I have just finished listening to Harry Potter The full cast editions. They are nothing short of brillience. The actors playing Harry, Frankie Treadway and Jaxon Knopf are brilliant. One listening to the book would immeediately want to empathise with Harry. Right from the start. His humilliation by his aunt and uncle, as well as the bullying by his Cousin. Along with that, the huge trauma and termoil he starts to face the older he gets. Book four onwards is when things start getting interesting. Once you start listening to the fourth book, you immeediately notice there is trauma ahead. Upon reaching chapter 32, this is when Knopf really shines. From the listener’s point of view, you really want to give Harry a huge hug. Comfort him when he reaches the end of the maze. At this point, he is in shock, exhausted, griefstricken and terrified. He is also in pain and injured. I will not give it away, but let’s just say he has witnessed something terrifying that will stay with him for ever. That will leave him traumatised for months and probably years to come. Knopf really shows his skill here. You can hear Harry’s shock, exhaustion. Pain. Him lying there on the grass, panicking. His breathing short and shallow. Waiting for something to happen or someone to notice he’s there. You just want to sort of, hold onto him and let him let all his emotion out. You kind of want to tell him that right now at least, he is safe, that everything is going to be fine. You want to just give him a huge comforting hug. The kind of hug a friend would do to another. Support him when he has to stand up and walk back up to the castle. I find it good that Dumbledor does not allow people to question him.

You want to do the same in book 5. when things happen that, shall we say, are a lot darker, a lot more dramatic and a lot more important when it comes to the series. I will not give anything away, hense my post not quite making sense there. All I will say, is listen to the brilliance. Enjoy all the actors shining. Again in book 5, you just want to comfort him, and when he has to yet again, endure more trauma than one could potentially handle, including the death of someone close to him, i will not say who, you see his grief. Grief that involves throwing things and just raw emotion! You as the listener want to just reach into the book, again hold onto his shoulders and just let him cry. Let him let his emotions out. Let the flood gates open. It’s there, deep and raw. I will say again, Knopf is brilliant. I can’t wait for book 6. To hear more brilliance from all the cast. I have no doubt that we as the listeners will again want to reach into the book and put our arms round people and allow them to cry on our shoulders. As we would our friends, sons, daughters, brothers or sisters. A brilliant project that Audible pulled off! Next is book 6 on the 14th April! It can’t come quickly enough! Until then, I will again have my Harry Potter fix, by listening to the previous books! I would love to go to the Harry Potter experience in London, but I have to work out who will take me. They have to be a potter Head like me! Then there’s the travel. Not that easy. We will see.