Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

So, where were we in my recollections? I'd finished Philosopherh's Stone in a single sitting on the radio, if you'll recall. Fast forward to what must have been early January 2001, as I can't imagine our little local library had it readily to shelf for the few days they were open between Christmas and New Year.

Memory, like fame, is a fickle friend. Though I remember a lot of my first reading of Philosopher's Stone very well, this one is more clouded. I have a very clear picture of walking upstairs to my bedroom (at my grandparents) with the box of cassettes in my hand. I remember the thrill of Dobby and the pudding, the escape in the car and, most vivid of all, Molly's tirade about the stolen car. I imagine later scenes in the same room; in the book shop, Lucius Malfoy's "clearly", which sticks with me to this day.

I also have hazy recollections of finishing it, or at least reading some of the darker parts, at the family home. I think it was for this reason that, after the first reading, I didn't think much of the Chamber of Secrets. I wasn't happy at home at this point in my life and, I think that coupled with the fact that I had other obligations meaning I couldn't devour the book in a sitting and was forced to listen in an environment of hostility and abandonment really put something of a negative spin on the text.

Subsequent readings of the work picked me up, for there was nothing in the book to warrant me not liking it. I'm sure I checked it out from the library more than once and I know for a fact that when I bought all titles in the series on CD (there were 6 at that point), I read it yet again.
And now here we are, over a decade later, and I have read it once more, this time, taking a little under three hours of reading time with an EBook edition from Pottermore.com.

And do you know, I really liked it? Not just because of the nostalgia, but I got to see that it's a very good work in its own right. Stephen Fry's elocution is of course sublime; his Lockhart is one of the most memorable characterisations of the series thus far. I also appreciated the foreshadowing, it's something Rowling's very good at and weaves its way through the work in ways subtle and obvious. The humour is also there, a lot more noticeable to me now that I'm not so deep in the story.

And, one of the things that stuck out at me this time around was the contrast between Ron and Hermione. Under the castle in the Philosopher's Stone, we have the whole "Hermione's lip trembled and she suddenly dashed at Harry and threw her arms around him" touching emotional scene as the friends part. This time around, when it's Ron... "There was a very pregnant pause. 'And, Harry -'"

Something about that calls to me,it seems to capture so well the boy boy girl thing of their ages.

So, another monumental installment. I utterly loved it this time around. Next up is my favourite of the series!