This is the third book in the ever-popular series, and what I would term as the beginning of the “complication” phase of the overall story. The first two books were prologue/introduction, painting a relatively whimsical portrait of a magical world with some easily recognizable heroes and villains. This book begins the process of expanding on that foundation, and that leads to a recognizable leap in overall quality.
Nothing is quite so simple anymore, and that makes the third year at Hogwarts a lot more interesting. Harry finds himself targeted by a follower of You-Know-Who, and that leads to more information about his parents’ murder and the context surrounding it. The threat seems to come from Sirius Black, and as a security precaution, the guards of Azkaban (where Black was imprisoned) are given authority to guard the perimeter of Hogwarts.
The dementors are a particularly fun creation, because they immediately drench the entire narrative in their darkness. Nothing in the first two books compares to the dementors, and that serves to drive home the dread. In the case of the first two novels, I felt that the films did a better job of manufacturing and communicating the details of the Potterverse mythos. In this case, the film version merely brings the details to life.
This is also the first book where the novel is vastly superior to the film, as stylistically satisfying as the film may be. The film emphasizes the twist at the end of the novel involving Hermione and her time management skills, minimizing much of the detail in the relationship between Padfoot, Moony, Wormtail, and Prongs. That relationship is actually the core of the novel, and it is vitally important to the overall arc of the series. Those chapters are the best work in the series up to that point.
Despite the darkness, the whimsy is not entirely lost. Besides Sirius (the “dog star”, naturally), the next best addition to the cast is Remus Lupin, the latest unfortunate soul to take on the Defense Against the Dark Arts mantle. Lupin is a werewolf; hence the obvious name choice. What makes this use of somewhat silly names so effective is the more obvious discordance: childish fancy juxtaposed with more mature drama.
While still a very quick read (I tackled this one in a couple of days), it does not leave the reader with the slightly empty feeling produced by the first two novels. It stands as a strong transition into the heady material to come, and several key characters and plot elements are introduced. This is, in many respects, where the series truly begins.
Rating: 8/10
Add A Comment