Quick Reaction: Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban
I'm very glad that the first purely personal read I decided to get back to was Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban. I had initially begun it back in July—when I still had free time. Although I was initially disappointed that it took me so long to complete this novel, I had to remind myself of the workload I'd taken on this entire year—especially that of this past fall semester. It's difficult to fathom the amount of reading I have done over the past five months—for classes and my project research. How I managed to get through it all astounds me. So getting to unwind with a good Harry Potter book was just the remedy I needed. Prisoner of Azkaban has been my favorite since I was a kid (the movie, not the book—as I must remind you this is my first time reading the series). I remember going to the theater with my father and absolutely loving the intense, grim tones that contrasted its previous installments. When making my way through the narrative some of my favorite aspects of the novel were being reintroduced to characters like Remus Lupin and Sirius Black. While the majority of the movie did the novel justice, only the book could have succeeded in providing the intricate context that works to establish the series as a whole. These are a few of the most important I can list from memory.
The backstory of Moony, Wormtail, Padfood, and Prongs: Not only does the film fail to reveal Sirius, James, Remus and Peter as the creators of the Marauder's map but also chooses to omit why Sirius, James, and Peter become Animagi. Knowing they could get in trouble and possibly lose their lives, Sirius, James, and Peter learn to transform into a chosen animal as a means of support and comfort for Remus during his monthly transitions into a werewolf. This testament of friendship, while one that reveals the capacity of loyalty and self-sacrifice, ultimately cuts deeper than the film when it is revealed that Peter betrayed James and Lily's hiding spot to Voldemort.
A deranged Severus Snape: this is something I've thought a lot about. Speaking purely from the perspective of an individual who has only seen the movies, by the end of the Harry Potter series I had come to sympathize with Snape's character. At times he had been vicious and snarky, even cruel. Yet by the end of Deathly Hallows Part 2 I not only realized this pattern of behavior hid a larger intent of protecting Harry, but also indicative of a long pattern of suffering that molded him into this person. But reading this novel really tested that perspective. His behavior throughout the entire novel was petty, vindictive, deranged, and even practically unhinged. While I don't understand what it feels like to have to work around people who bullied me as a child (Lupin particularly—seeing as Black is on the run and James is dead), Snape's reaction to confronting his past becomes almost irrational. He seems to relish in punishing Harry for the decisions James and his friends inflicted on Snape during their time at Hogwarts—OVER FIFTEEN YEARS EARLIER! He seems to intentionally attempt to sabotage and undermine the very person he swore he would protect. Snape's storyline throughout this entire novel honestly had me wondering if Rowling's plan for Snape had been something planned since the Sorcerer's Stones inception, or realized as she was continuing to write the novels. It's something I know I would ask her if I ever got the chance.
Overall I'm quite content with the novel. Despite these minor changes between mediums, I enjoyed the light read. Although I know what Goblet of Fire is set to bring, I don't think I will be getting to it any time soon. Instead, I'm contemplating whether I want to begin Elizabeth Gaskell's Gothic Tales or Sir Thomas Malory's The Death of King Arthur.