I have been in a reading malaise the last couple weeks. I have been reading a ton, but bouncing all over the place trying to find something that really interests me. The Harry Potter books have been recently added to my public library on audiobook so I decided to check them out. I have read the book, especially the early ones, several times. But other than the 5th book, I do not think I have listened to any of the books.
I remember really liking Jim Dale as a narrator and looked forward to the book. The Chamber of Secrets was just the first book to come up on the waiting list, but it has always been my least favorite of the series. There is nothing bad about the book, but it also seems to be the least fleshed out. It is still clearly a younger children’s book. It was book three and then even more book four that really took a turn darker and more teen in orientation.
Chambers seems to just hint as so much more. It is not really about Voltemort, it is just background on him. The book seems to glide along the school year with really getting in too deep. Ginny is really the main character in this book but so much of her action happens off screen.
I guess I was just disappointed. The narration seemed a bit childish at times (but it was a children’s book). And I have probably read this book at least four times previously. So the plot was not a surprise.
In the end it was not the book I was looking for to solve my malaise.
Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets Purchase Links: Paperback, Hardcover, Kindle Edition
