Review by Shirley Muramoto

HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS - 1998 by J. K. Rowling Scholastic, Inc. Hardcover 0439064864 Illustrated by Mary GrandPre

HARRY POTTER AND THE CHAMBER OF SECRETS is J.K. Rowling's second book in her Harry Potter series. If you haven't heard of this series now, after five books, three movies, billions of dollars, and millions of happy fans all over the world ... well, I think you need to get out of that basement of yours a bit more often.

As can be gleaned from the title, the focus of the tale is Harry Potter - the young orphaned wizard raised by his callous non-magical aunt and uncle in the normal non-magical world, but now learning about his own magical heritage at the school called Hogwarts. This time around, Harry and his friends must uncover the truth behind the mysterious Chamber of Secrets, while at the same time pass all their classes and avoid the malicious Professor Snape.

Once again, we are shown the wonder of a world of magic, a world Harry himself is not yet accustomed to. We share his wonder at flying cars, and magical duels, at trees that whomp, and giant spiders that talk. There's even a phoenix named Fawkes, who every so often burns up only to be reborn of its own ashes.

Yet unlike typical fairytale settings, this magical world is not perfect - it is a world filled with very human people, with very human flaws. In Rowling's world, magic is never the simple solution to real human problems.

One example of the hidden problems in the wizarding world is the existence of house elves. House elves like Dobby (whom we meet in the very first chapter) are servants, magically bound to serve a certain family for all their lives. The problem is, not all wizarding families are good families, and not all house elves would willing serve these families - if they had the choice. But house elves have no choice - they are bound to serve, as their children and grandchildren and great-grandchildren will be bound to serve, until they are either dismissed or they die. House elves are considered so sub-human, they aren't even allowed to wear real clothes - in fact, receiving clothes from the master sets a house elf free from bondage.

Harry's world is not at all the happy-go-lucky picture most fairytales would have you believe. The pawnshop of Knockturn Alley, the haughty arrogance of Lucius Malfoy, the blatant prejudice of the old "purebloods" over others, even the unbelievable over-excessive boasting of Gilderoy Lockhart - all these points show that Harry's world is infinitely more complex than any childish fairytale.

But in the course of the story, Harry isn't always as shocked and appalled by some of these dark revelations as we'd perhaps like him to be. But then, he is just a young boy. And he does have a lot of other things on his mind - like the mysterious attacks on his schoolmates. Or the "riddle" of Tom Riddle. Or the continuing malice of Professor Snape. Even the annoying antics of Gilderoy Lockhart - an unmitigated ass who loves being in the spotlight. What with all these things and more to contend with, it's understandable that young Harry to miss the deeper implications of such things.

Like most youngsters, Harry isn't one for deep introspection - he's mostly concerned with there here-and-now. Even so, during the course of his adventures, Harry comes to question himself: he often feels confused about his identity, about his destiny, and wonders if he's made the right choices. Dumbledore at one point reminds Harry that it is the choices made thus far by Harry himself which have forged him into who he today. At the same time, Rowling is reminding the reader of that very same fact - it's our choices in life that forge our identity.

That's the real magic. 3 BookWyrms

This review copyright 2004 E.C.McMullen Jr.

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