It’s time once again, to venture into the From Pillar to Posts library (all two bookcases of it) and choose a new book to tell you all about. As with my other reviews there will be no star ratings, just honest thoughts about why I love the book and think you should add it to your own collection.
Let’s begin…
Harry Potter e la Pietra Filosofale
Harry Potter is hands down, my favourite story… ever! As it is one of the most famous series of books in the world I probably don’t have to explain the story, but I will anyway!
Spoiler alert! (as if it is needed)
Boy wakes up, owls attack his house with post and a giant takes him from stormy island. Harry learns he has magic powers and goes to a castle filled with magical adolescents… inevitable chaos ensues (hormones and magic don’t mix well)… man with turban and two faces tries to kill him (again), boy melts turban man with his hands and Dumbledore gives him sweets.. The end!
This book was the first foreign language book I ever bought, so it will always have a special place in my heart (and my shelf). When I started learning Italian I was convinced that it would be really simple to pick up enough language to read it. “How hard could it be?” I asked myself. The answer… very. I can now read books in Italian (5 years later) but still haven’t finished it…
There are numerous different covers and artwork available, in all languages, and I was quite particular when choosing this one. I wanted something really simple, that I could purchase for the full series in the language, and would look great on shelf. This worked perfectly. The illustrations for all the books in the series are really great and when I eventually get through this one I will start purchasing them too.
My final thoughts will be on the character names. A lot of them are the same but if you get this and expect to see Albus Dumbledore, Severus Snape and Neville Longbottom you will be disappointed. They have been changed to Albus Silente, Severus Piton and Neville Paciock. According to the forward of the book it is done in all popular media to make the names more memorable and natural in the new language, like Mickey Mouse is Topolino. I do really like the Italian version of Slytherin though; Serpeverde. It’s like they saw the green snake on the logo and decided to just put the two words together; Serpente and Verde. Very imaginative guys!
If you love Harry Potter (and let’s be honest, who doesn’t?) and want to use it to learn another language, you have found the perfect book. If you don’t read Italian then I would stick to the original version.
As always, I hope you have enjoyed the review and let me know your thoughts in the comments below.
Ciao for now!
