Review: ‘Harry Potter and the Cursed Child’ Explores the Power of Time
J. K.
Rowling’s magical seven-volume Harry Potter series is the ultimate
bildungsroman, tracing that young wizard’s coming of age, as he not only
battles evil but also struggles to come to terms with the responsibilities,
losses and burdens of adulthood. In the course of those books, we see a plucky
schoolboy, torn by adolescent doubts and confusions, grow into an epic hero,
kin to King Arthur, Luke Skywalker and Spider-Man.
Now, in a play set 19 years later, we get to
see how this legendary hero has settled into middle age as a civil servant in
London, working at the Ministry of Magic. More important, we get to see Harry
as a father — and his teenage son Albus’s efforts to cope with the suffocating
expectations that come with having a famous father. “Harry Potter and the
Cursed Child” is about the journey Albus takes while growing up, and the roles
he and his best friend, Scorpius (Draco Malfoy’s son), play when dark forces,
perhaps in league with Voldemort, once again threaten the fate of the planet.
This book version of “Harry Potter and the
Cursed Child” is the script of the hit play that just opened in London, and
even though it lacks the play’s much-talked-about special effects, it turns out
to be a compelling, stay-up-all-night read.
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