole strength of the books, either. A list of her strengths would be as follows:

1. A world that is believable and transcends the story. The wizarding world and culture is not only interesting to imagine, colorful, and enjoyable to escape into, but it has a life outside of the realm of the book. Many fantasy writers do not seem to know their worlds, and the readers are left lost and unsure of the culture they are supposed to immerse themselves in. The wizarding world is well-developed and structured, and as fully realized as Middle Earth.
2. Rowling’s use of mythology is charming. She brings to life both classic creatures (giants, centaurs, unicorns) as well as less familiar ones (hippogriffs, boggarts). She also puts her own twist on otherwise familiar characters, and manages to conform each of the creatures to her own mythology. Say what you may about the books, this takes some skill.
3. The witty wordplay in the books found me smiling.
4. The books are filled with plot-points. Hardly an event happens that does not either move the plot forwards or reveal new layers of character. Again, this is difficult to do and takes some skill and literary vision.
5. Rowling works into the stories universal themes that have moved civilizations since antiquity: good vs. evil; the weak outshining the strong; the value of courage, love and friendship; self sacrifice. Naturally, such universal themes would help account for the books’ universality. And Rowling’s take on the themes is both as fresh as it is timeless. (Take Harry’s final battle, for example.)
6. Lastly, Rowling manages to reach into the depths of her readers’ hearts and bring us back to our childhood fantasies. How many of us did not imagine ourselves on great adventures in mythical worlds? The stories bring to mind nothing so much as the stories of my early childhood. The magical feel is both familiar and exhilarating, sending the readers on a journey as nostalgic as it is adventuresome.

Frankly, I believe that to write off these books is foolish. One may find fault with them, but certainly something with such universal appeal is worth more than one star. And I believe that in the years to come, these books will find their place alongside Narnia, The Lord of the Rings, Alice in Wonderland, The Wizard of Oz, and the collected works of Roald Dahl.
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Chris rated it:

(review of isbn 059035342X)

02/09/08

bookshelves: fantasy, harry-potter

Read in July, 2007

Since pretty much everyone I know has read these books, I figure reviewing them is pretty pointless. But with the new book coming out in a couple of weeks, I have to go through them beginning to end. To make the reviews more entertaining, I will be doing them in a variety of unexpected formats. For this review, I will be writing as someone incapable of suspending his disbelief.

This book was terrible! I mean, this author is obviously on drugs or insane or something like that, and why s...more Since pretty much everyone I know has read these books, I figure reviewing them is pretty pointless. But with the new book coming out in a couple of weeks, I have to go through them beginning to end. To make the reviews more entertaining, I will be doing them in a variety of unexpected formats. For this review, I will be writing as someone incapable of suspending his disbelief.

This book was terrible! I mean, this author is obviously on drugs or insane or something like that, and why she has been allowed to publish such patent nonsense is beyond me. What is even more horrifying is that so many people, adults and children, are supporting this madwoman. I mean, even some of my friends and family, people I respect have come under her spell!

Her spell. Ha! As though such things as spells and magic really exist. I know she and her hoard of followers believe so, but we, the right-thinking, rational people of the world know better, don't we?

The beginning was okay, and I had high hopes for it. I thought it might be an interesting story about this family, the Dursleys, who seem to be people after my own heart. Sensible, no-nonsense folk, these, who know what's real and what isn't. But within ten pages, I knew something wasn't right. Think about this - some crazy old man in robes shows up with a tiny device that can put out streetlights from a distance? A cat changes into a woman? Outrageous! And then the flying motorcycle, and nonsensical ravings about magicians and dark lords and curses, and that's where it all started to go downhill.

I forced myself to slog through this mess of nonsense, though by the time I got to chapter five, I had pretty much given up. Nothing this book describes could possibly take place in the real world, and it is almost criminal that she should get this kind of fame and attention. She is a font of nonsense and mayhem, poisoning the minds of everyone her work touches. If you haven't read these books, I recommend that you stay away from them. If you have, then I beg you to come to your senses and embrace the real world. Give up this madness and join us over here in the world where truth is truth and Harry Potter is meaningless vapor....less

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Dan rated it:

(review of isbn 0590353403)

01/27/08

Read in June, 2004

recommends it for: everyone who can read!

OK, it is possible that I could have delayed reading Harry Potter any longer? That wasn’t my intention at all! I bought the first Harry Potter book on what I believe was the midnight madness release of the third book in the series and I simply never had a chance to get through the thing. I cracked the spine, last year, during a power outage, but never made it very far.

I hadn’t seen any of the movies, because I wanted to read the books first… so basically, I was culturally way behind. ...more OK, it is possible that I could have delayed reading Harry Potter any longer? That wasn’t my intention at all! I bought the first Harry Potter book on what I believe was the midnight madness release of the third book in the series and I simply never had a chance to get through the thing. I cracked the spine, last year, during a power outage, but never made it very far.

I hadn’t seen any of the movies, because I wanted to read the books first… so basically, I was culturally way behind. Nothing new there, at all. So I used the occasion of the release of the third movie and my first vacation in four years, to pick Harry Potter up. The obsession struck and, well, I almost never put it down, blowing through the book in four days.

Apparently, very little separates me from the rest of the population of junior high school aged kids, who’ve been bitten by the Potter bug.

I might have rather liked to have summed the book up this way, “It was an enjoyable book and I could easily see how a youngster could get caught up in the story”. The trouble with that assessment is that there’s no doubt that I’m caught up in the story.

If there’s anyone out there who hasn’t read it, it’s a great book and a great story. Really.

J.K. Rowling introduces us to a boy who’s immediately a sympathetic character and lays down some amazing character development. It’s a good thing, too, because in the 309 pages of the first book, I’m astonished at the sheer number of adventures that Harry has. Somehow, the authoress paints such vivid sets in the readers mind that you can flawlessly picture Harry’s world, and she accomplishes this without blasting us with page-filling detail. She gives us just enough detail to let our minds paint vivid, colorful scenes. We meet Harry Potter, a young boy who’s rescued from a miserable, downright abusive and mundane existence, by a past and a family heritage that he has never known. This first book in the Harry Potter series follows the boy through his first year at a new school, far away (literally and figuratively) from everything he’s ever known.

This story is straightforward, but delightfully complex, and it seems that each adventure plays some part to help Harry assemble the mystery behind the secret that’s being poorly kept by Harry’s school’s dean and highly affable and personable groundskeeper.

While most of western society has been exposed to the amazing world of Harry Potter, if anyone is unfamiliar with the details of Harry’s world, I’ll do little to spoil all the pleasant surprises in store, if you PROMISE to read this book!

My only qualm is that J.K. wraps up the mystery’s puzzle almost too quickly. While I raced from page to page, I had to re-read the last few chapters to make sure I ‘got’ the outcome. Nonetheless, even a quick re-read is a joy and does nothing to douse my recommendation of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone.
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Carmen rated it:

(review of isbn 0439554934)

10/22/07

Read in October, 2001

recommends it for: EVERYONE

What stands out in book one:

* Harry's first trip to the zoo with the Dursleys, when a boa constrictor winks at him.
* When the Dursleys' house is suddenly besieged by letters for Harry from Hogwarts. Readers learn how much the Dursleys have been keeping from Harry. Rowling does a wonderful job in displaying the lengths to which Uncle Vernon will go to deny that magic exists.
* Harry's first visit to Diagon Alley with Hagrid. Full of curiosities and rich with magic and marvel, Harry's fir...more What stands out in book one:

* Harry's first trip to the zoo with the Dursleys, when a boa constrictor winks at him.
* When the Dursleys' house is suddenly besieged by letters for Harry from Hogwarts. Readers learn how much the Dursleys have been keeping from Harry. Rowling does a wonderful job in displaying the lengths to which Uncle Vernon will go to deny that magic exists.
* Harry's first visit to Diagon Alley with Hagrid. Full of curiosities and rich with magic and marvel, Harry's first trip includes a trip to Gringotts and Ollivanders, where Harry gets his wand (holly and phoenix feather) and discovers yet another connection to He-Who-Must-No-Be-Named. This moment is the reader's first full introduction to Rowling's world of witchcraft and wizards.
* Harry's experience with the Sorting Hat.

Amazon Review:
Say you've spent the first 10 years of your life sleeping under the stairs of a family who loathes you. Then, in an absurd, magical twist of fate you find yourself surrounded by wizards, a caged snowy owl, a phoenix-feather wand, and jellybeans that come in every flavor, including strawberry, curry, grass, and sardine. Not only that, but you discover that you are a wizard yourself! This is exactly what happens to young Harry Potter in J.K. Rowling's enchanting, funny debut novel, Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone. In the nonmagic human world--the world of "Muggles"--Harry is a nobody, treated like dirt by the aunt and uncle who begrudgingly inherited him when his parents were killed by the evil Voldemort. But in the world of wizards, small, skinny Harry is famous as a survivor of the wizard who tried to kill him. He is left only with a lightning-bolt scar on his forehead, curiously refined sensibilities, and a host of mysterious powers to remind him that he's quite, yes, altogether different from his aunt, uncle, and spoiled, piglike cousin Dudley.
A mysterious letter, delivered by the friendly giant Hagrid, wrenches Harry from his dreary, Muggle-ridden existence: "We are pleased to inform you that you have been accepted at Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry." Of course, Uncle Vernon yells most unpleasantly, "I AM NOT PAYING FOR SOME CRACKPOT OLD FOOL TO TEACH HIM MAGIC TRICKS!" Soon enough, however, Harry finds himself at Hogwarts with his owl Hedwig... and that's where the real adventure--humorous, haunting, and suspenseful--begins.
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Patrick rated it:

(review of isbn 0439554934)

09/04/07

bookshelves: crack

Read in December, 1998

recommends it for: anyone

Oh go to hell. These things are like crack.

So I just finished the 7th one and I have no intention of re-reading them, though I do have fond memories of them. My most recent encounter with Harry Potter was on an airplane a couple of days ago. This humongous 16 year old kid from North Dakota was sitting next to me reading the 5th book. He smelled like cereal and farts and was audibly mouth-breathing for the whole flight. I tried to engage him in conversation periodically to get his litt...more

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Trevor rated it:

(review of isbn 0439554934)

03/23/08

It wasn't called this at all - but for some reason the title changed in the US and there is no original title versions of this on this site, which is also strange. How terribly odd.

Anyway, I read this to the kids - in fact, the first four books to them - just before the tidal wave of popularity. We had just finished reading all the books of Dahl and were looking for something else to be getting on with - and there was this article in the paper saying that the Fundamentalist Christians wa...more

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Soujanya rated it:

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (Book 1)

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