my thoughts after my 12th reread of the first Harry Potter book
(i hate jk rowling)
harry potter and the philosopher's stone was the first book i have ever read, right at the ripe age of 11, thanks to my dear sister. my life has never been the same to be very honest.
my love for everything (absolutely everything) began with harry potter, my first book, first english movie, first video game , and the music (leaving hogwarts used to be on repeat everyday all day in this household). it is safe to say, that harry potter was special to me.
i have since then read the entire series, approximately 11 times (the later books definitely more than 11, especially ootp)
harry potter and the philosopher's stone is still the same old magical, fantabulous, whimsical adventure handcrafted and packaged with a neat bow of love.
I would say love is the defining theme of the whole series. Love runs through the veins of Harry Potter, in a literal sense. Lily Potter sacrifices her life to save her son, the apple of her eye. You-know-who can never comprehend love, for he has never experienced it. It is Love, that is responsible for his downfall. Poignant. I really like how this series tackles the themes of love without turning it into a "we shall defeat voldemort with the power of love and friendship" cliche. It is equally ironical how hateful JK Rowling in reality is, with her hate campaigns against the trans people. I really couldnt believe how such a hateful person could write a series full of love. Sad.
the writing is simple and to-the-point, but beautiful nonetheless. Lots of people criticize the first couple of books, saying that it feels childish. this is a story of three 11 year olds, doing what 11 year olds do, taking out trolls by sticking a wand up its nose, how is that childish? the narrator being slightly sassy, and effortlessly funny is a very smart touch.
Rereading the Dursley chapters was a bit of shock, the behaviour of the family towards Harry is vile. I get that its exaggerated and lighthearted because it was written for children, but man, it still is bad. Harry turning out to be not messed up is a miracle. Also, this could have been an interesting plot-line to read about in the later books, how Harry dealt with the trauma of living with that family.
I also forgot how nosy the golden trio is, they are up there in everybody's business, which makes it such an entertaining and funny tale to read. Personally, i could never be concerned by what my professors were upto in my school or college haha.
I really like how Rowling wrote Hermione in this book, she started out being a supremely annoying kid, but became so much nicer when she made new friends. The troll incident was perfect to start out such a thunderous friendship. It was heartwarming to witness how the friendship between the golden trio bloomed.
mirror of erised chapter pulled on my heartstrings too. it is such a curious, strange and inquisitive object, harry being addicted to seeing his deceased parents smiling at him, is such a sad moment, poor Harry! Dumbledore ofcourse, is a major highlight of this chapter. Him seeing woolen socks in the mirror, is a great moment which lightens up the somber tone of this chapter. It is however sad, when we readers know what he actually sees in the mirror as it has been revealed in the later books.
The movie adaption is also very similar to the books. It is a very faithful adaptation. I could only recall a handful of scenes in the book which did not make it to the movie, Harry sneaking around at night to give Norbert The Dragon to Charlie's friends, the flying key enchantment which harry and friends had to fly on a broomstick to catch, and the potions puzzle enchantment.
The sneaking out in the night moments were very exciting, with our caretaker Filch and his cat Mrs. Norris chasing them every night. I don't get why everyone hates the cat, you just have to be friends with her.
The ending twist with Quirrel and the stone in Harry's pocket was very clever and well done. I always look forward to Dumbledore's end of the year lore update to Harry.
The best moments of the book are often the routine, everyday life of the trio at Hogwarts. The wacky lessons, secret passageways, Bertie Botts's Every Flavoured Beans, the one stairway with the missing step which is enchanted, the very hilarious and magical pranks by the Weasley Twins, the very interesting items in Diagon alley, Quidditch practice sessions, and ofcourse, Peeves the Poltergeist. Magnificent World Building. I shall ofcourse reread the entire series. On to the next book, one of my absolute personal favourites!