Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets

 Second Year.... What a headache 

Sequels are always complicated, and writing a follow-up to a book as successful as the first was never going to be an easy task. Even so, I think J.K. Rowling manages to do so in a way that is convincing so far.  

Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets has the difficult task of reintroducing the reader to the magical world. The problem usually lies in how exactly this is achieved, and I must say that the first chapters of The Chamber of Secrets manage to do so, simply by introducing new characters who break the rules established in the first book. In this second book, 12-year-old Harry Potter finds himself in a complicated situation, as he is halfway between harm, destiny, and the search for his identity, and with a life that has been very young so far; asking a teenager to have answers or ideas about this is very complicated.  

One of the advantages of this book is, fortunately, its length. It is not necessarily a long book, but it is not very short either, and therefore J.K. Rowling must explain how she can use the story to address the different concepts that her book deals with. At this point, I must clarify that, in some cases, the ideas she wants to convey are not necessarily well executed and remain rather half-baked. I understand that these books are intended for young readers, but Harry Potter works best when J.K. Rowling lets go of her readers' hands and allows them to reach their own conclusions. 

The most important ideas in this book can be defined at first glance as fear, prejudice, loyalty, destiny, and even identity. Harry must navigate through all these difficult concepts, which often leave him in a very bad position and subject to constant punishment.

On many occasions, despite the fact that the story is very entertaining due to the mystery surrounding the chamber, the problems with this book can be identified as a lack of balance between the ideas introduced through the characters and their internal conflicts. What I mean specifically is that J.K. Rowling introduces characters such as Dobby, Ginny Weasley, Gilderoy Lockhart, and Lucius Malfoy and uses them as vehicles to address different themes, which tends to be somewhat heavy going due to the repetitive nature of the ideas expressed through the characters.

It is a very solid sequel, but as charismatic as Gilderoy Lockhart is, the narrative gaps in the novel are difficult to ignore. Concepts such as authority, whether school or family, tend to be the focus of attention all the time, as does Dumbledore's strange tendency to explain everything.

In conclusion, Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets is a book that very discreetly shows J.K. Rowling's worst tendencies, but also exemplifies her strong global vision of how the magical world works.