Book Review: “Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban” by J K Rowling

So much has already been said about the Harry Potter books and films, the unicorn’s hair is nearly poking out of the quill. I’m sure most of those who want to read the books have already done so and those who haven’t simply aren’t interested. The third book in the Harry Potter series links the more childlike adventures of the first two books with the darker overtones of the later books. I am going through the series slowly, interspersing a Harry Potter volume with many other books. Having seen the films, I am in no rush to know what happens next. I read “Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone” back in 2016. I reviewed the second book on this blog back in January (Book Review: “Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets” by J K Rowling).

Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban

I have trouble remembering the “Azkaban” of the title because I keep thinking of Abkhazia, the breakaway region of Georgia (the country not the state). The prisoner of the title is Sirius Black, Harry’s godfather who was thought to have been a multiple murderer and who was out to add Harry to his tally of victims.

I notice this was first published almost exactly 20 years ago on 8 July 1999.

Spoiler alert.

Harry doesn’t die in this book.

I guess you would know that as there are further books in the series. This being book three of seven.

“Harry Potter was a highly unusual boy in many ways.”

Once again after a difficult summer with the awful Dursleys (“Are you insane? Of course I want to leave the Dursleys! Have you got a house? When can I move in?” ), Harry is shipped off to Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry, to join his friends Harry and Hermione. In their train compartment en route to Hogwarts, the three friends meet the new teacher in the Defense Against the Dark Arts, Professor Remus Lupin, The cover shows Harry and Hermione riding Buckbeak, an animal half bird and half horse. Buckbeak is a favourite of gamekeeper Hagrid, who has a new role as a professor at the school, instructing the students about strange magical creatures.

Dementors have been brought in to protect the school from the perceived threat posed by Sirius Black, dark terrifying creatures, who feed on human happiness. The dementors are perfect symbols for depression and are a brilliant aid in understanding what it actually feels like to be depressed.

Harry Potter and the other students are under strict instructions not to venture outside Hogwarts because of Sirius Black and the dementors.

“The consequences of our actions are always so complicated, so diverse, that predicting the future is a very difficult business indeed.”

Time travel is always problematical in fiction, because you might meet yourself or accidentally set off a chain of events that changes the past or the future. Hermione has been given a time turner by Professor McGonagall, so that she could attend more classes in her third year than time would allow. When Harry and Hermione use the time turner later in the novel, they should have shown up twice on the Marauder’s Map, which was supposedly capable of accurately identifying each person in Hogwarts, but this doesn’t appear to happen.

This is the part of Harry’s story, where he finally gains confidence in his wizardry and is finally able to execute the tricky Patronus spell.

No tale of Hogwart’s would be complete without a few games of Quidditch, for a make believe game the commentary is quite compelling, as Harry competes with other “seekers” to catch the “snitch” to ensure victory for the house team.

I have seen on a number of lists this is the favorite book of many Harry Potter fans. I have yet to read the whole series to make my own ranking. This seems more mature than the two previous outings of Harry Potter, but it still has some charming levity like the picture of Sir Cadogan guarding the entrance to the Gryffindor common room.

My rating : 4 out of 5

Now, if you will excuse me, I’m off to read some Murakami.