Most Helpful Customer Reviews
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28 of 29 people found the following review helpful:
Highly Preferred Over American Editions of These Books!, 23 Dec 2001
I enjoyed the first two Harry Potter books so much that I knew I was hooked. I wanted to read the next two books in their original (British) versions. (I had the American editions of the first two volumes.) When I saw amazon.co.uk's great price on the four-volume hardback box set, I ordered immediately.THESE BOOKS ARE WONDERFUL! The British versions have much, much nicer covers; I like the fact that the dustjacket art is printed on the hard covers of the actual books, "schoolbook style." Text-wise, a few words here and there are changed for American readers ("tank" instead of "cistern"), and I personally enjoy encountering the original Britishisms (such as "gormless") instead of the American "translations." THE MOST IMPORTANT DIFFERENCE BETWEEN UK AND US EDITIONS: The US editions of the books have small black-and-white illustrations at the beginning of each chapter which usually give away important plot points and completely ruin the suspense of what is going to happen. What a terrible idea! I prefer no illustrations at all, UK-edition-style. The one drawback to the British editions is that they are not printed on paper that is as good as the US editions (although the UK books' paper quality is vastly improved by book four). The first book's paper is worse than the paper used in most paperbacks; a real disappointment, quality wise. But the stories are so good you won't care!
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8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:
Absolutely spellbinding, 17 Oct 2001
I bought this boxed set to see what all the hype was about. It sat in my bookcase for a month or two until I gingerly made a start on book 1. Book one was finished in 2 days, as was book 2 and subsequently book 3! I am now savouring Goblet of Fire and dreading the last chapter (how will I survive?!) I adore these stories, enthralling and comical. They have everything to capture anybody's imagination.
I am a 44 year old woman with no children living at home!
Excellent, highly recommended.
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14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:
welcome to a none-muggle world, 13 Nov 2001
The world of Harry Potter is like discovering the lost world of my childhood seventeen years too late. Rowling takes the reader to an imaginative world so unique that you can actually visualise being in Diagon ally buying wands from Mr Olivander himself. The Philosopher's (wizard's) stone introduces the reader to this world with detail and description last found in the novels of the early 1900's, and takes the reader on a journey through the world of magic so unique that you long to be a part of it. It comes as no surprise then that this book has become a film that will surpass all others in terms of sales. Next comes The Chamber of secrets, which, in my opinion, is the weakest of all the Potter books. The basic structure of the plot is dark, but the sub-plots and character development is childlike and basic and is almost out of place in a series with such a mature narative. It is, however, in the third book, The prisoner of Askaban, where Rowling shines in her writing ability. The reader is immersed in the truly dark and evil world of wizardry and earnest sentimentality of a protagonist who has not only lost all true members of family, but with it most semblance of self. In the final book, The Goblet of Fire, Rowling matures the story and expands the world of magic. The novel does, at times, spent too much time introducing you this expanded world, but it is the most uncompromising of all the Potter novels. In truth the world, story, acts and events of Potter mature in a way that befits the readership of Harry Potter whilst still staying fresh, mature and surprising. The Potter series is a must for young and old alike - it will surprise both groups how it can stay fresh, original and earnestly emotional.
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