A Piece of Fanfiction

Harry Potter and the Cursed Child Parts One and Two

Where, oh, where do I begin? Since my thoughts on this book are so scattered, I'm going to try to put them down in an orderly, start-to-finish fashion. Let's hope I don't get sidetracked.

Ok, first. THIS BOOK IS NOT WRITTEN BY JOANNE NO-MIDDLE-NAME-BUT-THE- EDITORS-DIDN'T-THINK-BOYS-WOULD-READ-A-WOMAN'S-WRITING ROWLING. That's not entirely true. The people who wrote this lifted entire scenes from the real Harry Potter series, so that dialogue is consistent with the characters we know and love. The rest of the story- not even close. It's like they took the original stereotypes we had about them all, added 20 years, and never bothered to let them grow beyond Year One. Except Harry, who has turned into The Man, not the one you buy shots for- the one who keeps you down.

Back to that middle name thing- how in the world, did someone at a publisher, probably several someones, read The Philosopher's Stone, realize that it had great potential and not realize that it had Universal Appeal? I realize that boys are not encouraged to read about girls while girls are expected to read about boys and girls, but really? The first is filled with female characters that girls should get closer to- Macgonagall, Molly, HERMIONE. The whole idea that Rowling was forced to cloak her identity to protect poor little boys who might accidentally enjoy fiction by a woman just sets my feminism bone a-buzzin'.

Parts One and Two- this is not only unnecessary, it's false. I hate to be the Dwight Shrute here, but one could not read just Part One and have a complete story. They are dependent on each other to tell a whole story arc. There's a semicolon at the end of Part One, not a full stop. Also, none of the children are actually cursed, so the title is inconsistent with the rest of the stories.

Now into the actual pages. I cannot, for the life of me, figure out how this is a stage production. The scenes are so short and shift setting so often, you'd have to have the best set people in the world, possibly a rotating stage or a huge one. The huge one is probably how it happened because the characters don't move around while they are together or talking. So one huge background, lit the right, very focused way, could bounce around all over the magical world. I imagine it a very complicated production. In addition to the logistical nightmare, most of the scenes are so short there would have to be a lot of scrambling about on stage. One scene is a single page and doesn't contain a word of dialogue. And don't get me started on the actual magic that would have to occur. On stage. There's polyjuice, people.

The characters- what have they done to the characters we know? Macgonagall has lost her soft spot for Harry and the Gang. Headmistress must be a tough job if it crushes her spirit. Remember, she was a strict teacher, but she had a quiet, impish fire inside her. How did the woman who gave Harry his Nimbus 2000 come to merely tolerate him now that he's Head of Magical Law Enforcement? Was Ron lobotomized? Why doesn't Neville ever show up on stage? What has become of Teddy? WHERE IS HAGRID?

One of my favorite things to ponder is how the original stories would be different if Harry had accepted Draco's offer of friendship on the Hogwart's Express. Would Harry have become a Slytherin? (oh my goodness! it looks like this might be about that. Oh, wait, no.) What different path would he have taken to defeat Voldemort? Would the prophecy been about Neville instead? Would Ron and Hermione gotten together? Oh, the possibilities are endless! I got excited at the beginning of this book thinking that someone else had put pen to paper and drawn up one possible scenario, just one generation off. It starts with that premise a little bit- Albus is a Slytherin and friends with Scorpius, son of Draco- but that's about as far as that goes.

The story is unbelievable even when you suspend disbelief enough to accept magic. There are gaping holes. Is The Augury a bird, a child, or a place where they roast muggles? It is never referenced in the original novels, just in video games and later companion books. Now that Draco is out from under his father's thumb, why is he still a dickweed? Did he and Harry really not figure a way to be friendly in the twenty years since The Battle of Hogwarts? I could've sworn that a major theme of the series was redemption and forgiveness, I expect the hero to apply that to others, too. Why was Cedric's death so much more influential than any other person who died for The Cause? Did the writers fancy RPatz and wish him to not be sparkly?  And why hasn't Harry's scar been bothering him this whole time Voldemort's Child has been alive? Because it hurt him from the moment Moldy Voldy started sucking on unicorn blood in the first one. It wasn't that he was taking power and making efforts to destroy anyone, his mere existence was enough.

So despite all these complaints, I still liked the book. I was, once again, whisked away to a fantastic world where anything is possible, where good will triumph over evil, where people drink butterbeer. I think the writers, publishers, and producers were banking on that nostalgia to sell a truckload of books. We Potterheads will buy anything remotely related to Harry, Ron, and Hermione. We're still talking about the stories nine years after the last one was published. They are enchanting and magical themselves. After all these years? Always.

Being connected to the originals is enough to earn this one three Marias. I know many will argue I'm being sentimental, and I'm ok with that.

Chapter 29: A Book of Short Stories

Fictitious Dishes, Dinah Fried

Technically not a collection of short stories, this book still belongs somewhere on the list. I received a copy for my birthday last month. It is so me! It's paragraphs from famous novels, plus design and photography, plus a list of facts pertaining to the food, the novel, or otherwise related to the selection.

Charlie enjoyed going through the pages to see if I had read all the books mentioned in Dishes. Apparently I need to add some to my list. It was fun to see how many were captured well enough to know the title before seeing it.

You won't get in depth in any of the stories, but if you enjoy food writing, this one might just capture enough of your imagination to make it worth perusing. I'm keeping it out so visitors can drop in on Melville and Alcott and McCloskey. Ms. Fried has certainly crafted a conversation starter, earning her 4.5 Mariass (only losing half a Maria because so little text is original).

   

Chapter 28: A Book More Than 100 Years Old

Jane Eyre, Charlotte Bronte

Dear Reader, it took me a month to get through the nearly 500 pages of this one. I am a little embarrassed to admit that I went this long without reading a Bronte, but now I am free of that burden. I have so many thoughts about Jane, I'm not even sure where to begin. I'll give it a stab, though.

First, in today's world, this would not be a passionate love story. Mr. Rochester is kind of a jerk. Besides the fact that he comments frequently on his superiority, he threatens Jane with violence. Oh, and he locked his inconvenient wife in the attic, where she has to witness his wooing of two different women. No wonder she wants to burn him alive. In today's world, Jane would give him the heave-ho and find her own bliss- with or without a husband.

But the story doesn't take place today. It takes place in a time when women were expected to defer to the nearest available man, to not think, just do. And Jane is an unexpected woman. She has her own, steadfast moral compass. She is witty and challenges men who are unaccustomed to that. I daresay that her cousin, St. John, does love her in a way she does not see. Maybe not in a physical attraction, but she stirs something in him that is quite like love. He asks her multiple times to be his helpmeet, which, to me, says he sees her as a partner- a pretty important factor in love.

So, I couldn't get swept away in the romance like so many others. (I swear, my mother-in-law gets a little dizzy imagining Rochester and Jane.) But I can see how this work is so revolutionary. Not only were women not published back then, but female characters were not to have their own ideas about the world.

Other things I love about Jane- she doesn't go through the she-was-always-pretty-and-never-realized-it transformation. I love that she finds a way to flourish in any environment. I love that she is willing to do something very painful because it is right. I love that she is also willing to believe in the supernatural enough to make an ill-planned journey, to chase a dream. She's also book smart and caring and matter-of-fact. And her wit! The men in her life love the way she turns a phrase. She's the ultimate at playing hard to get.

I've read a few reviews of another book from the perspective of the first Mrs. Rochester. Probably won't pick it up any time soon, but she is the reason I started this one. The Wolf Man in Chapter 20's selection loves Jane Eyre because he sympathizes with the locked away Bertha. I'm not sure there is enough material in the original to make her sympathetic- she's basically an insane specter that sets things on fire. But you do have to at least acknowledge that she is aware of Mr. Rochester's affection for Jane and see how troubling that would be for a sane person, much less an already disturbed mind.

I would love for the red room story to be more developed, to know more about the haunting of the Reed's manor. It has the makings of a great tale. Maybe there is a short story exercise in that for me. Afterall, it is almost Halloween.

So, remembering to keep it all in context, Jane Eyre earns 3.5 Marias. I won't be buying a copy or reading it again, but I also don't feel like setting anything on fire.

Chapter 18: A Nonfiction Book

The Devil in the White City, Erik Larson

I typically enjoy historical fiction. The Constant Princess from Philippa Gregory's Tudor series is one of my favorite books. What Larson has done here is take samples of actual communications from a historic period and written them into something unique. It reads like fiction but is all true. Nothing is conjured or imagined. The result is a bit magical.

It's hard not to go on and on about tiny details that make this book so interesting, how certain famous people's paths crossed or almost crossed. Reading many passages, I was excited to recognize people and events. That it covers both a city I love (Chicago) and a topic I find endlessly fascinating (serial killers) is almost icing on the cake. I learned new things, experienced the city in a different era, and found my insomniac hours filled with Wikipedia research.

So the main story is that of the World's Fair preparations in Chicago during volatile times (are they ever not?) This section focuses on the processes of designing and building the fair, the decadence and struggles of the creators, the emergence of new architectural art forms, and an appearance or two by Chicago's darling Frank Lloyd Wright. I say this is the main story because there is much more time and detail about the goings on of the fair. However, the parallel story of H.H. Holmes and his hotel of terror ticks right alongside it.

Now, if you are looking for details about Holmes- his methods and peculiarities- you will not find them here. I find Harold Schechter's research and analysis of serial killers to be well written and insightful. So check that one out if you want a more intimate portrait of Holmes. But, Larson does a decent job of putting Holmes into the context of labor unrest, financial panics, and the irresistible draw of an international display. After the fair ends, Larson turns to the pursuit and capture of Holmes but stops short of trial, conviction, and death. If you don't handle gore well, you don't have to worry about encountering it here.

 I found this book ... not exactly enjoyable, but still very readable. Perhaps fascinating is the right word for it. I am also very intrigued by others who have liked it, not people who I would expect to rave about murder, especially true crime. I won't be keeping it in my library. In fact, I've already packed it to pass on to my mom, who will pass it on to someone else. And I won't read it again. Still, Devil gets a solid 3 Marias for readability and interesting content. I'll even tack on an extra half for it's original format and writing.

P.S. If you like this one, I also recommend Shadow Divers for its storytelling style of nonfiction.

Chapter 17: A Book That Scares You

The Sparrow, Mary Doria Russell
A couple of years ago, I was reading the Outlander series and just had to take a break from it. I told my best friend that I just couldn't read about another rape. So I had picked up the Millennium Trilogy for a change of pace. I must give her credit for keeping a straight face, as I did not yet know that it also includes graphic rape scenes. She later recommended The Sparrow with the warning that it contains my "favorite topic." So I knew it was coming. And I knew a Jesuit was involved. And that made me a little scared to read it.

The first hundred pages or so seemed to drag on for me. It was all the buildup to the actual mission of first contact with a distant planet. There was, of course, some character development that had to happen here, but I just couldn't read more than a few pages before falling asleep. Once the ball started rolling, I became more interested, but it still took me more than two weeks to finish 400 pages. (Here I will point out that I often have difficulty beginning a new book after one that I really enjoy. So, this one suffered from my Stephen King Hangover.)

One thing I really liked about this book was the treatment of priests. I feel that oftentimes lay believers endow them with superhuman characteristics and non-believers find them easy to vilify. So I enjoyed the frank discussions of the humanity of the priests- their daily struggles with everyday life. I did not necessarily agree with the conclusions of some of the characters as to the best solution for those struggles, but I'm also not going to get into a dogmatic argument with a fictional person.

There were some things I found unsatisfying, too. The deaths of Sandoz' crewmates were anti-climactic. They were vicious and surprising, but they were all lumped together into two events, essentially. I think the tension would build better if the crew was picked off one-by-one. The pace is already hampered by the disjointed chronology, all leading up to The Big Reveal that is not surprising.

Overall, it was a good book that gave me plenty to think about regarding the stories in my head. It was accessible sci-fi, where I did not have to stretch my imagination too far to grasp the ideas. It is interesting to read it almost 20 years after publishing, too, because the radio signals that spawn the mission are discovered in 2016. I'll say this- if we do hear Singers from Rakhat next year, let's agree not to send the Jesuits. The Sparrow gets 2.5 Marias.

Chapter 16: A Book That Made You Cry

11/22/63, Stephen King

So much to say about this book. First, I don't think I've ever read anything by Mr. King. I remember a classmate in high school who read him almost constantly. He would carry one enormous volume after another on top of his textbooks and read them in stolen moments between classes. The sheer number of pages made me seriously question how he did anything else. Maybe that's why he was so thin. Anyway, John S. never convinced me to pick up a King novel, but my best friend and voracious reader, Elizabeth, did. She's never let me down in the entertainment category, so I checked this one out expected to cross A Book Your Best Friend Recommends off my list. As is becoming a theme here, it wasn't what I expected, and I had to shift from my original plan.

To be totally honest, I didn't actually shed a tear. But a few pricked up in my eyes, and that's about as close as it is going to get for me. I expected I would have to find a truly hilarious book that would make me laugh 'til I cried to accomplish this one. Instead, the man who brought me Carrie (one of my favorite movies of all time), nearly brought me to tears. He deserves credit for that.

Now, in order to get to the tears, we have to go back to what I thought the book was about. Even after reading the cover, I thought it was going to be about saving JFK from assassination. I thought it was going to be about an obsessed time-traveler. I thought it was going to be like one of many conversations I had in middle school with my friend, Stacey, who was so fascinated by the entire modern Camelot legend that she did an incredible re-enactment of Jackie's reaction in the convertible. I can't think of Jack and Jackie without also thinking of her. I was expecting Dealey Plaza to be the center of focus and action. I couldn't imagine why it would take eight hundred forty-some pages to tell the tale. And in walks the legendary Mr. Stephen King.

Having never read his works, I was unaware of his ability to drift on about mundane, daily life and still have it be meaningful. The impetus for Jake-turned-George's travel through the bubble of time may have been to save Kennedy, but his specific method requires him to always start on a fall day in 1958, in Maine. He has years to plot and tweak before he must end Lee Harvey Oswald. Most of the novel is about the man George becomes during this time. He's an English teacher, not a history buff, so he doesn't act as a pre-vigilante, saving the world from numerous disasters. No, after a couple of local "corrections," he lives a quiet life in a small town and falls in love with Sadie.

Sadie is the new librarian. George is a new teacher. They have troubles like any couple. They dance. They help students in life-changing ways, as teachers are apt to do (is someone chopping onions?). They share their biggest secrets and suffer tragedy (must be dusty in here). They love fully and boundlessly, and that is what made me almost weepy. Who knew the Master of Horror could pen a compelling, utterly romantic story?

There are a couple of graphic and gory scenes, but nothing like what I expected. This book took me by surprise in so many ways. I don't have a copy now, but I might keep an eye out for it at used book stores. I imagine I would enjoy it again and maybe pick up on strings I missed the first time. Even though it set me farther back on my schedule, it was worth every word. 11/22/63 earns 4 1/2 Marias.



Chapter 8: A Memoir

Miracle in the Desert, Eric Milch

Ok, folks, this is going to be a bumpy ride. First, I'm going to tell you about some of the ways this book completely disrupted my expectations. Then I'll get to the actual book discussion and wind it up with my review and recommendations. Please make sure your tray is in the upright and locked position.

I mentioned before that I'm not sure all the books from the list exist. So I've just been reading and deciding which box to check once I've finished it. Within the first few pages of Miracle I just knew that I had found the elusive Book That Makes You Cry. I already knew the overall story, and those first paragraphs captured the panic a parent feels when their child disappears in a crowded, public place. This one was going to make me cry.

Except it didn't. It filled me with a lot of emotions, but never brought me to tears. So, a memoir it is.

Now usually I include a picture of the cover of whatever book I'm discussing. This is a self-published book, so there's not much to show. Plain text, green cover. But I've never really gotten into the self-publishing world. Of course there are tons of e-books available in this format, but an actual paper copy? New experience altogether. It appeals to me on many levels. I am a DIY'er, so the writers on lulu are kindred spirits. There's also a punk-style, zine-producing attitude that I love. And, for me, it tightens my relationship with the artist. One click on "Buy Now" sends a direct message that I want to hear what you have to say. It's definitely opened up an entire new reading source for me.

So, the book itself. Let me start by admitting that I already knew how this story would turn out. I get to spend one glorious week every other summer with these people. So I will also admit that I arrogantly assumed I knew everything. Well, not everything, but enough. Wrong! And while I do know more about the overall arc, Eric chose to just write about a very specific story-within-the-story. And it is beautiful.

Without spoiling too much of the story, I will tell you this. After his son did not return from an oversees trip with his ex-wife, Milch and his new bride went halfway around the world to find him. The odds were very much against them. It was a pint-sized needle in a half-million people haystack- if they were even in the right haystack. Milch relates the story exactly as he would talking to a friend. I heard his voice as I read the words. I heard Stephanie's voice. It's good storytelling, and you know how important that is to me.

I mentioned that I expected to cry but didn't. I was really surprised by this. The anguish of a missing child, the frustration when things don't happen according to plan - I certainly relate to these things. But mostly, I was filled with awe and hope and something I don't have a word for. I believe in miracles. I believe in, not just a generic Being, Energy, or Universe, but God. This story, if you are open to it, is one of people getting out of the way of that Power and impossible things happening. So while on the surface this is the tale of a father searching for his son, it's also one of a man finding things he wasn't looking for.

The book is a quick read. Less than 300 pages and very conversational. The plot moves quickly while still giving details that play a big role. It's a compelling story, hard to find a good stopping place because you want to know what happens next. Even knowing the outcome, I wanted to know exactly how it got to that point. I rarely share passages from what I'm reading, but I both posted a quote on facebook and read entire paragraphs to my husband as he tried to fall asleep. I couldn't hold it all in!

This book is not for true skeptics. There is much discussion of spiritual things that some would write off as a string of coincidences or good luck. But if you are open, just a tiny bit, to the idea that there is something bigger than what we know and understand, you should read it. Milch will take you on a journey that shows just what can happen when we step back and pay attention to what some greater power is trying to tell us. For all the chances that he took- in going to unusual places, trying different tactics, changing plans that were rock solid- you should take a chance on Miracle In the Desert.