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asher553I'm on a Harry Potter binge, and I finished the third book, 'Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban' this weekend. I watched the movie immediately after finishing the book.
As with the previous books, 'Prisoner of Azkaban' has a good many surprises, and I could see, once again, how a person who enjoys a good mystery would also enjoy the Harry Potter books. (A very dear friend of mine who's an Agatha Christie fan is also a major Potterhead.) Time plays a critical role in 'Prisoner' (foreshadowed in the movie by the figure reading Hawking's 'Brief History of Time' and by the many images of clockwork) and the time-travel device was very nicely worked out. I thought the climactic scene where Harry is saved by a powerful figure - whom he first mistakes for his father - was extraordinary and very memorable. It really made me go "wow, just wow."
The one passage in the book that really stayed with me is spoken by the prisoner (mild spoiler alert: he's been falsely imprisoned) after his release, when asked how he survived being tormented by the Dementors - horrifying creatures that suck all the joy out of the victim's soul. The prisoner replies:
'I don't know how I did it,' he said slowly. 'I think the only reason I never lost my mind [in Azkaban] is that I knew I was innocent. That wasn't a happy thought, so the Dementors couldn't suck it out of me ... but it kept me sane and knowing who I am ...'
On to Book 4, Goblet of Fire!
As with the previous books, 'Prisoner of Azkaban' has a good many surprises, and I could see, once again, how a person who enjoys a good mystery would also enjoy the Harry Potter books. (A very dear friend of mine who's an Agatha Christie fan is also a major Potterhead.) Time plays a critical role in 'Prisoner' (foreshadowed in the movie by the figure reading Hawking's 'Brief History of Time' and by the many images of clockwork) and the time-travel device was very nicely worked out. I thought the climactic scene where Harry is saved by a powerful figure - whom he first mistakes for his father - was extraordinary and very memorable. It really made me go "wow, just wow."
The one passage in the book that really stayed with me is spoken by the prisoner (mild spoiler alert: he's been falsely imprisoned) after his release, when asked how he survived being tormented by the Dementors - horrifying creatures that suck all the joy out of the victim's soul. The prisoner replies:
'I don't know how I did it,' he said slowly. 'I think the only reason I never lost my mind [in Azkaban] is that I knew I was innocent. That wasn't a happy thought, so the Dementors couldn't suck it out of me ... but it kept me sane and knowing who I am ...'
On to Book 4, Goblet of Fire!
