Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets - J.K. Rowling

...my least favourite of the Harry Potter books. It just seems to lack the same readability, the same flowing story-line, and it gives me a funny feeling of dread every time I read it.

So where has the magic gone?
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First of all the plot and tone of the book are noticeably darker than the first book 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'. This means that you don't get the same feel-good attraction ...
...before that even though the Harry Potter books are a good read, full of creative links to mythology and the Classics, JK Rowling isn't the best story teller in the world. Her enthusiasm and imagination surpass her actually writing ability; this is why her books are so popular. But there are some things that really get on my nerves. For example JK Rowling has a nasty habit of re-telling the whole of Harry's life story in each of her books following ... more

Just another sequel?
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For me, sequels often seem like duller, watered-down shadows of the original classic, meant for harvesting the last remnants of commercial success from a book or film where the end should have been 'Happy ever after'. However there are some exceptions, for example 'Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers' which at least equalled or surpassed 'The Fellowship of the Ring' in its originality, emotion and battle sequences. However, I can't help feeling that the 'Chamber of Secrets' falls into the first category, despite the fact that the magic of the Philosopher's Stone is hard to beat. It is my least favourite of the Harry Potter books. It just seems to lack the same readability, the same flowing story-line, and it gives me a funny feeling of dread every time I read it.

So where has the magic gone?
========================
First of all the plot and tone of the book are noticeably darker than the first book 'Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone'. This means that you don't get the same feel-good attraction when reading it... I must admit, the first time I read this book is was to catch up on bits I'd missed in the series as a whole, rather than for pure enjoyment. Harry's fame and popularity while he starts his education as an eleven year old wizard are, a year later, transformed into infamy and suspicion by the fear that has swept Hogwarts school of Witchcraft and Wizardry. It is a shame that so much of the magic created by Harry's discovery of the Wizard World is somewhat overlooked in this book, and seems to be taken for granted.

Magic lost in the telling
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I've said before that even though the Harry Potter books are a good read, full of creative links to mythology and the Classics, JK Rowling isn't the best story teller in the world. Her enthusiasm and imagination surpass her actually writing ability; this is why her books are so popular. But there are some things that really get on my nerves. For example JK Rowling has a nasty habit of re-telling the whole of Harry's life story in each of her books following 'The Philosopher's Stone'.

"At the age of one, Harry had somehow survived a curse by from the greatest Dark sorcerer of all time, Lord Voldemort, whose name most witches and wizards still feared to speak. Harry's parents had died in Voldemort's attack, but Harry had escaped with his lightning scar, and somehow - nobody understood why - Voldemort's powers had been destroyed the instant he had failed to kill Harry.

So Harry had been brought up by his dead mother's sister, and her husband. He had spent ten years with the Dursleys, never understanding why he kept making odd things happen without meaning to, believing the Dursley's story that he had got his scar in the car crash that killed his parents.

And then, exactly a year ago, Hogwarts had written to Harry, and the whole story had come out. Harry had taken his place at wizard school, where he and his scar were famous... but now the school year was over, and he was back with the Dursley's for the summer, back to being treated like a dog that had rolled in something smelly."

Don't get me wrong, this is a very thorough summary of the starting events of Book 1, but lost is the magic of Harry's discovery of his true identity, and the creative genius that permeates the rest of her book. It was a little disappointing for JK Rowling to leap into such a childish narrative, and the word 'smelly' at the end... that was just plain annoying. She usually manages an adult style that is a compelling read for adults and children alike. It is a good job that all of her book isn't like this, but they are definitely NOT perfect and that's why I've only given it 3 stars.

The story
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However the story is quite a complicated one, which is a redeeming feature of the Harry Potter books… JK Rowling doesn't dumb down the plot because it's a children's book, which is why even adults are kept guessing. As she's already summarized Harry's past by page 3, I'll tell the rest of the story as best I can.

♦Imprisonment at the Dursleys♦
Harry, stuck with his horrible muggle (non-magic) family, the Dursleys, is visited by a house elf named Dobby. House elves act as servants for wizard families and are particularly indebted to Harry for ridding the world of Voldemort, a period in which they were very cruelly treated. Some elves, such as Dobby, still are treated badly. They keep their masters' secrets, and if they disobey this servitude they must punish themselves by hitting lamps on their head, shutting their ears in oven doors etc. Dobby brings Harry an obscure message about danger at Hogwarts and does everything he can to get Harry expelled. Harry ends up locked in his room after Dobby's levitating charm leaves the Dursleys and their rich guests with a healthy covering of whipped cream and sugar violets.

♦Escape from the Dursleys♦
One of the most famous sequences from this book is the flying Ford Anglia which is illustrated on the book's front cover. Ron and his twin brothers, Fred and George, rescue Harry and take him back home to 'The Burrow' where a furious Mrs Weasley is waiting. A new character is introduced, Ron's younger sister Ginny, who has an obvious crush on Harry as she accidentally puts her elbow in the butter dish.

♦Flourish and Blotts♦
Diagon Alley is a wizard-only street in the heart of London. Here we meet two more characters integral to the plot. One of these is Gilderoy Lockhart, an annoying and rather weak character who spends his time writing books about his own daring exploits with titles such as 'Voyages with Vampires,' 'Wonderings with Werewolves' and 'Year with a Yeti.' I believe it was the worst decision Hogwarts Headmaster Albus Dumbledore ever made in appointing this idiot Defence Against the Dark Arts Professor, as Professor Lockhart has an unhealthy obsession with Valentine's Day and the colour lilac. On the other hand there's Lucius Malfoy, who must be one of the best characters in the series for his sheer evil sliminess. He is the father of Draco Malfoy, Harry's rival, and shows how JK Rowling has adult concerns in her book such as the racism between pure-blood wizards and muggle enthusiasts.

♦Platform 9 ¾♦
The plot starts to darken when weird things keep happening to Harry. Normally the barrier between platforms 9 and 10 at Kings Cross Station, London, lets Harry through to the magical platform where the Hogwarts Express is waiting to take him to Hogwarts. However, for some reason Harry and Ron when stranded decide to fly the flying car to school. I never really liked that part of the plot. I don't know why they didn't just wait for help, or send a message… Oh well.

♦Mudbloods and murmers♦
And then strange things start happening at Hogwarts as well. Harry starts to hear strange voices that nobody else can (never a good sign). When Harry and his friends, Ron and Hermione, are found right in front of the caretaker's petrified (sort of magically frozen) cat, they are obviously blamed also for the strange writing on the wall above which reads:

THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS HAS BEEN OPENED.
ENEMIES OF THE HEIR, BEWARE.

♦The heir of Slytherin♦
Harry spends most of his time in a state of social limbo. Sometimes he's got people like Colin Creevy queuing up for his autograph (helped along by the fame-hungry Professor Lockhart). Or Harry is hated and despised, feared or avoided, such as the constant bullying from the obnoxious Potions Master, Professor Snape, or Harry's worst enemy Draco Malfoy. What's more, when Harry is discovered to be able to talk Parseltongue (snake language) suspicion deepens as to whether he could be Slytherin's heir, who in legend unleashed a monster from the secret chamber, to such an extent that even Harry begins to believe he could be evil.

♦The Monster Within♦
When people start getting attacked at Hogwarts, Harry, Ron and Hermione, as always take it upon themselves to solve the mystery. Of course the most likely person to be Slytherin's heir is Draco Malfoy who is, after all, in Slytherin. The plot drags along while we wait for the Polyjuice Potion to boil (a complicated potion that allows you to look like someone else for an hour). Moaning Myrtle is a tragic ghost of a girl that died in a girl's toilet, which is consequently abandoned, and is where the trio brew their potion. When a mysterious diary with no writing turns up, the intrigue deepens, revealing more about the Chamber which was opened 50 years ago.

♦Phoenix Tears and Phoenix Song♦
The great battle sequence at the end of the book has Hermione attacked, Hogwarts on the verge of closure, Ron stuck with Professor Lockhart in a dark tunnel, and Harry alone to rescue Ginny who has been taken into the Chamber. Fawks the Phoenix, a pet of Albus Dumbledore, represents the great Headmaster's help in times of trouble. Harry, along with a little help, must fight his own demons of doubt and inadequacy, and a greater demon, the monster and its master deep within the Chamber.

My thoughts on the book
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I have no criticism about the action sequences. They are gripping and exciting, a bit darker than the last book, but may scare younger children. When I read the battle sequence for the first time I remember staring at the blank wall in front of me, and having it transform into a sort of cinema screen in my mind's eye. That's never happened before while reading a book. I remember getting angry when my sister interrupted me.

However, these exciting bits are few and far between. A plot weakness is that JK Rowling always stretches out her story until the end of Harry's school year, so that at times the story is slow moving. The atmosphere of darkness and suspicion is very cleverly done, but I found little discrepancies in the plot annoying as an adult reader. For example, when things start going wrong at Hogwarts how is it that three thirteen-year-old students can work out the mystery of what's going on when a whole staff of adult wizards cannot? There are other loop holes I've got written down, but they would give too much plot away. I've tried to be as careful as possible.

It's not a bad book. But it isn't the best book in the Harry Potter series in my opinion. It's just little niggling things (along with the feeling of darkness and dread) that stop me from enjoying this book completely. For example, this line had me laughing out loud and I wondered just how quickly JK Rowling had tried to get 'The Chamber of Secrets' into print.

"…all four of them were hitting the wet floor of Moaning Myrtle's floor…"

I just wanted to share that, because I thought it was funny when I read it.

So is it worth reading?
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Despite my criticisms, this book is almost invaluable to the series as a whole. If you want to read the later books (which refer quite consistently to the early books) and know exactly what JK Rowling is referring to, then it's worth while reading 'The Chamber of Secrets' just to find out who Dobby is, where the flying car came from, and why Ron has a phobia of spiders. That's why I read it in the first place, because I found Book 4 impossible to enjoy otherwise.

I must admit, I took ages getting into Harry Potter because it was such a well established series. And although it is possible to start with any Harry Potter book, to grasp the depth of the plot properly it's worth reading all the books in order.

All Harry Potter books are a good read, some of them better than others. I would not recommend this book to the first time Harry Potter reader (you can't beat the first book for being introduced into the Wizard World). But if you are hooked and want to know more about Harry's adventures, by all means give it a read. For parents wondering if this book is suitable for younger children, it's worth giving it a read in advance as it is quite a dark book. JK Rowling has always said that she will not lie about death or evil just because it is a children's book.

Book details
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Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets
Published in February 1999 by Bloomsbury
Paperback: 251 pages
Price: £5.99
Currently selling for £4.79 on Amazon 

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